Hello to all. I can't believe this site has passed me by for such a long time but since I discovered it at the beginning of the week I have spent quite a bit of time browsing/reminiscing/drooling... oh, and I might have just thrown myself in at the deep end with my first ever project with an impulse from the dreaded auction site.
So: about me... I'm mid 30s, family man, sensible job. Unfortunately I was 10 in 1990 and my parents bought me a subscription to MBUK. I don't think I need to explain more about how I see all of your bikes, mountain bikes look nowhere near as good now as they did in the early 90's.
So, back in the day I always wanted one of those early Marins, I loved the zolatone look and thought they never quite managed to reach such heights aesthetically with their more modern designs. I was probably about 13 when I was lobbying my parents for a new bike, all my friends had shiny machines and I was stuck with an old lugged Dawes. Well one night, i spotted a Marin Indian Fire Trail in the local paper, I think it was a size too small and it was probably more than my parents wanted to spend (although it was a good price for the time I think) but I WANTED IT SO BAD. Well in the end they persuaded me out of it and I ended up with a (new) 92 or 93 Kona Fire Mountain (which is still probably in my parents garage if anyone's interested?). I loved that bike and it served me well but I never got over the marin that never was.... sob!
Fast forward to three weeks ago. We're round at a friends house helping them pack up for a house move. The man of the house is a proper hoarder, he's got all sorts of cool stuff, in his garages (there were several, all full of stuff) I found a couple of naff MTBs and THREE Raleigh Burners!!! He knew what he had so don't go thinking I tried to 'take them down the tip' for him or anything but seeing those brought back the memories of my years pouring over copies of MBUK, window shopping for hours on end. I've always had bikes since then but none (even a couple of cannondales) have really managed to light my fire. So I started thinking about a retro bike, maybe a single speed commuter based on an old MTB? Could that be possiible?
Well, then I found this
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... highlight=
My jaw hit the floor, I immediately jumped on ebay, I had to have one. So I am now the proud owner (or at least I will be when I pick it up) of a 1990 palisades, zolatone and neon yellow. full of rust and neglect. My plan is to restore, sympathetically but not steadfast original. Planning on re-using what I can, building a looker of a singlespeed for getting to work on. I'm confident enough to do the work although I've never restored a bike before. So can anyone give me some advice? I want to do it all myself, I'm lucky enough to be able to afford to do this but I am slightly poor in time, it's going to have to be an evening job over many weeks or months I think. I have general tools but nothing like headset panners or crank extractors. Anyone got any advice for getting these economically? Can I rely on your support?
I plan on making the restore public as i think this will help me get it done. I pick the bike up on monday. I'll post the first set of 'before' pictures then.
Cheers
So: about me... I'm mid 30s, family man, sensible job. Unfortunately I was 10 in 1990 and my parents bought me a subscription to MBUK. I don't think I need to explain more about how I see all of your bikes, mountain bikes look nowhere near as good now as they did in the early 90's.
So, back in the day I always wanted one of those early Marins, I loved the zolatone look and thought they never quite managed to reach such heights aesthetically with their more modern designs. I was probably about 13 when I was lobbying my parents for a new bike, all my friends had shiny machines and I was stuck with an old lugged Dawes. Well one night, i spotted a Marin Indian Fire Trail in the local paper, I think it was a size too small and it was probably more than my parents wanted to spend (although it was a good price for the time I think) but I WANTED IT SO BAD. Well in the end they persuaded me out of it and I ended up with a (new) 92 or 93 Kona Fire Mountain (which is still probably in my parents garage if anyone's interested?). I loved that bike and it served me well but I never got over the marin that never was.... sob!
Fast forward to three weeks ago. We're round at a friends house helping them pack up for a house move. The man of the house is a proper hoarder, he's got all sorts of cool stuff, in his garages (there were several, all full of stuff) I found a couple of naff MTBs and THREE Raleigh Burners!!! He knew what he had so don't go thinking I tried to 'take them down the tip' for him or anything but seeing those brought back the memories of my years pouring over copies of MBUK, window shopping for hours on end. I've always had bikes since then but none (even a couple of cannondales) have really managed to light my fire. So I started thinking about a retro bike, maybe a single speed commuter based on an old MTB? Could that be possiible?
Well, then I found this
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... highlight=
My jaw hit the floor, I immediately jumped on ebay, I had to have one. So I am now the proud owner (or at least I will be when I pick it up) of a 1990 palisades, zolatone and neon yellow. full of rust and neglect. My plan is to restore, sympathetically but not steadfast original. Planning on re-using what I can, building a looker of a singlespeed for getting to work on. I'm confident enough to do the work although I've never restored a bike before. So can anyone give me some advice? I want to do it all myself, I'm lucky enough to be able to afford to do this but I am slightly poor in time, it's going to have to be an evening job over many weeks or months I think. I have general tools but nothing like headset panners or crank extractors. Anyone got any advice for getting these economically? Can I rely on your support?
I plan on making the restore public as i think this will help me get it done. I pick the bike up on monday. I'll post the first set of 'before' pictures then.
Cheers
