Suspension Design There has been a lot of smack talk about single-pivot rear suspension in past decades. Much of that centered around braking performance, but if you learned to ride on a BMX or a hardtail mountain bike, then you'd never notice the impaired suspension action that most single pivot suspensions exhibit under hard braking. The sensation feels exactly like riding a hardtail and can be moderated as such. There's more to the equation than that, but it's a rare single-pivot that bucks the braking physics and still pedals well.
On a more positive note, one-by drivetrains put single-pivots back in the game. Focusing the chain line at one location in relationship with the chainring reduces the dramatic variations in anti-squat and suspension rise that were imposed on rear suspension by multiple chainrings during the evil front derailleur era. Also, unlike the predominant short-link four-bar designs, which are plagued by reversing leverage curves, single-pivot suspensions can be easily manipulated to produce predictable rising rate curves that produce more consistent shock damping and make tuning your suspension easy as pie. It's a win for simplicity - and for affordable trail bikes.
Standout Components Marin spec'd some components that we don't see often, but that may change soon. Tektro Orion brakes, for instance, have four-pot calipers, a firm, very positive engagement feel, and their all aluminum lever/master cylinders are more substantially built than competing Shimano or SRAM brakes. If you can live with two-finger levers, they are definitely a step up. This is the first bike I've ridden with FSA's new modular crankset. The Comet shares FSA's new direct-mount chainring, which (like Race Face) will make switching or replacing chainrings a five-minute operation. Looks great too.
Out back, a Shimano SLX changer shifts a lightweight, wide-range e*Thirteen cassette - which solves an issue that I have with Shimano drivetrains. Shimano's smallest cog is an 11, which forces its owner to choose either an adequate climbing gear at the risk of spinning out in the 11, or a larger chainring that punishes climbing at the expense of top speed. E*Thirteen's 9 by 46-tooth spread handily solves the problem in both directions.
Specifications
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Release Date
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2019 |
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Price
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$2749.99 |
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Travel |
150 R, 160 F |
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Rear Shock |
X-Fusion O2 PRO RXC, |
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Fork |
RockShox Yari RC 29, 160mm |
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Headset |
FSA |
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Cassette |
E*Thirteen 9 x 46 11-speed |
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Crankarms |
FSA Comet 30t |
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Chainguide |
ISCG 05 mounts |
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Bottom Bracket |
Threaded |
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Pedals |
NA |
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Rear Derailleur |
Shimano SLX 11 speed |
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Chain |
KMC X11 Extra Light |
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Front Derailleur |
NA |
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Shifter Pods |
Shimano SL iSpec |
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Handlebar |
Marin Mini-Riser 780mm wide, 28mm rise, 5° up, 9° back |
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Stem |
Marin 35mm, aluminum, 31.8 clamp |
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Grips |
Marin locking |
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Brakes |
Tektro Orian 4-piston, 180mm rotor F&R |
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Wheelset |
Marin |
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Hubs |
Marin |
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Spokes |
14G stainless, black |
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Rim |
Marin 29mm inner width aluminum, tubeless ready |
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Tires |
Vee Tire Flow Snap 29 x 2.6" Tackee compound |
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Seat |
Marin Speed Concept |
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Seatpost |
X-Fusion Manic, 150mm travel dropper |
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Bikes over $3500 are a scam
RC, in his review above. Did you read it?
I'd actually love to see a blind test (yes I know it's practically impossible because you can see the tread) of those tires against a comparably priced Maxxis of choice. Because the matching Maxxis will likely be a heavy and hard single-compound, maybe a dual-compound, but def not a fancy EXO 3C MaxxGrip or SuperTacky. And without the placebo of seeing Maxxis on the sidewall, I'm very sure that the results would be different. Hell, even a review of those tires right here on PB didn't dismiss them as crap tires, and in fact said the wet performance was to be desired (opposite of this review).
Say what you want about their issues, but it's criminal to not include YT in a discussion of incredible-value enduro bikes.
Tough choice to make.
I picked up the Process 153 AL 29'er during that Jenson deal, and feel like it was the best deal I've seen in months. My buddy who didn't jump on it (and is still on an older hardtail) missed it, and now I pointed him to the Marin to keep an eye on it.
I'll be honest though even though this is a good deal, the first thought I had was "oh, I wonder if chain reaction has a deal on this Marin" (no, no they don't).
Would love to see another round of "affordable" bike reviews from pinkbike.
I'm a new rider, and am actively getting more people into the sport (5 so far ), so more affordable options I can recommend is a good thing.
Getting more riders into the sport is a good thing! Keep em coming!
I agree either one of those bikes would be a great choice for a big 29er on a budget. I like a lot of the spec choices on the Marin... they really know how to mix and match parts for performance and value.
Note- that e-13 cassette saves over 1/2lb compared to Nx-eagle.
Marin usually does have a smart spec for the money, cheers to them!
Agreed that NX cassette is a boat anchor. Fortunately there are lots of options to choose from.
@squarewheel Can't go wrong with any of those. That Bird Aeris is going to be hard to beat. I would also recommend (if you're riding more than a few hours or 2kft) a piggyback rear shock and (for Rockshox) a fork with Charger 2 or at least a Charger 1 (RC) damper so you can upgrade w/ a Luftkappe piston during your 50 hr service. Either of those you can also go all in with an Avalanche damper.
I have a 92cm (36") inseam, would that have anything to do with it?
15 kg is too much for me.
However, they were out of stock and I had to wait until it arrived on Monday.
Two days later, the only review that even mentioned a possible post insertion depth issue was released by Pinkbike.
Today, as I hoped to complete my build with upgrade parts in time for the weekend, I realised that full extension of my new 150mm post has me reaching six inches more than my inseam to reach the pedal at the lowest point of the stroke.
About a month too late, Pinkbike!
Looks like I might have to make do with a 100mm post...
I was close to just buy one because of all the reviews out in the web like you. But this droper post issue is real let down (pun intendet). Now I want to testride befor I buy one.
Speaking of cost - management I replace my chain at 0.5 on the Park wear tool and have gone 5 seasons on a XX1 cassette (please don't hate me for getting XX1) and 3 seasons on a e13.
However an observation per RC's comment - "Shimano's smallest cog is an 11, which forces its owner to choose either an adequate climbing gear at the risk of spinning out in the 11, or a larger chainring that punishes climbing at the expense of top speed.". This is, of course highly dependent on personal circumstances. I don't have flat or downhill road rides to trailhead and don't have the high speed trails to even come close to using the 11t smallest Shimano cog let alone the e13's smallest 9th cog.
I got the e13 because it's light and had the 46t largest cog and was on sale ($150 on their website - just subscribe to emails) but even that price is higher than a Shimano SLX cog especially when those go on sale. So your comment about price is still bang on even when comparing deals for deals
Just released brand spanking new Shimano M7100 11-50 470g cassette - $99
SRAM's cheapest XD Cassette is "only" 10-42 and weighs 390g - $120
SRAM's cheapest "wide range" 10-50 is 450g and is roughly twice the cost of the M7100 11-50 at $200.
What's sad is that you can get a wide range 11-50 cassette from SRAM for $90...but it's made to fit Shimano's HG freehub. Proof that all XD has done is increase the cost of replacement for the poor souls who buy bikes with it.
I've got an XD driver for my DT Swiss that needs swapped for a HG driver...but I may just go for MicroSpline and save myself the headache years down the road. I kinda wish someone made a steel 46t to somehow add to the XG1150 10-42 cassette, that might be the only way I'd keep this XD driver.
2 inches is 51mm
Naming conventions of bikes don't need to reflect accurately as they're just names, but 1" is 25.4mm, and theres no two ways about it.
4" is a rough approximate to 100mm. I'm not sure if he was trying to say you can maintain your seat angle within 100mm above and 100mm below the handlebar height, or 50mm above and 50mm below by sliding your saddle on the rails.
If I had to take a guess, I'd say 50mm above and 50mm below as he's American and Americans tend to use imperial measurements.
All of the above is moot though, because your seat should always be slammed forward to get the steepest effective seat angle you can.
Oh, and I guess this discussion is due an "I'm an Engineer" comment too! :3
Biggest point though is though, don't take these measurements too accurate. I've got a recipe that was translated from English to Dutch. It said I needed to roll a piece of dough until it is ABOUT 25.4cm long. Sometimes accuracy is good but you need to know where to stop. When people talk in whole inches, a conversion to whole centimeters is more than accurate enough.
Nahh. I like bike shops. I take it you haven't ridden the new slash 8. Steeper seat tube than the carbon builds and climbs better. I've ridden several of the above. Not just shooting off.
We got him up to around $1k, with various used bikes, but he was getting impatient with flaky sellers. He got his heart set on a Diamondback Atroz. Not the 2 or the 3, but the 1. I tried to upsell him on the benefits of even getting the 2 vs the 1 ("future proof" tapered headtube, better suspension, hydro brakes etc.) but nope, he wanted it and he wanted it now.
But I'll be damned that Atroz 1 is a solid bike for the money, and the coil suspension is really perfect for him as he is of average weight (170ish). We took it to Burke Bike Park for his first ride (LOL) and he loved it. It weighs probably a good 15lbs more than that trek, but is much more forgiving on the roots and rocks that we ride here in New England.
I think your car analogy is off. There are cheap, fairly limited bikes and then there are well-specified "feature complete" bikes that challenge the mid-range offerings from the big guys at significantly lower prices. I don't know what to call that but I think this is a good example of the latter. IMO this is more like a comparison between the Nissan 370Z when it was launched ten years ago and the contemporary Porsche 911 Carrera.
Yes i am aware of that, but still they can give you an option of 2-3 collors.
As seat angles become steeper, the saddle's location disproportionately encroaches into the area where you need to be in order to control the bike.
"
Interesting, I've been saying this for a while. The steep seattubes and especially with the forwards offset may benefit those who prefer a high saddle, but it puts the saddle in the wrong place when it is low. My suggestion is to have a straight and very steep (between 80 and 90 deg probably) seattube with a lot of setback (or a saddle that attaches near the nose). This way you can give the rear suspension the room to move, the saddle is enough rearwards when it is low yet still not too far rearwards when it is up. I'm still curious why this wouldn't work, other than that it would subject the seatpost to a bigger bending moment (or at least over a larger length) than it would without the offset. To me it seems like this would tackle the ergonomics and suspension issues.