Decoding Marin frame numbers.

[tweedi]

Team issue: M24LA0074

It is definitely a team ISSUE (19 inch) with XTR M900 parts, despite being M2 and not M1. This was confirmed by many others by now.

Regarding the year (1993 or 1994 TBD), what I know:

- The original owner recall it was a 1995 but I know it's not sold as a 1995 because it did not have the white industry crankset but rather the M900 XTR.
- Seat tube is a "swan neck" version rather than the straight version. This would indicate it is a 1993 vs a 1994?
- It came with a Manitou 2 fork as an option (the Marin catalogue does say that all bikes from Bear Valley SE came with suspension options), this fork came out in 1993.
- The only bit of original color I have is this anodisation from the seat tube bolt which seems more to the pink than the purple, which would again indicate 1993 as opposed to 1994.

Now the seat tube could have been changed for an older one, the the fork might have been a Manitou 2 added to a 1994 team issue, and the bolt color might be 1994, I don't know ...

If anyone has any info on how to ascertain the year and look (1993 or 1994) I would take it!

 

[Tootyred]

Its going to be 94 built if its stamped 4. However frames have been on rare occasions used a year later. I've got a 91 frame which has 92 colours and decals from new. Even stranger is that the tubing is completely different between those years...so somebody in some market round the world got mugged by marin!

It also depend which global market it came from...specs and colours vary by region.

 

[tweedi]

Thank you, so to confirm the "stamp" is the year the frame is being welded together, not the year the bike is painted / assembled, right?

Thus you can have a 1994 "frame" but the bike is actually a 1995. So a team marin "frame" welded and stamped in 1994 could actually be an early production of the 1995 "model" triple butted version as opposed to the previous double butted one, in theory?

Likewise I now understand that a 1994 frame could have been built in say January or February 1994 to backfill order of 1993 models, thus it will be painted/have decals from 1993, despite being stamped 1994.

All in all, that would mean that a 1994 "frame", with the 1994 stamp, can actually be a 1993, 1994 or 1995 model. Oh boy!

 

[tweedi]

Another contribution of mine (now going through all the Marin frames I bought after getting the retrobike itch on this forum..):

Eldridge grade 1993 (allegedly!) with code M63BAD033

 

[fguki]

Team Marins and Team Issues were Tange "Superlite" or Ultimate frames / tubes. Models like Eldridge Grade etc. were a completely different (more low end) tube-set.

 

[Leesy69]

Adding my current on the go resto for the database….Pine Mountain 91serial number M21RE0278

 

[shedobits]

All in all, that would mean that a 1994 "frame", with the 1994 stamp, can actually be a 1993, 1994 or 1995 model. Oh boy!

Just enjoy the ride .

 

[tweedi]

Ahah well said! At the same time the investigation to try to decode the history of those amazing bikes is just as enjoyable sometimes

By the way, in case that is helpful to others, another amazing hint: marc two tone has advised on another post that 1995 frames had a "diamond" on the bosses on the frame, which mine does not have. So now I know, the 1994 "frame" or "stamp" cannot be 1995 without the diamond bosses, only a 1993 or 1994