1996 Gary Fisher Marlin Build Update

I've been very busy with my first Xbiking build, it's been a great learning experience so far. Wanted to show the progress I've made.

I decided to completely strip down the Marlin and build it back up. I hope I don't catch too much flack for it, but I decided to pretty much completely overhaul the bike and put some real money into it. Sold off some other hobby items to fund the parts. I know a lot of people suggested taking it slow, but it's just how I go about things like this, I can't help it -_-

I completely stripped down to just the frame and did some detailing. I washed it, did touch up painting, clear coat over the painted areas (which were rusted scratches before), rubbing compound, then polish over the whole thing. It was a ton of work. Not professional by any means, and the color doesn't match perfectly, but I'm happy with it.

I came across the whole 1-1/8" steerer tube problem on these old mountain bikes, realized they don't really make quill stems this size anymore. I then went down the whole rabbit hole of using an adapter, but didn't really like the options and the best ones were sold out everywhere. So I went with the Innicycle 1-1/8" threaded to 1-1/4" threadless adapter, just installed it today. Pricey, but really well thought out and well made. The new problem introduced is 1-1/4" stems and spacers are not common! There are may 5 or 6 stem options on the market. I went with a Giant SL OD2 stem as it was the least branded.

I wanted to do swept back bars since the bike is on the bigger side, but also wanted to keep the original color scheme of black bars. I found these Ergotech Moon Cruiser bars which I think are a nice balance of upright but you can lean into them a bit if you want. Brake levers are Shimano Deore XT 4-finger, and I have some Microshift friction shifters. Right shifter is for 10 speed, but I'm doing 3×8, so I changed it to friction mode (Microshift doesn't make an 8 speed indexed thumby for Shimano I discovered). Been disassembling and cleaning, re-greasing every part. Lots more to do, have some Deore XT derailleurs, Brooks saddle, Maxxis DTH tires on the way.

Should be up and running in two weeks or so, I can't wait, but really enjoying the process. I just throw on some tunes and disappear in the garage for hours.