Yet another 1992 Marin Eldridge Grade!

[Weon]

I know, I know, it's not exactly original round here to have a '92 Eldridge but it's what I chose (or bought on an impulse from eBay) so there!

The previous owner has basically used it as an occasional commuter bike since he bought it brand new in 1992. This means it has almost all the original bits with the exception of the shifters/brake levers.

All things considered it's it pretty good condition. The frame is scratched up a bit (a few deep gouges) and the cables and chain all need replacing. The front tyre has a tear in and the bottom bracket has more wobble than the truffle shuffle.

It's Deore DX all-round (except for the replacement LX lever/shifter combo and LX hubs) with a 7-speed cassette, Ritchey Logic headset, Surefoot-esque pedals. It even has some purple bits for true retro goodness. For an old fart like me this is all music to my ears!

The damage report wasn't complete until I stripped the bike down. The front hub feels pretty knackered. I fully expected the headset to be half-disintegrated but it appears to be in remarkably good condition - not really pitted at all! Everything is going to be meticulously cleaned and reassembled. One of the fun things is that I get to use tools I never thought I would again like headset spanners!

Progress will be slow (I haven't work out where I'm going to keep the completed bike once I've finished!) and I haven't decided if I'm going to get it repainted yet.

I am tragically excited by all this!

 

[brocklanders023]

Nothing tragic about getting excited about the build mate. I have a childish grin on my face everytime I see a part collected for my first retro build!

Really like these early Marins. BITD my friend was a Marin freak so we spent much time looking at bikes from this period.

Looks like it's going to be a great build. Just something about the DX groupo that grabs me.

 

[gradeAfailure]

Tbh I think we should start a '92 Eldridge club - or at the very least have a mini-BOTM of our own!

Looks pretty much the same as mine did when I picked it up - keep the original paint I say, wear the battle scars with pride!

 

[nporternz]

Tbh I think we should start a '92 Eldridge club - or at the very least have a mini-BOTM of our own!

Looks pretty much the same as mine did when I picked it up - keep the original paint I say, wear the battle scars with pride!

agreed - keep it original!! just need some xt shifters to go with it, as well as a short cage rear mech!!!

they are great bikes!!

 

[Weon]

Ha ha! We'll have to have a rota for the 1992MEGBOTM - guaranteed a win every few months!

Anyhoo, here are a few more pics.

A couple of nights ago I spent a good few hours stripping stuff down, cleaning it and then putting (some of it) back together. Sadly, in the 4 or so hours I spent doing it I only managed to do the pedals and the chainset (that's the bit that is still in bits).

Servicing pedals is a real PITA as they have the smallest bearings that are generally a pig to get to. The bearings and surfaces were in pretty good nick though, which was a result. I did have to cut down an SPD cleat screw to replace on of the missing countersunk cage screws too!

I expect that I'll chuck some SPDs on the final bike but it doesn't hurt to have a spare set of 17 year old DX platform pedals!

The chainset was minging but still in pretty good condition. Taking it apart was easy enough but doing it over the kitchen sink was a mistake. I spent a good five minutes with my hand in the waste disposal trying to fish out the spacers that fell down there. I was trying not to think about that scene in Final Destination!

Now it's all back together and ready to fit to the new bottom bracket.

 

[Weon]

agreed - keep it original!! just need some xt shifters to go with it, as well as a short cage rear mech!!!

I'm trying to keep the cost relatively low this time around (I need to start small before moving onto the expensive builds - the wife'll kill me otherwise! She already thinks I slightly mental) so I'll probably stick with the LX shifter/lever combo that's on there and then maybe keep an eye out for some XT ones in the future. I haven't really got to the mechs yet but the same applies really - I'll change it if I have to...

This time out I thought I'd give the wheels a seeing to and was very pleased to find that the front hub had simply been over tightened and that the bearing and cones were all in great condition (not ruined as I feared). Some toothbrush and Gunk (great stuff but stinks to high heaven!) action brought it back to its shiney best, and the purple skewer gives it that 90s chic! The rear was a different matter. The bearings all need replacing and the cones could be better.

Most annoying though is that the freehub needs replacing - I only threw away an unused 7 speed freehub about a month ago thinking that I would never have a need for it! DAMN YOU RETROBIKE! So a new one was ordered (that's £20 I could have saved) and it's just arrived, meaning I can finish building up the rear wheel.

Next I thought I'd quickly whip out the bottom bracket. How wrong I was.

The teeth in the plastic non-drive side cup sheared off before it moved. Great.

After combining all the extender bars in my socket set I was able to make something that gave enough leverage to get the drive-side to unscrew. Once that was out it was time for some judicious use of a hacksaw blade to put a couple of cuts in the plastic cup (being careful to avoid cutting the actual bottom bracket threads) and then levering out the smaller section before doing the same with the larger bit.

Final order of the day was the cassette. I split it down into its constituent parts and it cleaned up a treat - it'll look great mounted back on the wheel!

So far all of the original components are in such good condition (with the exception of the bottom bracket, chain and cables) that they don't need replacing!

Any suggestions on some good 1.9(ish)" lightweight tyres? I'm thinking about some Panaracer Fire XCs.

 

[hamster]

Lovely bike - a bit of touching up on the scratches should save you a respray and keep the patina of age.

Fire XC Pro 1.8's have worked very well for me, even on my tandem on chunky gravel. Panaracer Smoke / Dart would also be a good choice if you need something a bit more knobbly.

 

[nporternz]

do an ebay search for porcupines for tyres - you can get the reproduction nes fairly cheap - they are on mine check out the previous picture!!

 

[Weon]

Lovely bike - a bit of touching up on the scratches should save you a respray and keep the patina of age.

Fire XC Pro 1.8's have worked very well for me, even on my tandem on chunky gravel. Panaracer Smoke / Dart would also be a good choice if you need something a bit more knobbly.

Cheers chap - I'm inclined to agree on the touching up issue. A respray will be too much moolah for me to justify.

Do you have any problems with punctures on the Fire XC pros? I have a friend who says they were great if you could put up with constant flatting.

do an ebay search for porcupines for tyres - you can get the reproduction nes fairly cheap - they are on mine check out the previous picture!!

Thought about some Porcs (the black folding ones are light and cheap) but have heard bad things about them in anything other than dry conditions. Not great for UK riding!

 

[nporternz]

i use my porcs for trail riding on loose gravel and they are okay - but my mrs swears by her xc fires!!

porc look better - skinwalls would look even better