Ive spent the last couple of years on and off investigating marins.....started by trying to date an old frame.. but dont even go there.......there's a whole other thread, just explaining the issues with dating, let alone the actual dating from the frame number!
Models round the world are not the same, it causes much confusion 30 years later.
As far as i have worked out......and anybody want to tell me different im all ears believe me!
In europe we got the team issue basically in 92......its when it appears in the catalogue for the first time. However, the americans market got it the year before in 91, but as a kinda special build, designed by kelly burr, featuring a shorter length monostay rear end. These were bright red/orange colour. (However, these are not to be confused with the Teesdale ones build in usa, which were also red, but can be identified by their design and brazing.)
Colourways were very different between territories too. In the uk we got light zolotone in 90 and dark in 91 it then swapped to the coloured rear triangles on a dark frame.......except the team issue which was nickel plated.
In the foreign parts the colours were totally different with neon fades and splatter paint in the lineup for these years.
Two very confusing issues lead to many bikes being miss identified.
1. The model identifying number in the bottom bracket changed when new bikes were inserted into the line up.....but as not all territories got models the same year, it means you could have a team marin with either 1 or 2 as an identifier. Or a pine mountain with 2 or 3 accordingly. Also remember models dont change at midnight on the 31st december. Ive got an 89 team, with 90 stamped on the bb........how do i know its legit? I bought in it 90! Models then changed in the spring ready for the summer.
Our fabulous retrobike thread on marin dating ( running since 200
has many people saying " theirs dosent fit" thats not because the infos wrong, its just they miss the above salient piece of info, pointed out 3 pages in by a very astute retrobiker!
There also an issue with the pre 90 codes, the ones with one letter and 8 numbers. These only give the year.....the model does not work. This ive proven by taking numbers from peoples frames.....none fit the model....or do by chance at best!
2. Much store is put the cable stop positions for the identification of team marins were their providence is lost. However, this info is mainly based on uk speck where teams had either 2 cables on the top tube or on the head tube on later (92) models.
This is not conclusive as other territories has from 90 to 92 had stops on the downtube ( including some team issues).
I believe this misinterpretation led to the almost urban myth of the " prestige pine mountain " which i can find no catalogue or actual evidence for. My theory ( and it is only a theory), is that the association of the stops on downtube led people to belive it can't be a team, but weighs in (300g lighter) as prestige or has the remnants of a prestige sticker, which are far more durable than marin decals!.....qed.....
There certainly were pine mountain concept bikes and special additions including browning fork versions......again my theory is that the more robust cr-mo tubing made for a safer teat bed rather than the more fragile prestige tubing.
Wow. That ended up longer than i thought.....and thats the short answer!
