# 1993 Marin Pine Mountain question



## A-Ray (Oct 18, 2009)

About to pick up an all original Pine Mountain after work today that was purchased by my friend new back in 1993, or 94. It is Silver, with Purple Stem, seat post Clamp and Bar ends, that's all I know...I am being told that this bike does NOT have a rigid fork on it and that he remembered purchasing it with some kind of Manitou suspension fork on it.
Was this bike ever offered new with a front suspension fork on it? In either case, the bike is in very nice shape, but the fork is shot, so I will need to figure out something there. also is this a 1" steerer. I am assuming that it is.
Sorry for the lack of details, but I have no pics and the guy I am getting it from knows nothing about bikes. I am getting this thing for NOTHING so I guess it is all good no matter what...


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## 1 cog frog (Dec 21, 2004)

*Info here*

http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/...993&Brand=Marin&Model=Pine+Mountain&Type=bike

Looks like stock was a rigid fork, but the LBS could have put a shock on it at the time of purchase.

Catalog here:

http://www.mtb-kataloge.de/html/marin.html

frog


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## A-Ray (Oct 18, 2009)

Thanks for the help Frog. I saw that it was listed on Bikepedia as a rigid, and all of the pics I have seen so far have been rigid as well, but I believe it has the exact same fork on it as the F/S model from that year, so I thought it may have been special ordered that way. Picking it up at 5:30, can't wait!


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## anthonyinhove (Nov 3, 2007)

Silver with purple stem suggests 1994 not 1993 - a 1994 model could be purchased in late 93 of course.

It has a 1 1/8 head tube, so no problem in replacing the fork. The frame geometry will require a short travel fork though, so perhaps an early Judy or a Mag 21 might be the best available, although it may well be possible to revive the Manitou with a spring/damper kit.


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## A-Ray (Oct 18, 2009)

OK, here she is..., needs quite a bit of TLC, but looks to be complete. It has not moved in over 11 years, but certainly not bad for a freebie that's for sure! The Front fork is toast, but may try to find a rebuild kit for it? Looks to be a 93 according to the Catalog 1 cog frog posted, but still not too sure about that fork and when it was put on there. I do have an early 2000's Judy XC Coil that I think would look right at home, but there is just something about that Manitou that begs to be fixed...


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## anthonyinhove (Nov 3, 2007)

You said it was silver! Silver frame with purple stem is 94, grey frame with red stem is 93. That's grey, so you have indeed got a 93 Pine Mountain.

Note in the catalogue picture that the frame is clearly not suspension-adjusted, so an early 2000s Judy isn't going to give you good steering. I've seen Manitou 2s much more collapsed than that, but yours is pretty much full length, so it could be that the elastomers are intact/not too bad and the fork is solid because what was the grease is now the glue. I feel sure you could get that going if you were so inclined.


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## A-Ray (Oct 18, 2009)

I pulled the fork out to take the pics, it collapses immediately with any weight on it. Is there a rebuild kit available for this fork?
Yes I said it was silver, but that was before I actually saw it. My friend told me it was silver.
Any idea what it may be worth?


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## anthonyinhove (Nov 3, 2007)

Well we can be pretty sure then that the elastomers have disintegrated, which is par for the course. This eBay seller has springs, but you also need damping, and we don't know yet whether your stock damper works/can be repaired/existed in the first place (? I don't know Manitou 2s)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Coil-Springs-Answer-Manitou-I-II-1-2-Sport-/140537513111

I expect you could get lots of Manitou advice from more knowledgeable people on this forum, but probably wise to do a search first.

I don't think it is worth all that much, but it's a good bike with a good frame.


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## logbiter (Dec 30, 2003)

I do believe the Manitou 1-4's were elastomer/MCU's only, so no damping unit. Pretty common for those things to turn to goo. Here's a thread on this board about 'em. Oh yeah, check out this site for elastomers http://www.suspensionforkparts.net/eshop/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=8

...Or get a rigid fork & high volume/fat tire


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## yosnappyj (Oct 18, 2005)

The Manitou fork was a cost option on all Marin models from the Bear Valley SE up in 1993. The catalogue explains (page 7):

http://www.mtb-kataloge.de/Bikekataloge/PDF/Marin/1993.pdf

It was a popular option. It's not the first '93 Pine Mountain I've seen with a Manitou 2.


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## A-Ray (Oct 18, 2009)

Thanks for shedding some light on this for me, it did look to be an option and my buddy who gave me the bike told me that when he bought it new it was on there. Unfortunately the catalog you posted is completely in German.


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## chefmiguel (Dec 22, 2007)

Dealers were given the option to receive the bike with a rigid fork or add on a manitou fork or a mag 21 fork. This was one great selling point at the time as most brands only sold bikes with one type of fork.


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## A-Ray (Oct 18, 2009)

Too bad I can't go to my LBS and just order another one of those forks
One of these days I will rip it apart and see if it can be fixed...


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## anthonyinhove (Nov 3, 2007)

A-Ray said:


> One of these days I will rip it apart and see if it can be fixed...


I don't see why not. I don't know Manitou 2s, but the website that logbiter linked to has the owners manual on there, with full instructions. That confirms that there was no separate damper in the original design (elastomers have inherent damping qualities, which many early designs relied on), so you ought to be able to refresh the fork pretty well for $45 with new elastomers.


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## fattybikejones (Aug 17, 2008)

Very cool...


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## xr600 (Sep 15, 2005)

"I Had UK version 1994 Eldridge Grade (red bits) & Pine mountain (blue bits). Both frames were probably the same with different decals and had rigid forks.
There is very little chance that this bike was intended to be sold with a suspension fork as standard. The headsets on mine were NOT AHEADSETS but im pretty sure they were 1&1/8th inch by then. They were very nice bikes!
My 94 Pine had BLUE stem etc. The purple may indicate 95 rather than 93."

I posted the above in the "Marin" Forum but you seem to have your answers here.
The grey main tubes look means it is likely to be earlier than my 94 with BLUE stem etc for sure. The option to spec a Manitou fork sounds right.


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## A-Ray (Oct 18, 2009)

Yes, this is definitely a 93 with the 1" steerer, and it does have a nice original Ritchey Headset on it.
Due to the amount of "other" projects I have, this one will be hitting the "for sale" listings very soon both on my local CL and Ebay. The front fork does need to be re-built, the rear wheel is very slightly out of true and the decals are starting to peel off. There are (2) pencil eraser size dings on the right side seat stay, but are pretty hard to notice. Other than that and just a handful of small scratches, the bike is in really nice shape and is 100% original, as far as I know.. .
Any clue what I should ask for this thing???


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## J Ro (Jan 13, 2004)

A-Ray said:


> Yes, this is definitely a 93 with the 1" steerer, and it does have a nice original Ritchey Headset on it.
> Due to the amount of "other" projects I have, this one will be hitting the "for sale" listings very soon both on my local CL and Ebay. The front fork does need to be re-built, the rear wheel is very slightly out of true and the decals are starting to peel off. There are (2) pencil eraser size dings on the right side seat stay, but are pretty hard to notice. Other than that and just a handful of small scratches, the bike is in really nice shape and is 100% original, as far as I know.. .
> Any clue what I should ask for this thing???


Ut O

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/bik/2346011715.html


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## A-Ray (Oct 18, 2009)

Yup, it's on there, thank J-Ro... Already received some offers so it should be gone shortly...


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## Rad Rider 415 (Nov 20, 2010)

A-Ray said:


> OK, here she is..., needs quite a bit of TLC, but looks to be complete. It has not moved in over 11 years, but certainly not bad for a freebie that's for sure! The Front fork is toast, but may try to find a rebuild kit for it? Looks to be a 93 according to the Catalog 1 cog frog posted, but still not too sure about that fork and when it was put on there. I do have an early 2000's Judy XC Coil that I think would look right at home, but there is just something about that Manitou that begs to be fixed...


I just saw on just like this on Craigslist but If you got it for free, its not bad at all :thumbsup:


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## A-Ray (Oct 18, 2009)

Yes this is the one on Craigslist, I am selling it.
I already have had a pretty good offer for it so hopefully will be gone by tomorrow.
If not it will be going on Ebay Sunday night. I could use the money , and I have too many other projects going on at the moment to justify keeping it...
Anyone on this forum interested in the bike please PM me.


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## Robe30 (May 20, 2011)

I know this thread is a little old, but I found a bright blue Pine Mountain w/ neon yellow stem and fork @ an old bike shop near me. It has Deore XT (I think it was XT not Dx) components, needs a rear shifter and probably cables. The guy is asking $100 for it. It looks like a really nice bike but needs some love. Go for it or walk away? He also has a Schwinn High Sierra but that is friction thumb shifting only.... He's asking $65 for that one. I'm torn between the two


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