I was walking in my hometown and spotted a Marin outside of my LBS. I could tell from afar that it was in a pretty rough shape. As I got closer I noticed the Hawk Hill sticker and the Acera components. Bingo, finally an “entry-level” Marin (although with triple butted CrMo tubing) from 1995. This model is not too collectible, and this very bike has obviously went through a lot already. My LBS actually sold the bike quite a few years back, but then the guy who bought it traded it back in. Did I mention it was in a rough shape? Once again, I didn’t take proper before pics, at least not before giving it at least a bit of a scrub. The thing is, it had a lot of bird droppings on it. It kinda looked like it was bombarded by a legion pigeons. Anyway…
Let’s assess the damage. The seat was beyond saving. The grips were taped over, and those Acera V-brake STIs don’t work that well with cantis of course. The seatpost had some ugly staining on it. The kickstand was barely functioning, the pedals and BB were shot, and the hubs were bone dry and rattling like a kid’s toy. The derailleur hanger was bent about 20 degrees inwards. And the neon fuchsia paint from the forks and the stem was long gone. All in all, it was destined to be landfill. It was an interesting ride home as you may imagine.
Build-wise, I wanted racks and baskets, and a middle-mounted kickstand. I aimed to use the cheapest, least bling parts that I had in my bin, and wanted to spend as little money as possible. So in case it gets nicked, I will be angry, but my wallet won’t cry. As if anyone wants to steal this monstrosity… Needless to say, I’ve spent much more on it than I planned.
Similarly to my “main” Marin, I went with a tensioner-free singlespeed setup. 40T chainring up front, 17T cog at the rear. I’ve re-used an old LX crankset that came with the Elridge Grade. The front rack is RFR and the basket is Manivelle. It’s really nice and sturdy.
Overall I’m chuffed how it came together. It rides well, the drivetrain is completely silent, the chainline is on spot, and everything works as intended. The gearing is just perfect too. I have a few very cool bikes and ironically I have ridden this ratty rustbucket the most in the last 10 months or so. Want to know why? It’s just so damn comfy. And I can easily carry stuff with it thanks to the basket and the rear rack.
It has cool stickers too!
Components Table
| Component | Brand & Model |
| Frame | Tange Custom Triple Butted CrMo |
| Forks | Marin Rockstar CrMo 1 1/8″ (threaded) |
| Seat Tube | 48 cm C-T |
| Top Tube | 55 cm C-C |
| Headset | YST threaded 1 1/8″ |
| Crankset | Shimano Deore LX FC-M550 |
| Pedals | Cheap |
| Brakes | Ztto |
| Brake Levers | Tektro |
| Wheels | Shimano Acera x Araya VP-20 |
| Cog | 17T Ztto |
| Tyres | Schwalbe Marathon Plus, Kenda Kwick |
| Handlebars | Ergotec Cruiser 25.4x590x76 mm |
| Stem | Marin Lite 1 1/8″ |
| Saddle | Dahon |