vp's Cogworks: The Marin and Beyond

And a Bridgestone MB-4 frameset has just popped up for ridiculously cheap, if it's in a sound condition I'll grab it and transfer the Corratec's parts onto that for sure.

Always fancied one of those!

I've always fancied all Bridgestones, but they are extremely rare around here. If it's good I'll get it for sure.
I like the Corratec, but it's aluminium, and... it's not a Bridgestone. :D

Welp, the Bridgestone frame has some issues that I really don't want to address.
On the other hand a good friend has offered me a '94 RockHopper which is basically in a pristine condition. Also has rack mounts and a bit better touring geometry than the Corratec, and it is steel after all...
Gonna check it later this afternoon in person.

This was a no brainer. I don't think it has over 200 km in it. Stock chain, 0.75 gauge doesn't drop in.

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Nice that... what was wrong with the Bridgestone out of interest?

Bearings are fukt, rear spacing is only 130 mm and it has some corrosion too. :( Meanwhile the Specialized was also cheap, it looks good, and I can swap its parts between the Corratec, so I'll have an extra errand run/pub bike. Easy peasy.

how bout this one? :)

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/332219614425695/

No longer available :P

For future reference, it is no problem running 135mm wheels on a frame with 130mm spacing..
The wheels on my wife's mixte are 130mm and the frame was intended for 126mm.

I had the same with my Bianchi single speed cruiser thingy back then, but it just bogs my mind. OCD of some sort.

aw.. it was an univega whateveritis, with the bendy chainstays..

Those are lovely, but I'm aiming for N-1 anyways now, it's a bit too crowded in here... :)

Good to know - Did you bother cold setting or just hold it open a bit when you put the wheel in?

The latter. Caused no issues or misaligned whatsover, but still I had that scraping at the back of my head that it's just... not meant to be this way haha.

Speaking of stuff that aren't meant to be in a certain way, the motocross handlebars have arrived in a sound condition, so I've ordered the BMX stem and the adapter for it. It's going to be rad.

This is stupid lol.
I love it.

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Nope!
It takes a little wiggling to get the hub into place, but she only has a short commute and vittoria randonneur tyres, so the need to take it out is very little.

That is going to be AWESOME!
Can't wait to see it put together

Looks like fun!! Love the Rockhopper

Cheers lads! It's rideable, and close to being ready. Needless to say it's absolutely batshit crazy, but surprisingly stable and not very heavy either.

Will add different grips, LX-563 or similar (black) cranks and probably a DX rear mech as this STX doesn't clear the 32T rear cog properly, even with the B-screw aaaall the way in. Oh, and I need some spacers beneath the stem ofc.

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Get a silver seatpost instead of black cranks imo.
I quite like a mixture of black and silver parts.

The proportions of this build look very good. Would ride!

Thanks!
I have a friend who hoards retro MTB components and he always has a ton of black LX parts, hence why I wanna go that way. Silver seatpost is a good idea though, will have a look around.

That makes sense!

What is wrong with the current one? It looks fine to me.

Aesthetics + general quality. Altus isn't particularly that good, although it works, I give you that. :) The Altus parts are going on the Corratec though.

In other news, the Marin has a proper picture finally.

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Very nice! The campagnolo stuff still seems a bit atypical to me, but it looks really good.