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

To the build.....philosophy is all well and good but it butters no parsnips.

The frame is under investigation.....more on that later.

So im starting at a random point. Random, but something I'm sure about......which as this is a slightly organic build.......reassuring.

Hubs. I like 8 speed.....I know nobody else does and that 7 seems to be the magic retro number......but hey.

I also know that most people see 8 as merely a stepping stone to 9.....but then we all know where that led.....stretchy chains, cogs made of cheese.....etc etc.

I like 8 in a specific ratio 11 -28. The extra gear over 7 makes that a really nice smooth spread imho. I've used it touring for decades and love it. No jumping around rings, nice. As im not planning on cycling up K2 and i live in a painfully flat place its fine...plus thats what a granny if for! Plus the chains last.

Thanks to @KondratievsBike who karma'd me the rear XT M737 out of an old wheel, bit stiff, bit messy....but fantastically kind.

These were the first of the Parallax hubs, replacing the long serving M732.

Having gutted it and found the missing bits....(i never know why people have to leave parts out when they rebuild stuff).....de greased it, filed out the damage, polished it and rebuilt it.....its great....lovely races, ready to go.

The front was an ebay find, but cheap as it was near perfect. Its actually the M738 which has a slightly thicker spindle, suspension fitting end caps (and a gold label). They were designed by shimano to cope with suspension forks which were becoming normal fare. They do however fit all normal forks, although being called "110", they are 100mm.....thanks for the confusion shimano!

So its a start.....suppose that also sorts the cassette i need......one decision down.

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are we supposed to guess whats missing? (bearing cap) especially as you've hidden one of the parts in the second picture. :p
 
No it was a 0.5mm washer from the drive side that was missing.....

Seal is probably still on the cone for the drive side...that's why you can't see it. Well spotted....
 
..so the splined bits on the cones center the hub to cone?
It looks far more complicated than it is. Basically its exactly the same as a normal hub, just that instead of 1 long continuous thread, its got 2 stepped ones. Each cone just screws on just like normal and the blank ends act as the locking nuts just as normal....ive got the rockshox version.....btw.

I believe they are the same assembly as in a xtr m950 hub.
 
It looks far more complicated than it is. Basically its exactly the same as a normal hub, just that instead of 1 long continuous thread, its got 2 stepped ones. Each cone just screws on just like normal and the blank ends act as the locking nuts just as normal....ive got the rockshox version.....btw.

I believe they are the same assembly as in a xtr m950 hub.
Neat....helps alleviate any slop on threads keeps it all true...nice 👍
 
Looking like a nice usable build so far. 👍
Love m737/738 hubs, 'Rockshox version' 😂 due to not really looking and just bunging the wheel in and tightening it up, I found out the hard way why this was needed! Loud bang and bits of dropout shot across the garage, bugger! 😁
 
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Love this thread, and the original post that inspired it.

On the basis of the two I think I should start my own BISBR project… starting with a yellow Bio-Racer frame that’s been sitting around for too long (like almost everything else) and because it’s Dutch it should be quite open to then idea of being built in a practical way…

It’s likely to be a slow burn though as everything is.
 
Don't get me wrong, im not a complete luddite! Im not about to take a perfect showroom bike and put bmx bars on it*. But, at the same time, i can't see the harm in using parts that otherwise would have gone to waste or never seen the light of day.

The frame is a classic example.....unused for god knows how long and untouched for 9 years and left to degrade. I don't blame the owner one bit, it just wasn't his thing or its one of those projects that's not gone anywhere.....we all have / had them.

Im sure there are those out there who think that a 89 pine mountain deserves more respect and should be put back to an "89 pine mountain", but consider the other option.....it stays behind somebodys shed till the tubes rot through.....who's that helping in the pursuit for originally?



* but if that gets your juices flowing then good for you!
Good to meet you Bim and glad that the frameset is finally seeing some use - as you say it deserves to see some tlc and ride again. Seeing the A1 standard of your work in the flesh I know this is going to be an ace build.......looking forward to seeing it progress. :)
 

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