PatrickGSR94

First let me say I probably never would be able to do this without all the knowledge I've gained from BF in the last 3 years. So for that I thank everyone here.

I'm posting this here because most of my riding is for transportation purposes, though I doubt I would ride this specific bike to work. But anything else around town will probably be done on this bike. This thread will document my first experiences building up a bike myself from starting with a bare frame.

I ran across a guy on a local bike swap Facebook page selling this frame a few weeks ago. We chatted a bit, and I ended up buying the frame from him the next day for only 60 bucks. It's a 2006 Marin Pine Mountain *steel* MTB frame, in extremely excellent/clean condition. It was originally sold as a complete bike with 26" wheels, Fox 100mm fork, Avid Juicy hydraulic disc brakes, and Shimano LX/XT 3x9 drivetrain, for an MSRP of just over $1,700. The frame is disc only, and it's fairly large (frame says 20" size but seat tube measures about 22").

I decided to buy the frame because my yellow KHS 90's MTB which I use primarily for trailer hauling (shopping or kid rides) is really too small for me. I bought it back in 2007 and didn't know squat about bikes back then, and the plan was to swap over as many parts as I could from that bike to this new-to-me frame. However I wasn't sure how well it would fit me. At minimum I had to install a headset, fork/stem/bars, wheels, and seat/post to get a feel for how the bike would fit.

Another reason for buying the frame is that it has rack/fender accommodations, whereas my yellow bike has nothing, so I had to rig up the rack with a Problem Solvers seat post clamp and insulated P-clamps on the seat stays.

Frame:


Most recent pic of KHS bike, with recently-installed front disc wheel and brake:


I thought it would be relatively simple swapping parts over, but that turned out not to be the case for some things. On the yellow bike I ditched the old 90's RockShox fork for a Nashbar steel rigid fork of about the same height. I cut the steer tube on that bike to allow a couple of spacers, but then later decided to add a stem riser for more upright riding. Problem was, the Marin frame has a MUCH taller head tube, making the steer tube on that fork too short.

Also the yellow bike has a Chris King NoThreadSet that's probably close to 20 years old, but still in great shape. However I didn't want to try to get that out of the frame just to put it into a frame that may or may not fit. So I bought a $20 FSA "The Pig" headset, and rigged up a homemade tool to press the cups into the frame.

I tried setting up the frame at about the same height as the rear wheel hub and the fork crown race to compare the size to the yellow bike. It's a couple inches longer in the top tube, and the head tube is huge in comparison. In these pics I think perspective exaggerates the difference somewhat.





Soy sauce bottle holding up the head tube.






Pressing in the headset cups, they went in without a hitch!


Then I realized that this frame has downtube cable routing, which seems odd for a MTB frame. That means I also have to get a new bottom-pull 3x8 front derailleur since my old one is top-pull for top tube cable routing. I also have to get the little plastic BB cable guide since the frame didn't come with one. When I say bare I mean it was a BARE frame, only thing it had was the foam sticker left chainstay protector thingy with the Marin website printed on it.

So this past Friday evening, with the headset installed and *another* Nashbar steel fork in hand, I started taking parts off the yellow bike and transferring them to the new frame. Wheels, stem and bars, crankset, bottom bracket, rear derailleur, seat and seat post. I had surprisingly little trouble getting the BB out. It's also been in there almost 20 years. It turned out to be an old Shimano UN-72 square taper BB. Those must be bulletproof! After a bit of fiddling I got it into the new frame without much trouble. Crankset installed, rear derailleur installed. For now I'll have to run it single speed on the smallest granny ring and the smallest rear cog since I don't have a FD for it yet, and I can't run a cable to the RD until I get the cable guide.

PatrickGSR94

Broken down bike in progress, I threw a spare stem on there just to keep the fork in place. I have since transferred the rack over to the other bike, as well.


First time I stood over the bike, WHOA! Top tube right up in my crotch! I'd say the frame is a bit big for me. But sitting on the bike with hands on the bars felt fine. So I took the bike out Friday night to see how it felt on the street in front of the house. At that point I had no brakes on it. I went very slow, and if I started to get up a bit of speed I just went up into the grass in the front yard to slow down. But then I decided to go ahead and put the front brake on. I just pulled off the caliper and bracket, cable, and shift/brake combo unit altogether as one, and put them on the new bike altogether as one. NOW it's starting to look like a bike!



Yes the bars are high. Very high. But it feels good riding it. I sit up like most cyclists in the Netherlands or Denmark, which is what I want.

So at this point I'm about to order the new FD and cable guide, which will get the bike ready for a midnight charity ride coming up in a couple of weeks. I'll run it with the front brake only for now, and later on will get a matching rear disc wheel and Avid brake.

The only other issue I'll have to deal with is a custom bracket to attach my trailer hitch. It's an InStep trailer which uses this type of hitch:


Problem is the Marin frame has the much smaller dropout area like this:


What I plan to do is make a bracket that will attach with the rear skewer that will have another hole farther down, to which I can attach the hitch with a bolt. That will also serve to level out my trailer, which has always sloped backward since it only has 16" wheels.

So that's it for now, hope to update this as I keep on adding and building it! I figure I'll just ride the bike this way for awhile until I come across a slightly smaller frame, something in between this one and the yellow frame. And at this point I'm not sure what I want to do with the yellow frame. Suggestions appreciated.

RubeRad

Great post, keep us up to date on progress! Frame looks really cool, almost like Ti.

If you get everything else (i.e. brakes) you can do your ride with no FD, just manually move the chain if necessary. I'm guessing a midnight charity ride will not be a challenging course, you can probably choose a chainring beforehand and not worry about it.

PatrickGSR94

Yeah true, but I can't do it single speed, and I need the cable guide to hook up the RD. I have a FD and cable guide in my Amazon cart about to click order, just need to verify seat tube size this evening when I get home.

I agree about the Ti look, I actually thought it was at first in the pics the guy put on FB, then when we messaged he said it was steel. Oh well, still a good buy for $60 I think. If I ever decide to sell it with the fork and headset all included together I could probably make money on the deal.

I just love how pristine it looks. The yellow frame is pretty dirty and scratched and generally beat up looking.

PatrickGSR94

More progress, almost there! This week I got in the cable guide for the bottom bracket. I tried to hook up the rear shift cable I had, but it was too short, so I had to get a new shift cable from the LBS the next day. Also had to shave off a bit of plastic and enlarge the hole on the cable guide. A minor annoyance. Used a stainless steel bolt threaded into the BB shell.



The old frame had this pulley on the rear derailleur to deal with the angle of the cable coming down the seat stay from the top tube.



Since the new frame has downtube/chainstay routing, I had to take that pulley off the RD and thread the cable adjuster in to the RD itself.





Front brake and rear shifter are the only things hooked up at this point.



Rack installed. I had to flex the sides out a bit to hit the mount points on the seat stays. Also had to angle the upper metal bars outwards fairly severely to hit the mounts on the upper ends of the seat stays. The metal bars criss-cross underneath the rack.





Also picked up a new Serfas saddle, which I used on a bike during a city bike tour in Atlanta a couple months ago. I remarked how nice the saddle felt so decided to get the same one for this bike. After this pic I also did drop the bars down a bit. I will hold off cutting the fork steer tube for awhile until I'm sure of where I want the bars to be.

RidingMatthew

looks good so far... although the handlebars look like they are soaring above the rest of the bike.

PatrickGSR94

Lol are you on Honda tech? Someone over there posted a different pic of that exact same bike after I posted this bike.

PatrickGSR94

Well I ordered a front derailleur and installed it the other day, but it turned out to be the wrong type (made for drop bar shifters), so I'm having to return it and ordered a proper MTB front derailleur. Unfortunately it may not get here before the midnight charity ride this Saturday night, but I'll be riding this bike anyway.

I also went ahead and ordered the rear wheel and disc brake - 25% off single item deal on Nashbar yesterday made the Avid BB7 come out to just $54 shipped!

Pic after the bike's first actual ride, its maiden voyage, 9 miles round trip to my parents' house.



Had a group ride scheduled for Sunday but no one else showed, so I did a leisurely 10 mile solo ride around town.

RubeRad

Wait, what is that you're keeping in the rear spokes? Looks bigger than a playing card.

Also, I love your Camelbak Podium water bottle. Their "Jet Valve" is awesome. I got mine for a buck at the salvation army, and foolishly brought it on a work trip last week and lost it by leaving it on the plane. Gonna have to get another one, I should probably get two.

PatrickGSR94

It's just a spoke card from my first Cranksgiving ride several years ago.

I have 2 Podium Chill bottles that are at least a couple years old now. They're getting somewhat worn out I think.

PatrickGSR94

Got the rear wheel in on Friday, the front derailleur in Monday, and the rear disc brake yesterday. Everything is installed and now the bike is pretty much complete!

Final bike weight with rack, bottle cages and lights is 32 pounds even. A bit heavier than I hoped (wanted it under 30) but oh well, it's no big deal really.

I had to swap rear racks between my road bike commuter and this bike, since the rack on my commuter is the one made for use with disc brakes. The bad thing is that the frame I was using on this and the yellow bike, being not made for disc brakes, now interferes with the light on my seat stay on the road bike. Oh well I'll figure something out.

I'm not planning on using this bike as my regular commuter since my commute is just so long and I prefer the lighter, faster road bike. But I may ride this one to work tomorrow or in the near future.

RubeRad

so much room in that fork! Consider stuffing a 29er front wheel in there? Would raise front end by (29-26)/2=1.5 inches, so maybe lower the cockpit by that much in response. It's called a 69'er.

PatrickGSR94

No, that would raise the top tube even more and I already have pretty much zero clearance up there. The fork is actually the same height as the old 80mm Rock Shox fork that came on my old yellow bike.

Yes the frame is a bit too big for me, but I'd rather not compromise things like head tube and seat tube angle by going with a shorter fork (which would drop the whole frame down and steepen the head and seat tube angles), or raising the top tube by using a larger front wheel. Despite the tall standover height, it actually feels really nice riding it.

Yes, I agree it does look a little bit odd. But the price was right on this wheel and fork, plus the brand new tire I already had, so I'm not spending any more on it. Also, I wanted the bars that high. It rides more like a Dutch bike, but with gears.

One day I may come across a frame that's a better size, in which case I'd likely sell this frame/fork/headset together. But any other frame would have to fit disc brakes, 135mm rear spacing, and have rack and fender accommodations.

PatrickGSR94

*sigh* although that Surly Disc Trucker fork would be really nice... shorter fork, disc, nice curved blades... but I've already spent this money!

I'd probably have to change the seat post to a setback post if the whole frame lowered down. More money!

PatrickGSR94

Still need to put a couple zip ties on that front brake cable...

bikeclub

They're selling these as NOS stock right now on eBay, so I picked one up. Looking forward to building it up, maybe as an all-road bicycle: I'm not that fussy about weight, I like 26" wheels with very fat tires, plus the tall front end might help with a drop bar conversion. Thanks for this thread, it gives me a lot of good ideas about what I'm thinking about.

PatrickGSR94

Forgot about this thread, here's how it sits today. As soon as I get enough money saved, it will be getting a Bafang 8Fun BBS02 750W e-assist conversion.

52telecaster

Nice bike. I like em tall.