The bike I should be riding...89 Marin OAP conversion....finished!

Not much progress to report as ive been on my travels for a few days.

But i did manage to score a couple of sets of continental travel contact tyres for a bargain price on a local trading site.

Ive never tried these 1.75 x 26 tyres before, but from reviews they seem to be good and probably right up my street for mixed travel use.....we will see.

Still awaiting the frame, its been delayed due to workload at the powdercoaters.....i cant complain as they only do these as a favour for me and at very reasonable rates....

But, it should be with me by the end of the week.

As this is very much an organic build, i cant really go too much further with parts, as its as much about fit as anything else. I need a base to build on.....

20220904_105859.jpg
 
I also bought a rear mech off a fellow retrobiker......i thought it would be ok, but its now stuck in our rural Evri nightmare! If your interested in this particular disaster there's a post here.....they are basically crooks.....i cant see what else you call a company who take on work, charge you up front, knowing full well they can't complete the job!

https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/please-dont-use-evri-hermes-better-alternative.449891/
 
The frames back! As are a few other hits and bobs....

Sadly the forks are not!....they got left in the office! So i need to wait till they are going past to get dropped off 😂.

Never mind.

I asked for the colour of the outer of a tange tubing sticker.....except metalic....i think they have done pretty well. The colour coat is actually plain, with a high gloss white and blue metallic clear powder over. It gives depth amd shine and sparkle.....

As for the dent its pretty much gone, if you catch it in the light you can see it, but considering the mess it was, im calling it a win.

Another one saved from the scrap yard...
 

Attachments

  • 20220906_161712.jpg
    20220906_161712.jpg
    354.2 KB · Views: 53
  • 20220906_155640.jpg
    20220906_155640.jpg
    468.5 KB · Views: 52
  • 20220906_160320.jpg
    20220906_160320.jpg
    486 KB · Views: 53
Last edited:
Ive also put the decals on....its amazing how it changes a frame! Im leaving it fairly anonymous as to model.....give people something to mull over outside cafes.

Not that the frame number doesn't give it away anyway!

Next i can start clearing a few threads, stopping up the holes and get tje bottom bracket in....hopefully the forks won't be too long!

I cant fit the headset as bits of it have gone to cerakote.....as its JIS as all these era marins were, they are harder to find....but thankfully it came with a deore mt62 one.....just a bit scratched up, but with excellent races.

20220906_162735.jpg
 
As for fitting the decals, im no expert, but tend to mark the positions with a chinagraph pencil (from the measured photos you took before you sent the frame off....remember) and make sure its all clean with 99% alcohol...ummmmmmm.

As for actually putting them, i wear disposable gloves to stop my body grease getting onto the glue! And try not to touch the actual decal bits on vinyl cuts.

One in place rub over well before removing the front covering bit. 20220906_165232.jpg

Presto.
 

Attachments

  • 20220727_112629.jpg
    20220727_112629.jpg
    379.2 KB · Views: 7
  • 20220906_161143.jpg
    20220906_161143.jpg
    272.2 KB · Views: 7
Spent a couple of hours today going through frame prep. So, tapped all the threads, removed any excess powder, cleaned up the canti bosses, filed the frame with ACF50 after a good final air blast (and left it to drain out), faced the bottom bracket and threads, fitted the bottom bracket and the cable guide.

As you can see the rust killer and acf50 have done their job the tubes now look great inside!

So deffo another saved from the tip , to fight to live another day.....
 

Attachments

  • 20220908_151611.jpg
    20220908_151611.jpg
    435.1 KB · Views: 34
  • 20220908_152004.jpg
    20220908_152004.jpg
    242.9 KB · Views: 34
  • 20220908_151859.jpg
    20220908_151859.jpg
    351.4 KB · Views: 34
Ive also been able to make few colour way decisions. Ive been umming and arrring about having either CD gey rims, black, silver, or something else. Also, my inital thought was to go kinda all chrome / silver, to make the bike look more traditional.....but as with all good organic processes, that's gone out the window.

Now i have the frame, ive decided to go with a silver and black theme. So I've pulled out a pair of Mavic XC 317, in black, with polished brake tracks......should go well with those cranks! 317s make good stong wheels and avoid the old 217 issues as they have eyelets. They are about 20g a hoop heavier than the race equivalent, but they are bomb proof for touring applications. The sidewalls are also rated for higher psi, so if you decide to add skinny 1.3 tyres, you can jack them to 130psi, without blowing the sidewalls out.....in theory.....

As the decision is made, ive measured up the hubs and measure the ERD of the rims.....spokes will be with me tomorrow all being will. Ive always used dt swiss competition for mtb wheels, but recently, I've used a few sets of ACI Alpina double butted spokes.....no problems so far....and one set has had a lot of downhill use.

TBH....i think a lot of wheel problems come from bad building!.....don't get me wrong, im sure DT Swiss are marginally better, but im not pushing the envelope with my wheels these days....as im sure most of you aren't! So why chuck twice as much cash at it!

Next is wheel building, ive also got a set to build for my 700c tourer.

Hopefully the forks will be back by then and we can see how it stands on the floor. 20220908_154153.jpg
 
Last edited:
Back
Top