Marin Wolf Ridge: First Ride
Marin and Polygon were both on the ground floor while Naild was putting the final touches on its R3act rear suspension system, and it must have been tough keeping the novel looking design a secret. According to eye-witnesses, who reported seeing some wild-looking, unadorned carbon machines flashing by with familiar faces on board, Marin's staff have been riding prototypes and first production samples for quite a while. How their secret did not appear on social media may be a miracle.
One of those ended up in my stable for a number of weeks this year for a first ride on my home trails. Officially, the carbon-framed 29er is called the "Wolf Ridge," and, while you'd never know that from looking at my bare carbon test sample, there was no hiding its dramatically different profile. I fielded many mid-ride questions. Marin's embargo lifts today, so I can finally show you what the Wolf Ridge looks like all dressed up and tell you a bit about how it rides.
 | ...a bike rooted in the birth of mountain biking, when one bicycle did it all and there were no category-specific machines. |
Marin Wolf Ridge
Marin's Wolf Ridge is intended to be the "one bike" for experienced trail riders with well-honed skills and an appetite for speed. What that means is that its R3act rear suspension brings ultra-efficient pedaling to a chassis designed with numbers that once were the domain of gravity-oriented all-mountain machines with lackluster acceleration and climbing performance. The magic of this recent development is that the Wolf Creek is equally capable of leveraging the skill sets of less experienced riders.
The Wolf Ridge's 160-millimeter-travel carbon chassis is built around a patented rear suspension package designed by Darrell Voss. Voss also founded "Naild," which will offer the complete system to select partners. Marin was privy to the R3act project in its early stages, so Voss and Marin have had substantial time to fine tune the 29-inch-wheel Wolf Ridge chassis to mate with a suspension configuration that defies convention in just about every way.
Two versions will be offered: the $8,599 USD Wolf Ridge Pro, suspended by Fox, and the $6,799 Wolf Ridge 9, suspended by RockShox. The chassis is designed for one-by drivetrains, and both models feature versions of SRAM's 12-speed Eagle transmission.
Two versions will be offered: the $8,599 USD Wolf Ridge Pro, suspended by Fox, and the $6,799 Wolf Ridge 9, suspended by RockShox. The chassis is designed for one-by drivetrains, and both models feature versions of SRAM's 12-speed Eagle transmission.
The $6,799 Wolf Ridge 9 features RockShox suspension. – Marin photo
– Marin photo
What R3act Suspension Does
One look at the Wolf Ridge's R3act 2 play (the full name) suspension is enough to understand that it is a whole different animal. The short version is that its sturdy mono-stay swingarm telescopes on a tubular aluminum stanchion, which, in conjunction with a rocker link control arm, provides a measured amount of anti-squat action throughout the bike's suspension travel and gear range. The telescoping action works to balance the suspension's anti-squat function against the rider's mass close to equilibrium, which frees the system to react to the terrain without the need for excessive damping or spring force. Translated, that means: You can pedal almost any way you choose, without being affected by the suspension. It also means that the rear suspension can track the ground more accurately because the kinematics do not require much damping.
The red button in the center of the shock yoke pivot releases air pressure that may have built up inside the stanchion tube. - Greg Lambert photo
Equally important, but less apparent, R3act requires less suspension sag—20 to 25 percentand it tends to remain at that height in motion. As a result, the chassis feels and acts as if it has more wheel travel available than the more heavily damped all-mountain and enduro designs that we have grown used to.
The mono-stay swingarm design also keeps the R3act suspension compact so that it can be adapted to almost any size frame, and its elevated chainstays bypass the heavily constrained area near the bottom bracket, crankset and rear tire, which allows frame designers to shorten the chainstays at will without sacrificing clearance for full-width rubber. Finally, with the swingarm above the chain, the Marin runs across rough ground quietly.
| The chassis feels and acts as if it has more wheel travel available than the more heavily damped all-mountain and enduro designs that we have grown used to. |
About Marin's Frame Design
Marin could have gone full futuristic with the Wolf Ridge, but the carbon chassis design is tastefully modern. The conventional-looking front section's semi-rectangular tubes expand into reinforced box sections where they terminate at the head tube and bottom bracket areas. To provide clearance for the mono-stay swingarm, the seat tube must angle sharply inward, and the bottom bracket sits beneath the swingarm on a rigid "tray" that is the full width of the Wolf Ridge's 92-millimeter-wide press-fit bottom bracket shell The telescoping element slides on sealed bushings, as does the yoke-type shock driver, while the rocker control link pivots on sealed ball bearings. All of the cables and hoses are internally routed, and the floor pan created by the bottom bracket extension is protected by a thick, screw-on plastic bash guard.
As mentioned, the low-stance of its R3act suspension allows for a generous measure of stand-over clearance. Marin offers the 29-inch-wheel chassis in small, medium, large and extra-large sizes, and reports that the small size can fit riders down to five-foot, four-inches (162.5 centimeters). As an added benefit, the low-slung seat tube allows smaller riders to choose longer-stroke dropper posts than most compact frames would normally allow.
Speaking of dropper posts, the Wolf Ridge uses a custom-made KS LEV seatpost with a set-back saddle clamping head. The reason stated was to buy another inch of space behind the seat tube to clear the rear tire and swingarm at full compression. The benefit of Naild's R3act suspension is how efficiently it pedals when paired with copious amounts of unrestricted rear-wheel travel, so Marin offset the seat tube to squeeze out 160 millimeters from the Wolf Ridge chassis while maintaining a relatively short, 430-millimeter chainstay length.
Bio-metric sizing from size small through size extra-large. Small circles represent the center of mass.
Relationship of handlebar positions, stem lengths, head tube heights, and top tube lengths. &ndash Marin images
Bio-Metric Frame Sizing
The premise of anti-squat kinematics is to create an opposing force to counter the mass of the rider, so it makes sense to position that person in just the right place above and between the wheels to optimize that action. Marin says that its team charted average body types to determine leg and arm lengths, torso proportions, and center of mass, and then used those biometrics to determine the Wolf Ridge's frame geometry and sizing. Reportedly, the result of their efforts ensures that riders will enjoy similar handling and power transfer attributes across the four sizes that Marin offers. 'Tweeners can take advantage of the Wolf Ridge frame's low stand-over height to size up to the next longer reach without suffering progeny issues.
Wolf Ridge Pro
![xxxx]()
Trail Bike Numbers
In the handling department, the Wolf Ridge' geometry is a contemporary trail bike. Considering its 29-inch wheels, the 66.5-degree head tube angle is plenty slack enough to descend technical steeps without steering like a wooden tiller on the climbs. Reach is ample, measuring between 415 and 476 millimeters (16.3 and 18.74 inches) across the four available sizes, and the chainstay length is on the short side of the scale at 430 millimeters (16.9 inches). Mix in a sufficiently low bottom bracket height (336 millimeter/13.2 inches) and the Marin stacks up to be a playful trail machine with a good measure of stability. The old-school 73.5-degree seat tube angle, however, seems out of context with the rest of the Wolf Ridge's numbers—a necessity, says Marin, to position the rider where the suspension's kinematics are optimized.
Wolf Ridge Pro Specs
| Specifications | ||
| Release Date | 2017 | |
| Price | $8599 | |
| Travel | 160mm | |
| Rear Shock | Fox Float X2 Factory custom tune | |
| Fork | Fox Float 36 29", 160mm, Performance Elite, Fit 4 | |
| Headset | FSA Orbit, | |
| Cassette | SRAM XG-1299 12-Speed, 10-50T | |
| Crankarms | SRAM XX1 Eagle Carbon, 34t | |
| Chainguide | e*thirteen TRS+ upper and lower, ISCG 05 | |
| Bottom Bracket | SRAM GXP BB92 | |
| Pedals | NA | |
| Rear Derailleur | SRAM XX1 Eagle, 12-Speed | |
| Chain | SRAM XX1 Eagle, 12-Speed | |
| Front Derailleur | NA | |
| Shifter Pods | SRAM XX1 Eagle, 12-Speed | |
| Handlebar | Deity DC31 Mohawk carbon, 787mm width, 15mm rise, | |
| Stem | Deity Copperhead, 35mm | |
| Grips | Marin locking | |
| Brakes | SRAM Guide Ultimate 180mm R, 200mm F | |
| Wheelset | e*thirteen TRS Race | |
| Hubs | e*thirteen TRS Race, | |
| Spokes | The Hive Triple-Butted, black | |
| Rim | e*thirteen TRS Race, carbon fiber rim, 28H, 31mm inner-width | |
| Tires | F: WTB Vigilante 29x2.3" R: Breakout, 29x2.3", TCS Light/Fast | |
| Seat | WTB Volt Race | |
| Seatpost | KS LEV, 150mm with custom offset head | |
It took a few tries to balance the Fox 36 fork with the Marin's supple R3act rear suspension. - Greg Lambert photo
Without paint or graphics, the Wolf Ridge's profile is all business. – Greg Lambert photo
Riding Impressions
I had the opportunity to ride the Wolf Ridge on a number of trails ranging from cross-country tracks to chunky natural rock descents and groomed flow trails. Weather conditions ranged from tacky hero dirt to classic Southern California's mixture of rock hard clay topped with a mixture of ball bearings and dust. Up until then, I had ridden rough aluminum prototypes. The Marin was the first dialed-in production model that I had a chance to put through its paces. To begin with, the suspension setup was different than I am used to. I prefer the fork to be slightly stiffer than the rear suspension, so I can descend steeps without dropping the front wheel into a hole. I was prompted to equalize the fork and shock sag at about 20 percent and to try riding with a minimum of low-speed compression damping in the fork. With 25 psi in the front tire and 27 psi in the rear, those settings turned out to be a good starting point.
I chose a rolling cross-country trail to come to terms with the bike and, in spite of the fact that my test bike's tires had heavy downhill casings, it rolled along much better than expected. Oddly, until I became used to the way the R3act suspension hugged the ground, the rear wheel felt like it was chasing me and not quite attached to the bike. I don't have a better phrase to describe that sensation. I think I was anticipating the rear wheel to unweight slightly on the back-side of each bump and roller. Instead, the tail end of the Marin rolled the backsides so closely that as it extended, it felt like I was getting a tiny push each time. By day three, I became accustomed to the sensation.
With plenty of traction on hand and suspension set foolishly soft for any 160-millimeter-travel bike I had previously ridden, I learned that could roll around sketchy corners with a degree of surety. Big 29-inch tires rarely push in the turns, which allowed me to experiment with the ground-holding ability of the Wolf Ridge's nearly undamped rear suspension (they tell me it uses 40% less compression and rebound compared to a standard Fox X2 damper). I had learned to equate mid-stroke firmness with superior cornering traction, but the Marin poked a hole in that logic. As long as I could manage to hold a line with the front wheel, the tail end would follow through with such ease that I thought I could hear it whistling tunes while I was mashing from corner to corner. Well, okay then.
With plenty of traction on hand and suspension set foolishly soft for any 160-millimeter-travel bike I had previously ridden, I learned that could roll around sketchy corners with a degree of surety. Big 29-inch tires rarely push in the turns, which allowed me to experiment with the ground-holding ability of the Wolf Ridge's nearly undamped rear suspension (they tell me it uses 40% less compression and rebound compared to a standard Fox X2 damper). I had learned to equate mid-stroke firmness with superior cornering traction, but the Marin poked a hole in that logic. As long as I could manage to hold a line with the front wheel, the tail end would follow through with such ease that I thought I could hear it whistling tunes while I was mashing from corner to corner. Well, okay then.
The mono-stay swingarm is nearly as wide as the crankset will allow. My shoes, however, did not rub against it during testing. - Marin photo
With all of that cushion back there and minimal rebound control, I anticipated that I'd nose case every landing, but there is enough energy in the chassis to naturally level the bike when popping off of boulders and smaller jump faces, and a normal tug on the bars will do the trick on larger ramps and drops. No drama there, and to be truthful, the Marin didn't feel like it out-performed the better 160-millimeter travel bikes I have been riding down technical steeps and the boulder fields which are common fare in these parts. But, if pedaling is involved, even in short bursts to power over rock gardens and such, the Wolf Ridge move forward with measurable ease.
I sensed a similar situation under braking, where I could use the rear brake with slightly more authority on the downs without risking a lockup That may have been the result of tacky DH tires, but it was consistent, regardless of the trail surface, so I speculate the R3act system offers some real benefit there. That said, however, it was under braking, while descending some chunky steeps, where I discovered a chink in the Wolf Ridge's armor. As the fork compresses, the lower section of the frame that cradles the R3act's sliding element can drop low enough to slam rocks and roots. It is not a regular occurrence, but there is no mistaking it. Ba-boom! I added a couple of clicks of low-speed compression to the Fox 36 and another ten psi to encourage the front end to ride higher, which helped.
The frame extends well ahead of the bottom bracket, where we whacked its plastic guard against rocks a handful of times. – Marin photo
| I'll have to admit that the damn thing works as advertised. |
Saving the best for last, there is no question that the R3act-equipped Wolf Ridge has something special going on in the pedaling department. Hey, it's a massively huge 29er, which automatically qualifies it for lackluster acceleration and those three leg-sapping pedal strokes that follow each time you bog down in a G-out or are forced to push over a steep roller in a taller-than-anticipated gear selection. In spite of its big-wheel genetics, however, it is an efficient pedaling machine. My times were four to six seconds faster on my two-mile test climb, and I bettered most of my popular test loops. It defies reason that those events occurred on a thirty pound, softly sprung, 160-millimeter-travel bike with the fork and shock set wide open.
Is the Wolf Ridge the perfect trail bike? It's delightfully good, but thirty pounds is the borderline for a do-it-all trail bike, and the mono-stay swingarm occupies the full width of the crank arms, so if your heels drift inward, you will be scraping it often. Caveats aside, there is much more to love about the product of Marin's partnership with Naild. I'll have to admit that the damn thing works as advertised. So, what's next? A trip to B.C., where we will hopefully get a chance to put the Wolf Ridge Pro and its R3act 2 play suspension to task in an entirely different and perhaps, more hostile environment for a comprehensive review.
MENTIONS: @MarinBikes, @Polygonbikes
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It has a funky visual weight though :/ Reminds me of the old GT and mongoose frames with their floating BB before they figured out the right way to massage the design so it looked less blocky. Or the original Giant Glory with it's very bottom heavy visual weight.
www.pinkbike.com/video/469250
IMO I think the shorter link is much more visually appealing but I think the sharp center ridge styling on either link does not match the rest of the bike at all.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around both of these bikes, but it'll be interesting to see how they look and perform with a few years refinement.
Sucks to be stuck with a proprietary dropper post. This is a major turnoff for me. You know down the road you're going to want to replace that thing with the next generation dropper and you're going to be ass out.
That said, a lot of people may love the way this looks and if it performs well, then all the better.
The thing I like about this bike and the Polygon is they show how much hype other companies make of their very ordinary suspension designs.
oh wait, they all look good and perform at incredibly high levels.
why settle on something ugly af at this pricepoint?
A ferrari will give up when you have to cross the first serious bumb with it... same for the rest of your dreamcars...
They perform at only one thing, speed... oh and drools
As far as I am reading this article, these bikes are far more allround...
oh wait, they look cool too.
unlike this bike.
I think the mtb is quite comparible with rallycars...But is every rally car beatifull? Even the old Subaru Impreza's? ???? but they were fast right? ????
Btw... what we find beautifull is mostly conditioned anyways...
@Macropod: good point, sometimes it doesn't work out, though blackberry had a lot of issues
For if you guys really want to know about this.... it is not the suspension type that decides wich is best
youtu.be/78DD82fx4M8
I like that they're thinking a little differently, trying something a bit out of the mainstream. I'm not so sure, though, that this route is really all that feasible - adding massive complexity to the system with all these funky linkages and telescoping doodads and such. If you look at the bikes that people have been able to deliver value in ways that have led to widespread adoption, you're generally seeing simple designs (keeping cost down), with capability added not so much through massive suspension but through more aggressive geometry, and a conscious tradeoff that maximizes overall Swiss-Army-knife versatility at the expense of that last bit of monster truck ability to plow through rock gardens and huck to flat. So you end up with the mass market getting really excited at bikes like the Stumpy, Jeffsy, Tallboy and Hightower, Process 111, Smuggler, Following, etc. You can go more capable or more playful (the Hightower is pretty monster-trucky already) depending on your preferred speeds, the degree your local trails demand or punish it, etc.
Super-clever suspension, if sorted properly, could make a bigdifference - but as long as it adds a grand or more to the cost of a bike, I just don't see it being the wave of the future. And making super-clever suspension work is expensive - not just in terms of R&D, but also in terms of higher costs for molds and materials and assembly. And then, later on, in cost of ownership (more linkage pieces, more wear parts, more maintenance needed; more complex to work on).
...but light bikes are great too
30lb (or thereabouts) aint bad IMO.
Maybe I'm getting old. Sure lusted after them back in the day. Looks like a neat machine.
Definitely respect and trust your knowledge and expertise when it comes to suspension kinematics~
very cool ... any way of sharing that information?
so we can see what the actual curves look like?
Not sure I understand the need for the overly complicated suspension design and materials when chances are something like this Murmer made out of steel with a simple single pivot suspension design will blow the tires off this R3act complication. And that murmur looks so good ????
dirtmountainbike.com/bike-reviews/trail-enduro-bikes/starling-murmur-steel-bike-thats-blown-us-away.html
Marin/Polygon obviously has a big advantage in the marketing and distribution department.
I'm wary of anyone that doesn't sell a bare frame though.
It seems like someone came up with a radical idea to sell bikes - and who knows, it may work well - and then attached radical rhetoric to the marketing materials to make everyone feel like their bikes are inadequate compared to this technology. People are absolutely ripping on existing bikes.
I also do not entirely buy the explanation of how this design somehow require less damping. Sure, the design may account for rider mass, but when a bike encounters a high speed hit, the shock still needs to respond to and control that hit. How can a mechanical design account for that while allowing for what sounds like much less damping from the shock? We already have a number of systems that, through the use of anti-squat, allow riders to run less low speed compression damping to better respond to small bumps, but still pedal well.
The Wolf Ridge is awesome. Plain and simple it does what they say it does and does it well. I didn't notice the weight at all and in fact taking it out of the rack it "feels" light. Climbs like a home sick angel, descends fast and smooth. No surprises at all. Ugly? Maybe? But I sold Marin when they were using the White Quad Link rear suspension and everyone thought that was ugly too, it worked and wasn't cookie cutter. Super fun in my opinion.
Is there an argument that bike companies are going backwards in R&D, if they're not developing their own bikes any more? I guess this is already happening with branded bikes coming out of single studios as per the Cesar Rojo example. Interesting times.
I think its pretty disingenuous to drop this in a review for a new bike. What other bikes have you ridden these test loops on ? How much deviation in time is there ? Is this truly the fastest bike you've ever ridden on it ? If the average guy buys a new bike and says "I dropped X seconds on trail Y" then I can be stoked because he sees a definitive difference on a very known quantity between two discrete pieces of equipment. But for PB editor and 20 year veteran of bike reviews, who we know is always riding different equipment to just drop a statement in his review like that with no context is kind of cheesy.
For the record I've long been a fan of bringing in more scientific comparisons for bike reviews and as flawed as "average lap times" are between different reviewers, bikes, and time periods, they could still provide some quality knowledge and I wish they would be pursued more.
I must assume this has been thought of and still works though but with a fat tyre i'm not so sure.
"R3act requires less suspension sag—20 to 25 percent and it tends to remain at that height in motion"
"suspension set foolishly soft for any 160-millimeter-travel bike I had previously ridden"
Does the average rider really need this, or will a much simpler single-pivot operate to 90% of it's performance?
www.tantrumcycles.com/press.html
Sooooooo, I took the wolf ridge out for a ride and I have to say it's one hell of a bike. My normal steed is a pivot Mach 6 carbon.the wolf ridge now makes me want to sell the piv to fund a wolf ridge. It truly climbs better than my hard tail 130mm plus bike and descends as well Asif not better than the pivot!! Cornering was sharp and precise with no cruise ship like handling expected from other 29ers. Roots and rocks were easier and in fact, a non event! Looks wise, it's no supermodel but like fine Italian sports cars, the beautiful doesn't mean dependable. The look grows on you really quickly and if I were to do anything??? Custom paint job and better brakes to tame this beast!!! You all seriously need to demo one.
At the moment I'm riding 160mm 650b, with 66 HA, and I need to slacken the HA by degree, as it doesn't descent as good as my old bike that had 65 HA, but yah there could be few factors to that
Polygon: Hold my beer....
Marin: Im in to !!!
This simply doesn't have that.
Off topic, these bible of bike tests, reviews, etc are somewhat mind boggling to me. Every review is based on the riders perspective of the bike they are used to riding. In my opinion, these millimeter differences play no part when you've learned how to ride the bike you already have. This is apparent at any race, i've seen guys and gals on enduro bikes absolutely destroy these "ultra quick, super-light" xc bikes in their own cross-country races. It's apparent the fastest riders are those who simply ride the most (ergo the most experienced and strongest).
Or I could be bias and just think everyone is just trying to copy the best bike on the market, since I have a SB6 hahaha
VPP variations: SC, Intense, Giant, Niner, etc...
Horst link variations: almost everyone else...
Its true, just like a dual link design, the placement of the pivots and length of the link dramatically alters how the bike can perform, but theres nothing new here, other than the looks. This is not like the magic link of old (or the new missing link) where pedaling changes the relative positions and performance of the suspension.
This is far different. The essence of DW is here but the format of the third low link is the key.
Again; Just because it looks similar it could be entirely different. And vice versa.
I need to throw a leg over one of these either way, to see if it was worth the hassle of designing a new link.
Even with the telescoping doodad, because of the middle link the axle path follows a consistent shape, whatever that may be, so this system still has to choose among the well-established compromises of Anti-squat, pedal kickback, leverage ratio, and brake squat.
Also funny how they're re-marketing standard enduro geometry and 160mm travel as do-all mountain bike geometry. Sure that's a fine geometry but it aint anything new
Geometry and wheel/tire weight will make a bigger difference on how fast you climb than the linkage (at least with most modern designs).
But that just bolsters what you're saying as they have to decide what they want just like any other 4 link bike.
reviews.mtbr.com/marin-wolf-ridge-first-ride-review
2.) NO ONE (except perhaps some unwitting dentists or others with more money than sense) is going to spend $6,800 on a Marin.
my guess is that naild is either licensing or supplying the moving parts (swingarm + sliding/rotating parts)
not sure if the design will (or could) look different if different brands want to deploy
Didn't know this but apparently Polygon owns Marin. So that at least makes more sense.
I'm all for this design, and would love to give it a try, but I think it's going to have a hard time breaking out into the mainstream unless more popular brands license it. It may truly be a game changer, but until a Specialized, or Giant, or Trek type company adopts it, I fear it will languish in the realm of bike brands that people just don't care much about.
Not sh**ing on Polygon or Marin, I'm sure they both make great bikes, but they're not exactly marquee brands. And I fear that's what this tech needs in order to break out into the mainstreams consciousness.
Or, perhaps a few well informed, discerning riders will not care about brand and will reap the benefits that all others will never know!
step 2: change it just a litle bit
step 3: profit????
dammit, make it the century.