Classic & Vintage - My kijiji Catch of the day! - Marin Bear Valley SE MTB

I've been thinking about building up a mountain bike lately in preparation for winter and had thoughts to build up a single speed/fixed mountain bike but i never had any money to fund this little project with a deadline soon approaching (its getting cold in toronto).. Luckily, and by pure chance and with a little bit of bias towards marin bikes, i searched up marin on kijiji just to see what would come up. Also, i thought i would mention that i usually ride road bikes and this is the first proper MTB ive evar had.


So i found myself a minty marin bear valley SE for $100. I'm shocked at the condition for the price i got it for. Though it was actually quite the mission in acquiring it.. I wish i had a better camera, but i suppose the ipod touch will have to do. SCROLL DOWN TO THE 7TH POST FOR BETTER PICS

http://i.imgur.com/Zuxq8.jpg%3C/a%3E
(http://i.imgur.com/Zuxq8.jpg)http://i.imgur.com/3E5D5.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/3E5D5.jpg)
http://imgur.com/q17It.jpg (http://imgur.com/q17It.jpg)
http://imgur.com/KCad7.jpg (http://imgur.com/KCad7.jpg)

The specs are..........
1996 Marin Bear Valley SE
'Tange Custom' Tube set ultra light triple butted cr-mo' with double butted stays
STX-RC derailers, hubs and cranks
Manitou answer comp Elastomer fork
Dia-Compe PC-7 levers

bikepedia:http://bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecsFB.aspx?Year=1995&Brand=Marin&Model=Bear%20Valley%20S.E.%20-%20Manitou%20Comp&Type=bike

Anyway, i havent ridden it yet and all i had to do was pump the tires and its rideable. Tomorrow i have a day off work, i cant wait!!

this probably isnt considered vintage, but its older than 10 years so theres that..:innocent:

i do thoroughly apologize for the quality of these photos. If requested i can take some better ones..

Damn looks like Apple uses a toothbrush as a camera on their ipod touch. I've seen pinhole camera photos that looks clearer than that.

Ahhhhhh what can i say?? I suppose i shouldve resized the photos

Nice find. You can find some good deals on older Mountain bikes nowadays since road bikes are in vogue now.

......

this probably isnt considered vintage, but its older than 10 years so theres that..:innocent:

Well, I asked that same question about my 95 Marin MTB last year, and was told it qualified as a vintage MTB. (MTB's have a few years dispensation, because they were invented later) - Anyway, that means yours can qualify too.

-These old Marins are very, very high quality machines. You really did well.

Sweet. Im excited to know that i got a quality bike. Ive actually got 2 other Marin road bikes and so ive done some reading about the company. This bike is SWEET and i cant wait to hit some trails.

heres some better pics that i took after removing the horns, replacing the saddle and adjusting the levers/shifters.. I think a new set of shifters/derailers and wheels is in order.. But i can wait!

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/1676/110920101392.jpg
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9674/110920101394.jpg
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/3772/110920101395.jpg
http://img574.imageshack.us/img574/4077/110920101396.jpg
Check out how minty fresh this bike is! not a spec of dust/mud to be found anywhere.. except around the chainstays and bottom bracket..

Nice find. You can find some good deals on older Mountain bikes nowadays since road bikes are in vogue now.

Yes! i feel that ive already snatched up quite a few nice used road bikes (1992 Marin limited edition, 2000 Marin Verona, 2005 specialized roubaix) so its time to get in on the MTB action. I cant wait to hit up some trails!

Holy Crap! that's nice. Makes me wonder what happened to Marin. They were on the cutting edge of what started the MTB craze. Now, they seem irrelevant.

Thanks! I wouldnt really know as i picked cycling up just a few years ago (though ive actually been obsessed since) but ive also found it in their 1995 catalog as well.
http://imgur.com/fJ9XR.jpg

Heres their catalogs from 1991-1995 if anyone is interested - http://www.mtb-kataloge.de/html/marin.html

Hey guys, instead of shamelessly bumping, ive taken a few pics with the other marins i own!

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/8172/110920101397.jpg
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6238/110920101398.jpg
http://img574.imageshack.us/img574/700/110920101399.jpg

Cool! - you have to be one of a very few with a line-up of Marins. What yr/model is the black one? It looks newer but still with a straight TT.

Cool! - you have to be one of a very few with a line-up of Marins. What yr/model is the black one? It looks newer but still with a straight TT.

The black/green bike is a 1992 Marin 'Limited Edition' But upgraded with campy veloce 9 drivetrain (crank is still the stock 105 though).. I believe Marin only had 1 road bike for their entire line during the early 90's.

and yes... i feel absolutely guilty about that brake cable wrapped around the top tube.

... I think a new set of shifters/derailers and wheels is in order...
Why replace them? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" That was an $800+ bike. No worries about the quality of the components.

Why replace them? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" That was an $800+ bike. No worries about the quality of the components.

Thats true. I suppose i dont need a new wheelset, but i definitely want to change up the shifters to a 9 speed (I have a 9 speed tiagra derailer) with thumb/index finger shifting. I also want to change the handlebars as its kind of awkward holding the bars so straight out like that. I think i need risers with the handles angling a bit towards me. Also need to get a new stem to put me a bit lower/closer to the bars..

As of now. The bike performs quite well! Even the elastomer shocks seem to be functioning as they should. Speaking of which, i also want to upgrade my fork to something better!

hehe, in time though. I suppose i'll beat this bike to hell then upgrade it =D

heres some pics of a river with some paved and not paved trails right near my house!

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/1785/img0138xy.jpg
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/4731/img0140gf.jpg