another 26er...

After a long time lurking in here, I figured now would be the time to make my first post.

I’ve been wanting to get something I can make into a sort of touring blue lug worship machine for a while, and this Marin popped up on the bay of dreams and I managed to bag it for a decent price. Picked it up today and gave it it’s inaugural ride (just a quick blast at work - UberEats/Roo), and I’ve not had that much fun on a bike in so long, even if I did feel like an off duty PCSO with the grip shifters. The BB is absolutely knackered, the cabling needs re-doing, the tyres are perished, the brake pads feel like Victoria sponge cakes, and the cassette is covered in filth, but nothing too expensive to change...

Build wise I’m thinking:

New bars (Nitto Albatross maybe?)
Friction thumb shifters
Oury grips+cloth bar tape (teal grips?)
MKS Lambda pedals
Nice front porteur rack
Flite saddle (have them on all my bikes)
Conti double fighters (maybe, idk)

I’ll probs use this thread to post updates on my road and track bikes too, since I’ve got some stuff to do on them too...
Cheers! :)

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riding this you'll now actually look like a proper deliveroo rider instead of being on that silly fixie

This is true, may change plans and put a hub motor on and make it a DIY e bike

You’re gonna have to don a hockey helmet for that real X Men vibe! Can just see this ride being a velo orange copy before we know it lol

Shin pads are a must on this bike, no questions about it. Oh yeh, undoubtedly. But hey, it’s fun to ride even when it’s fucked, so will be wicked when it’s done

See if you can get some Camp and Go Slow cotton tape in combo with the nitto bars for the ultimate Radavist bait bike

Great looking bike as is to be honest, the whole blue lug style should fit this bike so well! Excited to see where this goes!

Following! Similar vibe I’m going for with my current Muddy Fox. Already looks like a lot of fun. Are you gonna keep the current stem set up? I think that would look sweet af with similarly toned tape

@Qebrus it is! It’s pretty much all original components other than the saddle, and they’re all in pretty good shape, so I don’t think I’ll need to make any major changes!

@TheConCon666 cheers! Yeah, I’ve been following that for a bit too, looks really great! Yeah I am. I was originally going to replace with bullmoose bars off a mate, but I saw the stem and decided to keep it. Was thinking about blue/orange cabling but think that may be a bit much...

dropped the Marin off with my mate at Evans to have a look at as I haven’t got a BB tool and he said he was keen to play about with it, so guess I owe him a beer or two. Hopefully by the end of the week I’ll just need to order the fancy bits off the internet, and figure out what shifters I want... I was thinking friction thumbies, but whatever comes cheaper will probs suffice.

In other news the replacement rear wheel (cheap halo white line off eBay) for my road bike turned up, so I whacked that on today, alongside the tyres kindly given to me by @Maj . Think I’m going to call the road bike finished for now, pretty happy with it! Need to recable the rear gears as the cable has started to fray at the boss thingy (idk what it’s called). The hub has a pretty satis click too. Would take it outside for a nicer picture but it’s far too cold for that.

Cheers!

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+1 for thumbies with sweep backs on the Marin! Can’t wait to see what you make of it. Also really rate the GRX on the Fort. How is 1x on a road setup?

tbh I like it, I had never ridden a road bike before this so I have no idea what anything else is like. My brother just had GRX cranks spare from a Klein build he did (the cranks wouldn't fit in his bb), so donated them to me for the Fort.

Not much to update, just picked up a bb (as there was none in this size in stock) and some grips off a mate. Will fit the bb on the weekend, and now I am undecided as to whether I want Albatross or Bullmoose bars... 🧐

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Almost there! It rides so nice, it’s such a lovely change from being on drops all the time... it shifts lovely, it stops just fine, and it rides like a tank. I love it! Just gotta change the saddle, get a new front tyre (something black with a bit more knobbles), a rack, and some silver pedals. Buzzing with it! Just had a little go on it around the skatepark that I work at, and it was FUN. Hard at work eh...

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Looks dead comfy! How do you find the oury grips??

Feel lush! Pure comfy

Looks sweet 😎, controversial rear tyre included

Thanks! It rolls and does tyre things so I am happy with it

This is looking great. Love the stem.

You know it needs these

I took the bike out for a ride and didn’t get any photos really, but here’s a stupid video and a screen shot. I have literally never taken a bike off a jump in my entire life, so here is me absolutely pedal to the metal full sending it down these insane jumps.

On a real though, the bike just begs to be ridden slowly on the road. It’s so comfy, you feel like you could just potter away forever at a steady speed of 8mph, spinning to your hearts content. Once you get off road it feels more than capable, the tyres running over humongous obstacles such as twigs and branches. All in all, great fun.

In other news, a friend is building me a rear wheel for my fixed bike, so expect pictures of the finished build shortly...

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Thanks! Maybe when I have enough dosh...

love to see some brexit crust action, good photos

lukewarm-line soon? Brexit crust is the true crust now

These would be sick on any 26er if they weren’t EYE WATERINGLY expensive