Youve found some very nice thrift store and dumpster finds ! Could it be your location? PEople who live in paradise and are riding the latest and greatest just dispose of pretty nice 26" rigs?
I got a "Pro deal" to ride Marin mountain bikes in the mid 90's through a semi local to me shop and got what was supposed to be 2 MArin Team's --- when it came time to pick them up, - only one was a Team and the other was this Eldridge --- They were close in spec, with chief difference being the Eldridge was LX componentry vs the higher end stuff, ---- so i just thought, - "That rear derailleuer is not going to last 10 rides before being ripped off by a tree root anyway, and the only other changes were it had rack mounts and house brand bars, post and seat -- which would be swapped anyway so i loaded 'em up
There are other differences -- the Eldridge top tube is 22.5" while the Team's is 23.5" in a 17" size. The Team's cable guides were on the headtube instead of the downtube as it was thought back then that you used the shortest housing run possible for best shifting/braking performance
So the Team was a no compromise, no holds barred racing machine while the Eldridge is a little softer around the edges , but both were Prestige tubing. My Team came with a Flite saddle, latex inner tubes, and Answer Taperlight handlebars and as a result was 2 pounds lighter, -- but we're talking 22.5 lbs vs 24.5 pounds so neither one was heavy
I still have the Team frameset also, but now that its coming time for me to build up a bike to ride gravel with my Kansas buddies, -- the Eldridge is getting the nod. Those frames are nice enough that if my gravel experiment works out, im having that top tube dent repaired and some disc tabs welded on at the same time
