Retro bikes – Marin Mount Vision
Ross Peat sold off his Marin Mount Vision a couple of months ago. The former UYCC captain and recent energy-gel addict pleaded a ‘lack of space’ as the reason for sale in the ad – but clearly, the thing had to go.
Back in the day, Ross was the organisational lynchpin of the bike club. He was head honcho when I turned up in Goodricke carpark in October 1998 for my first ever ride, and was generally adept in and out of the saddle. To be honest, without him at the wheel, it’s hard to see how our motley crew would have gone riding at all. Always a calm head in a crisis, Ross was expert at weighing the benefits of riding versus, say, heading to the pub – faced with low-lying mist half a mile from the carpark, he knew when to bail.
When I first met him Ross was riding a burgundy-red Kona Explosif, a la this:
– a few models up from my old 1995 Lava Dome, and from the same classic Kona vintage. But the Explosif was stolen by some Tang Hall lowlife, and Ross was forced to purchase a new rig (after a suitable grieving period). Enter the Marin.
At the time, the Marin Mount Vision was high-end cross-country full-suspension, and fairly eye-catching thanks to its M-shaped frame geometry and girder-like yellow swingarm. Furthermore it was XTR-equipped. The club was impressed.
Over years of faifhful service, however, the once-sharp blade became dulled. 10 years after the Marin first hit the scene, I took it for a ride on an off-road social with Tom, Andy and Ross (who by then had of course upgraded to something else). From my experience riding hardtails and road bikes, riding the Marin uphill was like pedalling a canoe with a knackered drivetrain.
The bike went for £250, a ‘freakin’ bargain’ according to one happy Retrobike customer.
[…] been getting all misty-eyed about retro bikes lately – check out my homages to Ross’s Marin and Andy’s Klein. It seems only appropriate to look back at my old Kona Muni-Mula in her […]
Hello …
I own a MARIN Mountain VISION Fully in silver from 1986 all is XT … in best condition, many years it hang on the Garage-Wall, never drive in the wood only on good Streets (sorry my Englisch)
[…] Top of my list at the moment is the Marin Mount Vision. And below is an example of one, from this blog. […]