Marin Recalls 20 Models Due to Bottom Bracket Faults
Marin is recalling 20 hardtail models sold between August 2020 and April 2021 due to bottom bracket issues.
The recall includes models of the San Quentin, Wildcat Trail, Fairfax, Terra Linda, Presideo, Kentfield, Larkspur, Muirwoods, San Anselmo, Rafael, Hidden Canyon and Bayview Trail that are fitted with bottom brackets with a black surface finish, the full list of specific models and serial number checker can be found, here.
The bikes have been recalled due to a bottom bracket fault that can cause it to break during use. The fault can cause a rider to lose control, posing fall and crash hazards to the user.
As of July 22, 2021, the company has received 6 reports of brackets breaking in Canada, 9 in the United States and 6 in the UK. So far, 1 minor injury has been reported due to the fault. Marin reports that 875 units of the affected product were sold in Canada and 2,113 were sold in the United States but figures are not currently available for bikes sold in the UK or EU.
Anyone riding one of the affected models is advised to immediately stop using the recalled bicycle and contact Marin Mountain Bikes to confirm whether their bicycle is affected. Marin will provide a free replacement bottom bracket that will be replaced by an authorized Marin retailer. No other part of the bike is affected.
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Edit - nevermind, just saw it's a square taper which makes sense.
Thanks to my local bike shop for fixing this shit.
Square taper's bad reputation comes from cranks that were not torqued to spec in the first place, then came loose, had the interface destroyed by riding loose, which led to people over tightening the cranks onto the spindle which eventually cracks the aluminum cranks as they get pulled further up the taper.
Solution...
Use shimano square taper bbs and follow the dealer manual for installation:
-BB into frame torque 50-70 N*m
-Lightly grease spindle interface to prevent galling
-Crank torque 35-50 N*m
-Take cranks off seasonally to clean/inspect and reinstall to torque
Shimano square taper bbs last a long time and require next to no maintenance.
Could you please say "Square taper bottom bracket" a few more times?
Yep, riding 12000km with retro brackets vs 3-4000 km with hollowtech is unmistakable proof that modern brackets bearings and/or seals are shit, regardless of road or mtb groupset, or entrance vd high end groups.
Weight and fewer necessary different widths are the sole advantages
The real retro-grouches like square taper BBs with loose bearings and cups that thread directly into the frame. Installed correctly on a properly faced frame, those last forever in road and touring applications - I had the same one (bearings and all) on my 1990 Raleigh technium from new until 2013, and it was still smooth and spun forever when I replaced it. This bike has been my tourer and daily commuter and would have done well over 25000 km in that time. They don't fare that well on MTBs because the bearings are inherently not as well sealed, and once crud gets in it grinds the bearings, and the races and axles get pitted. Plus obviously the axle/crank interface is smaller, so it's more likely to get damaged by hard landings, particularly if not installed to spec.
Do you know any big brand who didn't go for a recall? It's often the case when you sell hundred thousand bikes, especially in the covid period, where nothing is simple. The BB issue is not a drama, and a recall is always a strong message to show that the brand assure a good service and assume his production and, perhaps, his errors.
The Fairfax 1 has a square taper lock bb I have not seen one in over a decade.
I bought a Marin in 2017/18 when they were getting all the hype with the hawk hill. I had to strip that entire bike down and redo everything. Nothing was greased, like at all... bone dry. Brand new bike with a corroded bottom headset cup bearing. New frame Bearings needed to be pressed in, some wouldn't even spin. All the bolts had to be removed and installed to torque spec, they were all over tightened. Bolts that were supposed to be torqued to 12nm were bending my hex keys trying to get them out and making loud popping noise, as if they had snapped, when they broke free. Luckily none broke. Derailleur hanger wouldn't stay tight and constantly through the shifting out of wack. Was a nightmare.
This doesn't surprise me at all. I won't ever purchase another Marin Bike again.
Marin's response to my problems was take it back to where I bought it (which was over an hour away) and get the same people who didn't bother checking the bike over at all to redo all the things they should have done in the first place. I opted to do it myself. They wouldn't even send me dropper post grommets...
I've made a lot of stupid purchasing decisions in my day, from a fat bike to a $1500 carbon fiber backpack, Marin is near the top of that list as far as wasting money.
A lot of tech gets a lot of hype (droppers etc) but if you have been biking since 90's the effectiveness of the HollowTech II and similar, crank designs are just so good.