Stodgy
Retro Guru
Well, after a 25 year wait, and a year and a half of sporadic restoration, I finally have a Marin Bear Valley 1989 that I can ride.
It’s the one that got away from me back in 1989 when I was 16. After seeing an advert in an MTB mag, this was the bike to replace my 15 speed Raleigh Maverick. I saved up £400 through part time work and Saturday jobs, went along to the bike shop in Melton Mowbray, where I had reserved it, only to find he had put the price up to £460. He wouldn’t budge so I ended up with a Jamis Diablo, which was alright, but not what I really wanted.
Anyway, after getting the Retrobike bug a few years ago, this was always going to happen. My wife bought me two Bear Valleys for my 40th Birthday. One was in pretty good nick, but too small, the other was the right size, but needed a bit of work.
I set to work stripping them down, discovering a fair bit of rust on the 19” variety, which I treated with wet and dry, Kurust, black paint and Supertrol in the tubes. It took me ages, as I’m not that good at this part of renovation and I lost a bit of interest. Things like seized bottom brackets got me down.
I got there in the end, and started obsessing about polishing and cleaning things to like-new appearance, and again lost a bit of interest.
With renewed enthusiasm I made the decision a few weeks ago that it was silly trying to make it perfect - I’m not that skilled, and I just want to ride the darned thing. So, I would clean, polish and lubricate and not worry about a few scratches and surface rust.
I also wanted to upgrade some bits I wasn’t that happy with. I didn’t like the plastic brakes or shifters so I got some Deore levers and cantis, XT shifters, and XT chain set, but wanted to keep the available-for-one-year-only Mountain LX mechs. The wheels were super chunky and a bit rough, and I had a set with LX rims (wish they were XT for the deep shine) and Wolber rims. I consider these upgrades things I would have done at the time and they are all period correct, give or take a year.
Before and after a bit of Wet and Dry and Autosol:
This makes it faster:
I eventually finished it yesterday, and took it out for my quick 15 minute local route. About as technical as a cycling proficiency test, but it has some gravel, a short sharp hill and some mildly twisty bits. I was honestly expecting to be underwhelmed. It’s often the case that something you remember is not as good when you revisit. I thought the brakes would be rubbish, the gear changing clunky and the ride slow and unstable. Well, all I can say is I am astonished how good this bike rides. The brakes are perhaps a little grabby, but plenty powerful enough, in the dry at least; not a single bad gear change or adjustment after just a 5 minute set up in the shed; and the handling is stable, predictable and chuckable - can you tell I like it! It also powers up the hills quite nicely - not too much flex, and the ride is pretty comfortable with these 2 inch tyres on. Anyway, enough waffle, here’s some photos of the finished product:
It’s the one that got away from me back in 1989 when I was 16. After seeing an advert in an MTB mag, this was the bike to replace my 15 speed Raleigh Maverick. I saved up £400 through part time work and Saturday jobs, went along to the bike shop in Melton Mowbray, where I had reserved it, only to find he had put the price up to £460. He wouldn’t budge so I ended up with a Jamis Diablo, which was alright, but not what I really wanted.
Anyway, after getting the Retrobike bug a few years ago, this was always going to happen. My wife bought me two Bear Valleys for my 40th Birthday. One was in pretty good nick, but too small, the other was the right size, but needed a bit of work.
I set to work stripping them down, discovering a fair bit of rust on the 19” variety, which I treated with wet and dry, Kurust, black paint and Supertrol in the tubes. It took me ages, as I’m not that good at this part of renovation and I lost a bit of interest. Things like seized bottom brackets got me down.
I got there in the end, and started obsessing about polishing and cleaning things to like-new appearance, and again lost a bit of interest.
With renewed enthusiasm I made the decision a few weeks ago that it was silly trying to make it perfect - I’m not that skilled, and I just want to ride the darned thing. So, I would clean, polish and lubricate and not worry about a few scratches and surface rust.
I also wanted to upgrade some bits I wasn’t that happy with. I didn’t like the plastic brakes or shifters so I got some Deore levers and cantis, XT shifters, and XT chain set, but wanted to keep the available-for-one-year-only Mountain LX mechs. The wheels were super chunky and a bit rough, and I had a set with LX rims (wish they were XT for the deep shine) and Wolber rims. I consider these upgrades things I would have done at the time and they are all period correct, give or take a year.
Before and after a bit of Wet and Dry and Autosol:
This makes it faster:
I eventually finished it yesterday, and took it out for my quick 15 minute local route. About as technical as a cycling proficiency test, but it has some gravel, a short sharp hill and some mildly twisty bits. I was honestly expecting to be underwhelmed. It’s often the case that something you remember is not as good when you revisit. I thought the brakes would be rubbish, the gear changing clunky and the ride slow and unstable. Well, all I can say is I am astonished how good this bike rides. The brakes are perhaps a little grabby, but plenty powerful enough, in the dry at least; not a single bad gear change or adjustment after just a 5 minute set up in the shed; and the handling is stable, predictable and chuckable - can you tell I like it! It also powers up the hills quite nicely - not too much flex, and the ride is pretty comfortable with these 2 inch tyres on. Anyway, enough waffle, here’s some photos of the finished product:
