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1998 marin team issue

9/16/2020

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I have always wanted a titanium bike, and for reasons I don't fully understand, I've had two and sold them both. When the opportunity arose to buy this after selling my Devinci plus bike, I figured I finally have my forever Ti bike.

It's a 1998 Marin Team Issue, made by TST of Pasco, Washington. I think TST used to be Sandvik? Or maybe Sandvik made the tubes that TST used to make the frame? Honestly some days the Internet just makes things worse. 

Let's just check it out;

It took me a while to pull the trigger on this because I was afraid it was too small. It was advertised as a 17.5", which I'm sure it is, and that is a size below what I should be riding for this frame. However, the top tube is very long for this size at 22.5". Generally 23" is my number. If I can be within a half inch of 23, I'm going to be comfortable. I just needed a 400mm seatpost to make it work.

We've got the XTR/XT 10 speed drivetrain I bought for the Astrix Solo, with the RaceFace Turbine cranks. The fork is a Marzocchi Z.2 Atom Bomb that I got from the guy that sold the frame. And it's definitely a polished silver theme with the RaceFace stem and ATAK hubs.

Composite highlights include the SRAM 9.0 brake levers, Easton MonkeyLite bars, and EC90 seatpost. This post is... interesting. You can really feel it flexing, which is a little disconcerting. Oh, I've got plastic SCUDGOOD pedals on there too. 

We've also got my funky cracked leather Selle Italia Turbo saddle and superlight Kenda Small Block Eight tires. Filled with Woodford Reserve bourbon is the Surly flask on an Ahearne Cycles Spaceman cage. And of course, on any Aheadset equipped bike I build - that doesn't use a Syncros stem that is - there is some variant of the Niner bottle cap top cap. Pretty sure I've got a Tofino Brewing cap on there right now.

As I mentioned, with the 400mm post, and a 110mm stem, I'm perfectly comfy on this medium frame. If I had the correct large size, I could get a bit more creative with stem length if I wanted. But it's a good look this way, so I'm happy.

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    I'm 80. I wrench more than I ride and I like it that way.

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