Friday, June 3, 2011

1976-79 Marin-style Klunker

"That is so freaking authentic... A stunning example of a 70's Marin bike. That bike is Repack ready and state of the art @ 1976." - Charlie Kelley, one of the founders of the sport.

I put this Klunker together using an old pre-war Schwinn frame and truss fork I got from a buddy. I liked the straight down tube and support tube on this particular frame. I think it's a Schwinn DX from '39, but not 100% sure on that. Parts include Atom drum brakes, handlebars and brake levers(one was formerly a clutch lever) from a late '70s YZ250, TA Specialties cranks, KKT pedals, first gen. Suntour thumb shifters, Araya rims, Ashtabula neck, a Brooks B72 saddle, a Simplex front derailleur and a Suntour rear derailleur. These take a lot of time because the frame and all the parts have to be modified to work in this application. This is pretty much what was being used in Marin from the mid '70s to about 1980 when purpose built mountain bikes began being built.

Sure is fun to ride!


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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That is right on the money! FYI: Porkchop BMX has the Preston Petty Hex grips from the '70s in RED that would be INSANE on that thing. Joe put 'em on his Breezer #1, so you know they don't suck. Nice job.