Advice on modernising a 90s Marin

[Stanflashm4n]

The long-cage version is meant for a double chainring with a smaller cassette, which will have a larger chain slack to deal with than a 1x and 42T cassette that the short-cage is designed for.

Ahh I see. Will the shorter cage version be ok on a 1x 11-36 cassette?

 

[Bearvalley90]

It should be ok; I run a shimano zee with an 11-32 cassette and it is spot on

 

[Bearvalley90]

It should be ok; I run a shimano zee with an 11-32 cassette and it is spot on

11-36 I meant!

 

[Lewie]

I’m going to watch this tread - I’d maybe like a 1 x 10 on mine

 

[Beeewu]

Keep seeing lots of good reviews on the microshift avent x
https://www.microshift.com/products/groups/advent-x/

 

[Stanflashm4n]

I can tell you you bottom bracket length will be 122.5 and probably has the marking D-NL on the axle on the ring side, if you look for it.

But that means nothing if ever you change cranks.

They're 110 BCD chainrings (you may see it as BCD) so search on that.
It also became a common road bike format, their 'compact' size.


See what deals CRC/Wiggle have in the sale for shifters and mechs.

*CRC = chainreactioncycles

I just measured the bottom bracket that I took out of the bike and it seems to be 115mm (unless these callipers are dodgy , they were cheap so could be haha) did you think that it would be 122.5 because that’s what should be in the bike or what’s correct for those cranks or from the numbers I mentioned? Or none of these …It was very easy to remove and still quite shiny which makes me think it might have been replaced . Also I took a 73x111mm BB (almost certainly original) out of the specialized I mentioned earlier , I can see lots of 73x 113 bbs but haven’t seen a 111 yet. Will 2mm make a difference?Apologies for the probably stupid questions

 

[sminchnz]

Can someone explain why there seems to be a recurring concern about longer travel forks destroying retro mtb handling?

My modern bike is designed for a fork with anything from 140 to 170 mm of travel but the idea of putting a marginally longer travel fork in a 90s bike seems anathema, while I’d have thought reducing the HTA from 72 degrees to frankly anything at all less than that as well as raising the front end could only be a good thing. I’m sure those changes would change how the bikes rides so it wouldn’t ride like a 90s bike did, but thats fine with me because bikes were kind of awful back then. Novel, yes, and ‘of their time’, but not good.

Am I smoking crack?

 

[Splatter Paint]

An early 90s mtb non suspension would have an axle-crown height in the order of 395mm. A Fox F100 from 2002 has an axle crown height of 470mm. RS Mag 21 long travel is in the order of 420mm.

Older forks were much shorter overall and a modern long-travel fork is both longer overall as well as the travel.

I’ve run 80mm travel Fox forks on my 1995 DBR Axis and 1996 Hei Hei without issue as they have quite steep head tubes. I wouldn’t go longer though,

 

[Splatter Paint]

A 68mm bb shell will require a 68mm bb or you’ll alter the chain line. If you’re running single ring up front you’ll need a bit of trial and error such that the front ring lines up with the mid / centre point on the rear cassette. You can alter bb axle length and chain ring position on the crank (middle or outer position on the arm) to achieve the optimum chain line.

 

[Tootyred]

On a mt60 chainset, 115mm would be close to hitting the frame on the small ring or the arms on the stays. They should be 122mm ish and 68mm shell.....unless its got spacers in it!

As for the forks.....as per page 1....they cope with 80mm travel ok on that geometry, much more and its not going to be good.....imho. Thats 420 /425 mm tops in modern parlance. 1" rise equates to 1o on the headtube slacker, but its not as simple as that....because the bike rotates around the rear spindle, so you also move the seat tube back, the crank up and therefore your relative seat position changes down and forward cater. You also alter the fork rake therefore the steering performance and the top tube rises.....stand over height?

As i said marin frames cope ok, due to the seat and head tube angles being pretty old skool.....but if you want more than that, buy a newer frame to start with.