The Mountian Bike Thread..

I need some help from you guys
I am looking for a lighter bike for the winter.
My old trek bike weighs a ton.
Anyway,I ran across this 1995 Marin Rocky Ridge
for sale near me. He was asking 200 for it but I think I can
get it a little cheaper.

His description,
Selling a super light but older mountain bike. It's a Marin Rocky ridge with street tires. Everything else is pretty much original. This bike was over $1,200.00 brand new. It's older but it's been a road bike most of the time (only been off road/trails 5 times).

I'm 5' 10" and this bike is the perfect size for someone between 5' 9" - 5' 11"

I'm in Lakeview. Make me an offer!

THE IMPORTANT DETAILS:
Frame Construction Welded aluminum
Frame Tubing Material 7000 aluminum, double-butted
Fork Brand & Model Rock Shox Judy XC
Fork Material Aluminum/magnesium, triple-clamp crown
Brakeset Marin Lite brakes, Avid SD-2.0 levers
Shift Levers Grip Shift SRT-600
Front Derailleur Shimano Deore LX top-swing, bottom-pull/clamp-on 35.0 mm
Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore LX SGS
Crankset White Industries Comp, 20/32/42 teeth
Rims Mavic 238, 32-hole
Spoke Brand DT Competition stainless steel, 1.8mm double butted

and a few pics
marin2.jpg

marin3.jpg

marin1.jpg


I asked a few questions and he wrote back,
"This is a great bike for the city with 24 gears and it has grip shift shifters which are awesome for city riding. It's older, a 1995 model, but it's a Marin and hand built in the USA. This frame alone is worth $200.00, it's super light and the components are in good shape. It's a beautiful bike and I would keep it if I had extra cash right now"

What do you guys think?
Ive never owned a bike like that... Just want something to ride around in winter,
lotta wind here so I need easy gearing.
This size seems like it would fit me great.
Thanks
 
Its high quality. For 1995. I would say its ok for what u need but I wouldn't put alot of money in it. I would look on craigslist man u can find modern bikes on there cheap.
 
I was hoping you'd be here :)
Thanks.Thats where I found it,on craigs.
I dont know the newer brand names or anything.
I saw this one and it seemed like a good bike.
I just googled the rockshox forks and seems
they werent the greatest,and after all this time probably
need to be rebuilt,but the rebuild kits arent available any more.
So..... Ok,I will keep looking.
Thanks!
 
I am restoring my brother's early 90's bike. I am working everything out, even the cantilever brakes... but the Rock Shocks are dead. I found an internal seal kit but apparently the top seals that you pump them up through with a needle go bad. There is one place I found that rebuilds the top seals but I haven't tried yet.

Here is a link for the internal seals for Rock Shox http://www.enduroforkseals.com/id22.html

That would be my main concern, but I don't know anything about those Judy's.

I agree with J, its a nice bike. I like the made in USA aspect myself, I just can't help that.

I would ask him a little about the fork before I moved on. Or do some research about rebuilding/replacing just in case. Make sure you won't end up with a hassle.

All just my un-expert opinion.
 
hold on a sec....
before I give up opn this bike....
Are the other components ok?
What kind of replacement fork should I be looking at
and are they all interchangeable?
If I get the bike for say,150,and put a new fork on it,
would it be ok or Im better off getting something else?
I havent pulled a fork off since I was building bikes from found parks as a kid.
 
Not an expert but I believe you need to find out the fork tube type and diameter. It needs to accept v-brakes unless you want to swap to disc, then you will need a new front wheel also. And you probably wont be able to swap the rear to disc because the frame probably lacks mounting tabs.

I would buy it for 150, but I like old quality made in US bikes. The LX Deore were not top of the line, they are the same as my brother's bike and they lasted 20 years, so....

I hate grip shifters, but thats just a preference. I don't care about brakes as long as they work. I like the bike, but I would find out all your fork options before jumping in. You would not want to go rigid fork IMO.

again, not an expert.
 
I would also ask him if the wheels are true, and if there is any spoke noise. Are there any creaking noises from any part of the bike when ridden, if so where? Are the derailers adjusted, for example, does it shift fast and properly with no chain to derailer contact in any gear with pressure applied. Do the hubs have any bearing noise? Is the free hub letting the wheel freespin with little to no resistance. Stuff like that. Before I would make any offer.

Thats about all I can offer to you.
 
I'd keep looking for something I could ride off. Lots of problems finding parts for older bikes,and freewheels,forks,etc..aren't cheap. I'm in Cali but when it starts to get chilly bikes on Craigslist drop way down in price. Just my 2 cents.
 
Grip shifters
If they are like whats on my Trek,I like them
On the trek,you slide your grip toward the neck and twist the grip to shift.
I hated other type of shifter,the old ones like on my schwinn 10speed,those levers
on the downtube.

lemme ask if he knows the fork dimensions...
thanks for the help
 
The angle of the fork is also critical so the front wheel doesn't hit the down tube. To my eye the geometry looks very old school and you would not be able to fit a modern fork. The link below is to the experts for this sort of thing. They also have a classifieds section. I doubt that bike you posted is worth $100.

http://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retro-classic/
 
Hey Hortonites-

I've never posted in this sub-forum before, but I love MTBing and I just saw this thread.

Here is a home grown vid. While it's fun to watch the pros and guys like Macaskill, I'm guessing a lot more folks can relate to this type of riding.

It's just me following my 11 year-old down a trail.

[video=youtube;DKdJDvs8LxY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKdJDvs8LxY[/video]

Here is his bike, a Ritchey P-22 he sort of co-opted from my wife:

Autumn2010073.jpg
 
I always wanted to try one of those. Commuting in the rain killed my brooks pro.
 
I'm not sure if this is the kind of stuff you guys are looking for in this thread, but here are some pics from a solo ride I did today.

I rode at a sweet local area that I hadn't been to in a while. I found out from another rider I met on the trails that IMBA had a trails building day there recently. There were some cool new features, and I took some pics.

This is an awesome bridge over a perpetually muddy area:

MTBGraham006.jpg


A log feature. IMHO, they shouldn't have leveled out the top so much, but nice work anyway.

MTBGraham001.jpg


Really great job turning a blow-down into a pretty easy on, easy off skinny ride. I tried the one on the right. It actually wasn't as easy as it looks:

MTBGraham003.jpg


This is a sweet imbedded jump. About a 3' drop, but you can't tell from the picture. Very smooth at speed.

MTBGraham004.jpg


This is the other side of the bridge in the first picture:

MTBGraham005.jpg


And finally, I leave you with this thought--one's man's trash is another man's art:

MTBGraham002.jpg


The IMBA guy's do great, minimal impact, trail work.:thumbup:
 
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