Marin Quake 7.9 2009 Is it the right bike?

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Marin Quake 7.9 2009 Is it the right bike?
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flag thestigmk1
Posted: Jun 22, 2009 at 3:16 Quote
Hi. Im wanting a long travel FR/DH bike that can do absolutely everything from a spin round the local park to fort bill uplifts. A lot of people have recommended the Marin 7.9, but im open to other suggestions and comments. Thanks
flag scott-w
Posted: Jun 22, 2009 at 13:54 Quote
aye mate its a sweet ride
flag thestigmk1
Posted: Jun 22, 2009 at 15:20 Quote
ANyone around who rides one please give me info. Thanks
flag scrider
Posted: Jun 23, 2009 at 19:56 Quote
thestigmk1 wrote:
ANyone around who rides one please give me info. Thanks

I've been on the Marin Quake's line-up for the past 4 years and I rode every version of them inculing some custom build-ups for DH racing. My best experiences with the bike is when it's built up with the Fox DHX Air rear shock. It's pedals extremely well for it's category and it can bomb downhill like no other big FR bikes. It's super smooth through rock garden but still manages to absorbs small bumps efficiently.

You can't go wrong with this bike whether you want to shuttle downhill runs or you need to pedal up the mountain to do you dh runs. Keep in mind that this is not a trail bike. It has 6.7 inches of rear travel and is built up to be abused.

If you are looking for a more capable trailbike take a look at the Marin Wolfridge 6.9.

You will be stoked on the capabilities of the Quake 7.9 regardless of what you throw at it.
flag bigheaddoug
Posted: Jun 23, 2009 at 20:04 Quote
scrider wrote:
thestigmk1 wrote:
ANyone around who rides one please give me info. Thanks

I've been on the Marin Quake's line-up for the past 4 years and I rode every version of them inculing some custom build-ups for DH racing. My best experiences with the bike is when it's built up with the Fox DHX Air rear shock. It's pedals extremely well for it's category and it can bomb downhill like no other big FR bikes. It's super smooth through rock garden but still manages to absorbs small bumps efficiently.

You can't go wrong with this bike whether you want to shuttle downhill runs or you need to pedal up the mountain to do you dh runs. Keep in mind that this is not a trail bike. It has 6.7 inches of rear travel and is built up to be abused.

If you are looking for a more capable trailbike take a look at the Marin Wolfridge 6.9.

You will be stoked on the capabilities of the Quake 7.9 regardless of what you throw at it.

What he said, although I prefer it with the Vivid 5.1 coil. Personal preference only, I don't like the feel of the air shock.

This is my second season on the Quake and I'm a 200lb hack and this bike has taken every abuse I've thrown at it and still feels truly great. I even manage a few uphill rides per month and although it's a lot of work (it's 40lbs) it pedals well enough that it just feels like a heavy all mountain bike.

Get one, you won't regret it!

Cheers
flag power2rice
Posted: Jul 5, 2009 at 1:56 Quote
The Marin Quake is a horrible downhill bike. Me and a group of my downhill freeride buddies got a demo session day with the Quakes. We spent the whole day suffering different trails to finalize that the suspension movement was just crap. It moves in a forward motion... which means when you land and fully compress the rear end, it will then decompress and eject you forward. Suspension is suppose to move somewhat close to linear and backwards as possible to absorb the bumps. The Quake does not do that. Its motion is purely forward against the bumps. Now I'm able ot make this comparision due to having ridden and owned, the Schwinn straight 8, Santa Cruz super 8, Rocky Mtn rm7 and rmx, Kona stinky, Turner dhr, Intense m1, and Eastern Slash 7.

The quake feels like it has 4 inches of travel because really that's how much it actually moves up on a horizontal range. But it's movement is 7.8-7.9".... My review is a bit harsh, and many will disagree. The Quake rides well everywhere else but downhill. The rear end is super ridgid so climbing there is little wasted energy. Coil or air shock, they both feel bad. All seven of us hardcore riders had the same review. We all feared we were going to die anytime we were air born from high jumps are coming down from high drops at excessive speeds. One of the riders with us had to ride the brake to the point the rear code 5's boiled over and exploded. It's a bit excessive to ride the rear brake that long, but the rear end DOES NOT keep up with high speed rhythm tractor like bumps. Brake or no brake, it can't keep up. it begins to chatter and vibrate the frame very badly.

If you're gonna blow money, get a Trek Session. Of all the new bikes, it's one of the best with it's patented floating pivot which is superior to floating brakes. That bike rode better than my Turner dhr, and that alone says a lot.
flag thestigmk1
Posted: Jul 5, 2009 at 5:10 Quote
power2rice wrote:
The Marin Quake is a horrible downhill bike. Me and a group of my downhill freeride buddies got a demo session day with the Quakes. We spent the whole day suffering different trails to finalize that the suspension movement was just crap. It moves in a forward motion... which means when you land and fully compress the rear end, it will then decompress and eject you forward. Suspension is suppose to move somewhat close to linear and backwards as possible to absorb the bumps. The Quake does not do that. Its motion is purely forward against the bumps. Now I'm able ot make this comparision due to having ridden and owned, the Schwinn straight 8, Santa Cruz super 8, Rocky Mtn rm7 and rmx, Kona stinky, Turner dhr, Intense m1, and Eastern Slash 7.

The quake feels like it has 4 inches of travel because really that's how much it actually moves up on a horizontal range. But it's movement is 7.8-7.9".... My review is a bit harsh, and many will disagree. The Quake rides well everywhere else but downhill. The rear end is super ridgid so climbing there is little wasted energy. Coil or air shock, they both feel bad. All seven of us hardcore riders had the same review. We all feared we were going to die anytime we were air born from high jumps are coming down from high drops at excessive speeds. One of the riders with us had to ride the brake to the point the rear code 5's boiled over and exploded. It's a bit excessive to ride the rear brake that long, but the rear end DOES NOT keep up with high speed rhythm tractor like bumps. Brake or no brake, it can't keep up. it begins to chatter and vibrate the frame very badly.

If you're gonna blow money, get a Trek Session. Of all the new bikes, it's one of the best with it's patented floating pivot which is superior to floating brakes. That bike rode better than my Turner dhr, and that alone says a lot.


Im not sure tbh. Ive heard the Session 88 is just basically the Dh version with some single crowns and heavier components. I dont think i could ever pedal that up anywhere, but i was thinking about it cos its a very nice bike. Is the marin really that bad? Urs is the the only criticism ive ever heard against it.
flag m47h13u
Posted: Jul 5, 2009 at 5:49 Quote
You know, I would suggest you look into the Giant Reign X and the Specialized SX Trail. Those two bikes are pretty much the bomb for everything you can throw at them.
flag anthonysjb
Posted: Jul 5, 2009 at 6:06 Quote
m47h13u wrote:
You know, I would suggest you look into the Giant Reign X and the Specialized SX Trail. Those two bikes are pretty much the bomb for everything you can throw at them.

+1 Salute
flag bigheaddoug
Posted: Jul 5, 2009 at 11:31 Quote
power2rice wrote:
The Marin Quake is a horrible downhill bike. Me and a group of my downhill freeride buddies got a demo session day with the Quakes. We spent the whole day suffering different trails to finalize that the suspension movement was just crap. It moves in a forward motion... No it doesn't, check the tech stuff at Marin.com which means when you land and fully compress the rear end, it will then decompress and eject you forward.Maybe you should adjust your rebound on the shock properly Suspension is suppose to move somewhat close to linear and backwards as possible to absorb the bumps. The Quake does not do that. Its motion is purely forward against the bumps. Now I'm able ot make this comparision due to having ridden and owned, the Schwinn straight 8, Santa Cruz super 8, Rocky Mtn rm7 and rmx, Kona stinky, Turner dhr, Intense m1, and Eastern Slash 7.Holy old school Batman, maybe should try and compare this bike against another VPP bike rather than a bunch of old single pivots and faux bars.

The quake feels like it has 4 inches of travel because really that's how much it actually moves up on a horizontal range. But it's movement is 7.8-7.9"Wrong again, it's 6.7".... My review is a bit harsh, and many will disagree. The Quake rides well everywhere else but downhill. The rear end is super ridgid so climbing there is little wasted energy. Coil or air shock, they both feel bad. All seven of us hardcore riders had the same review. We all feared we were going to die anytime we were air born from high jumps are coming down from high drops at excessive speeds. One of the riders with us had to ride the brake to the point the rear code 5's boiled over and exploded. It's a bit excessive to ride the rear brake that long, but the rear end DOES NOT keep up with high speed rhythm tractor like bumps.Once again, set-up your shock properly Brake or no brake, it can't keep up. it begins to chatter and vibrate the frame very badly.

If you're gonna blow money, get a Trek Session. Of all the new bikes, it's one of the best with it's patented floating pivot which is superior to floating brakes. That bike rode better than my Turner dhr, and that alone says a lot.

To recap my opinion of this bike, it's better than the M1 I owned, pedals better thanmy old GT DHi and has a comparable feel to the '07 Glory DH that was my favorite bike until I bought this one.
flag toooldschool
Posted: Jul 5, 2009 at 11:55 Quote
power2rice wrote:
The Marin Quake is a horrible downhill bike. Me and a group of my downhill freeride buddies got a demo session day with the Quakes. We spent the whole day suffering different trails to finalize that the suspension movement was just crap. It moves in a forward motion... which means when you land and fully compress the rear end, it will then decompress and eject you forward. Suspension is suppose to move somewhat close to linear and backwards as possible to absorb the bumps. The Quake does not do that. Its motion is purely forward against the bumps. Now I'm able ot make this comparision due to having ridden and owned, the Schwinn straight 8, Santa Cruz super 8, Rocky Mtn rm7 and rmx, Kona stinky, Turner dhr, Intense m1, and Eastern Slash 7.

The quake feels like it has 4 inches of travel because really that's how much it actually moves up on a horizontal range. But it's movement is 7.8-7.9".... My review is a bit harsh, and many will disagree. The Quake rides well everywhere else but downhill. The rear end is super ridgid so climbing there is little wasted energy. Coil or air shock, they both feel bad. All seven of us hardcore riders had the same review. We all feared we were going to die anytime we were air born from high jumps are coming down from high drops at excessive speeds. One of the riders with us had to ride the brake to the point the rear code 5's boiled over and exploded. It's a bit excessive to ride the rear brake that long, but the rear end DOES NOT keep up with high speed rhythm tractor like bumps. Brake or no brake, it can't keep up. it begins to chatter and vibrate the frame very badly.

If you're gonna blow money, get a Trek Session. Of all the new bikes, it's one of the best with it's patented floating pivot which is superior to floating brakes. That bike rode better than my Turner dhr, and that alone says a lot.




I could not disagree more every statement you make about the bikes dh performance is the exact opposite of almost every other Quake owner rider. Ive been on mine 3 seasons and the rear end is still solid on orginal parts. Im 216 pounds and use it for urban dj dh and hucking even shorter trail rides are a blast the quads pedal so well. Get a quake you cant go wrong
flag thestigmk1
Posted: Jul 5, 2009 at 14:57 Quote
bigheaddoug wrote:
power2rice wrote:
The Marin Quake is a horrible downhill bike. Me and a group of my downhill freeride buddies got a demo session day with the Quakes. We spent the whole day suffering different trails to finalize that the suspension movement was just crap. It moves in a forward motion... No it doesn't, check the tech stuff at Marin.com which means when you land and fully compress the rear end, it will then decompress and eject you forward.Maybe you should adjust your rebound on the shock properly Suspension is suppose to move somewhat close to linear and backwards as possible to absorb the bumps. The Quake does not do that. Its motion is purely forward against the bumps. Now I'm able ot make this comparision due to having ridden and owned, the Schwinn straight 8, Santa Cruz super 8, Rocky Mtn rm7 and rmx, Kona stinky, Turner dhr, Intense m1, and Eastern Slash 7.Holy old school Batman, maybe should try and compare this bike against another VPP bike rather than a bunch of old single pivots and faux bars.

The quake feels like it has 4 inches of travel because really that's how much it actually moves up on a horizontal range. But it's movement is 7.8-7.9"Wrong again, it's 6.7".... My review is a bit harsh, and many will disagree. The Quake rides well everywhere else but downhill. The rear end is super ridgid so climbing there is little wasted energy. Coil or air shock, they both feel bad. All seven of us hardcore riders had the same review. We all feared we were going to die anytime we were air born from high jumps are coming down from high drops at excessive speeds. One of the riders with us had to ride the brake to the point the rear code 5's boiled over and exploded. It's a bit excessive to ride the rear brake that long, but the rear end DOES NOT keep up with high speed rhythm tractor like bumps.Once again, set-up your shock properly Brake or no brake, it can't keep up. it begins to chatter and vibrate the frame very badly.

If you're gonna blow money, get a Trek Session. Of all the new bikes, it's one of the best with it's patented floating pivot which is superior to floating brakes. That bike rode better than my Turner dhr, and that alone says a lot.

To recap my opinion of this bike, it's better than the M1 I owned, pedals better thanmy old GT DHi and has a comparable feel to the '07 Glory DH that was my favorite bike until I bought this one.

Im with u doug, if any FS bike is kicking u reduce the rebound, and yes, his bike choice is older than me probably. And get the rear travel right if ur advising me please, id rather make a valid opinion about the marin, which everyone seems to say is awesome!
flag power2rice
Posted: Jul 7, 2009 at 15:05 Quote
I have ridden other VPP's; which include the the Giant Glory, Faith, again, the Turner DHR, which only the older model was single pivot. Also like everyone else, I'm fully aware of rebound and all the adjustments. I've raced plenty of races, built plenty of bikes and been in this scene and working with Brian Skinner for long enough to again say that the Marin Quake is a horrible bike for downhill. Anyone can argue me about how the suspension moves, but take the shock off and move it. It does not actually move with the flow of how the rocks would hit. The bike rides solid, climbing, some easy free riding, but just isn't good for downhill PERIOD. For seven riders on seven different quakes to all agree the bike was shit on the aggressive downhill runs, thats saying a lot. You guys are arguing with me that it handles great on climbing basic trail riding, especially against single pivots etc. As I stated, it rides well XC but again, no good for down hill. Sorry guys, but but me and my buddies all switched off to test out different setups, including coil versus air, single crown versus triple, etc. But sorry, the rear end is still horrible for downhill. No matter what rebound you set it at, what coil you use, how much air you run, etc, the rear end does not move well. Fact is, it's not a downhill frame. Even the demo guys admitted that the frame wasn't really for downhill and can't compete in that area of riding. I don't know why you guys are trying to talk shit about ME when it's the the Marin Quake that is the problem. I don't hate on any riders, we all love the sport. If you hate my review because you own the Quake, to bad. Thats like hating on a professional driver for commenting that the over priced honda civic, no matter how fixed up, will not match against the Porsche and other true sports cars on a spirited race course.
flag EricBirk
O+
Posted: Jul 7, 2009 at 15:18 Quote
power2rice wrote:
The Marin Quake is a horrible downhill bike. Me and a group of my downhill freeride buddies got a demo session day with the Quakes. We spent the whole day suffering different trails to finalize that the suspension movement was just crap. It moves in a forward motion... which means when you land and fully compress the rear end, it will then decompress and eject you forward. Suspension is suppose to move somewhat close to linear and backwards as possible to absorb the bumps. The Quake does not do that. Its motion is purely forward against the bumps. Now I'm able ot make this comparision due to having ridden and owned, the Schwinn straight 8, Santa Cruz super 8, Rocky Mtn rm7 and rmx, Kona stinky, Turner dhr, Intense m1, and Eastern Slash 7.

The quake feels like it has 4 inches of travel because really that's how much it actually moves up on a horizontal range. But it's movement is 7.8-7.9".... My review is a bit harsh, and many will disagree. The Quake rides well everywhere else but downhill. The rear end is super ridgid so climbing there is little wasted energy. Coil or air shock, they both feel bad. All seven of us hardcore riders had the same review. We all feared we were going to die anytime we were air born from high jumps are coming down from high drops at excessive speeds. One of the riders with us had to ride the brake to the point the rear code 5's boiled over and exploded. It's a bit excessive to ride the rear brake that long, but the rear end DOES NOT keep up with high speed rhythm tractor like bumps. Brake or no brake, it can't keep up. it begins to chatter and vibrate the frame very badly.

If you're gonna blow money, get a Trek Session. Of all the new bikes, it's one of the best with it's patented floating pivot which is superior to floating brakes. That bike rode better than my Turner dhr, and that alone says a lot.


first off you couldnt be more wrong. the rear wheel does not move in a forward arc, it actually moves in an backwards S pattern (rearwards first) which is what you want.To prove my point try climbing stairs with them, its the only bike I know that can climbs stairs from an almost dead stop. I think you guys had this setup horribly, when i first got mine I didnt like it either UNTIL I dialed it in. I have yet to ride a bike that climbs as well, dh's as well, or jumps as well as this bike. I have friends with sessions that I have ridden and dont get me wrong they are wicked, but when you need to work for your play the quake leaves them in the dust, and can keep up with them going down. That and it doesnt dent when you look at it...

I didnt like the feel of the dhx air on it as i found it too linear for my jumpy riding style. I replaced that with an Elka stage 5 and it was like falling in love all over again. The bike feels bottomless, and climbs like a goat. All that and it feels like it doesnt even need your help in the air. I put a Fox Van R on it as a "borrowed" replacement (the Totem kicked the bucket, waiting for a 2010 40)and put light tires on it, i trail ride it all day long. This bike is soo good I actually enjoy xc riding now and might buy a wolf ridge.

I too have ridden a multitude of DH bikes, I actually replaced my last DH bike with this as it was more suited to "a little bit of everything" than just pure senders. I have found not only can I do everything, but I am actually faster on this.

This bike is the most under rated bike made period.
flag EricBirk
O+
Posted: Jul 7, 2009 at 15:22 Quote
power2rice wrote:
I have ridden other VPP's; which include the the Giant Glory, Faith, again, the Turner DHR, which only the older model was single pivot. Also like everyone else, I'm fully aware of rebound and all the adjustments. I've raced plenty of races, built plenty of bikes and been in this scene and working with Brian Skinner for long enough to again say that the Marin Quake is a horrible bike for downhill. Anyone can argue me about how the suspension moves, but take the shock off and move it. It does not actually move with the flow of how the rocks would hit. The bike rides solid, climbing, some easy free riding, but just isn't good for downhill PERIOD. For seven riders on seven different quakes to all agree the bike was shit on the aggressive downhill runs, thats saying a lot. You guys are arguing with me that it handles great on climbing basic trail riding, especially against single pivots etc. As I stated, it rides well XC but again, no good for down hill. Sorry guys, but but me and my buddies all switched off to test out different setups, including coil versus air, single crown versus triple, etc. But sorry, the rear end is still horrible for downhill. No matter what rebound you set it at, what coil you use, how much air you run, etc, the rear end does not move well. Fact is, it's not a downhill frame. Even the demo guys admitted that the frame wasn't really for downhill and can't compete in that area of riding. I don't know why you guys are trying to talk shit about ME when it's the the Marin Quake that is the problem. I don't hate on any riders, we all love the sport. If you hate my review because you own the Quake, to bad. Thats like hating on a professional driver for commenting that the over priced honda civic, no matter how fixed up, will not match against the Porsche and other true sports cars on a spirited race course.


Shaums March won UCI Masters with it...
http://www.marinbikes.com/bicycle/bike_blog/?p=69
They are making a DH version called the Quad DH this year...
I will admit it takes some adjustment to get it to feel good, but once it is dialed I havent been faster or more confident.
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