vp's Cogworks: The Marin and Beyond

Ridiculously good condition. DX is pretty much my favourite groupset of all time, and I'm very happy that these cleaned up so well.

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Good condition! Seems like the previous owner never took on inclines or had the legs of a belgian god

Quite sure it was bought then put into a garage for the better part of 29 years... Well, at least it's in good hands now!

Surprisingly, I've managed to cross-thread the rear derailleur pretty bad. Even more suprisingly, I've managed to reverse all damage without re-tapping the hanger. All good.
Since taking the pic I've aligned the mudguards a bit. Only needs minor tweaking, and I'll replace this ugly saddle tomorrow.

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Cool bike! And yes, that DX group looks fantastic!

I like that rear rack.

So nice. Quick work!

Thanks lads!
Proper pics now:

Fun times.

Next (long term) project will be spicing up the Marin a bit. Thinking about riser/bullmoose bars, 1x9 (microshift Advent maybe), new wheelset, tubeless, and either a C15 or C17 saddle. Tyres might be 700x32 Gravelkings.

Inspo from recent Blue Lug builds:

Current state of my beloved Marin, which will be my only bike for the next couple of months. Will try to snap a proper shot soon.

I was looking at this for upgrading the GF 26". https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/sram-nx-1-11-speed-upgrade-kit-532780

Good price on that!

Thinking about On-One OG V2 bars, with a 100-110 mm long, low-rise stem. Should be nice and comfy.

Got a pair of really nice 3x7 Shimano Deore XT 735 STIs. They're in fantastic condition (not even UV-faded) and are very nice and light.

Marin's current state:

All packed up and ready to go.

I was thinking of those bars for my Giant. Look super comfy for cruising

I can definitely recommend the bars, had some on my Roadrat. Comfortable wrist angle and wide enough too.

Good to hear that, can't wait to try them!

Y no mudguards?

I'll try and get some for sure, but didn't have the time to go through that topic yet haha. Thinking about custom flapz too...

Since GB would be overkill on a humble budget bike, I’d recommend SKS bluemels. Pond liner from a hardware store is a cheap and practical option for diy flaps :)

Good to know - think I’ll put in an order (need some cheap water bottles anyway!)

@vp1337 is your Marin ahead? Or are you doing the dreaded quill converter? :-)

It's the latter unfortunately. :P Not many 1" threadless canti forks around that match the weight of this one. Or if there are I'm sure they're way outta my budget.

or Ikea place Mats https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/matvra-place-mat-fruit-vegetables-pattern-multicolour-60426934/

Yeah same with my Giant. I’ve got a quill stem at the moment, but finding a 1” quill with the right rise and length, plus then finding the right bars in 25.4mm has swayed me to the dark side :-)

I'll try and salvage some leather waste, but thank you for this, I've saved it as an alternative!

^ Not gonna lie, especially with a budget build like this one, I don't really care about aesthetics. An adapter is cheap, but most importantly it works perfectly. I was eyeing with this, until I saw its price...