mountain – Marin

Marin Rift Zone series

Rift Zone 1 in purple

If you’re looking for a fun and capable trail bike that won’t break your budget, look at these Marins.

The first one is Marin’s Rift Zone 1 full suspension trail bike. It’s a gas to ride, comes with some pretty great parts and is all yours for under $1800.

So what do you get for your money? You get a playful and tough design that you’ll love to take on twisty and technical singletrack trails. You get a trail bike with 130mm of suspension travel in the back and 140mm of travel in the front. The X Fusion Slide air-sprung fork comes with adjustable spring rate, rebound and a lock-out switch. You get a bike that rolls on either 27.5″ or 29” wheels (your pick) and a Shimano Deore 1 x 12 drivetrain. There’s a dropper seatpost, hydraulic disc brakes and cartridge sealed bearings in the headset, bottom bracket, frame pivots and wheels.

If you’ve been looking for a full suspension bike under $2000 you’ve probably found a lot of heavy bikes out there with at least one component or design element that looks a little suspect. Maybe you’ve found used full suspension bikes that were a whole bunch of worn-out parts rolling around on ten-year old suspension designs. Worse than those, you probably found new bikes that were basically down-spec’d race bikes that were no fun to play around on and too heavy to actually race.

This Marin will beat all of those “options” with great handling, fresh design, outstanding components and light weight (the medium size Rift Zone 1 bike weighs 29lbs).

As for the second option, if you’d like a better fork and a few more component upgrades, consider the Rift Zone 2, it has some nice extras and still comes in around $2300.

Marin Rift Zone 2

These are great sporty bikes that do a lot of things well. They’re fast enough to race, they’re stable (and tough enough) to handle the more advanced trails at Whistler bike park, and they’re comfortable enough to leisurely roll through the Grand Forest as you follow your 10-year-old around the park.

Speaking of… If you happen to be under 5’ tall or want a full-suspension trail bike for your kids, check out the Rift Zone jr., which is available with 24” or 26” wheels…

Marin Pine Mountain Series

Marin Pine Mountain 2

Pine Mountain 1

Okay, so it turns out that these “adventure” mountain bikes with their big tires are a lot of fun.

We were originally pretty skeptical, thinking that the wide tires looked an awful lot like what comes on snow bikes and that they might be pretty slow. It turns out that 29″ x 2.6″ tires feel pretty fast. They’re also reasonably light and roll over roots and rocks that normally would stop your bike dead in its tracks. With these tires, the Pine Mountain is as capable as a full-suspension bike with skinnier tires (and if you forego rear suspension your bike can be lighter and less expensive).

The steel frame and all of the attachment points for bottle cages, racks and frame bags? They seem like design attributes that you wouldn‘t need short of a bike-packing trip through the Cascades. Maybe so, but here’s the thing about under-utilized features: If your bike is going to be overbuilt, it might as well be extra comfortable, extra tough, and have the ability to haul extra stuff.

One more thing: A purple Pine Mountain 2 is the bike I ride, and I love everything about it. It’s more fun than the carbon-fiber full suspension bike I had previously (and that one had all of the bells and whistles), and it’s just the right amount of trail-capable, comfortable and efficient for riding at Port Gamble and the Grand Forest.

Marin Bobcat Trail series

Marin Bobcat Trail 3

Marin makes a bunch of premium-level bikes that seem to be missing the premium price.

Take the Bobcat Trail 4 for example: It’s a great looking hardtail with awesome parts.
The bikes come with short stems and wide bars for maximum handling and obstacle jumping fun, with 100 t0 120mm travel forks and slackened front end geometry. They are created to be more versatile and playful than your average mountain bike.
There’s a Suntour XCM fork with the hydraulic lockout switch on the top. There’s a Shimano 10 speed drivetrain. Regardless of the size bike that you get (with 27.5″ or 29″ size wheels) you’ll roll around on premium WTB tires. The disc brakes are Tektro hydraulics which you’ll find on a bike in much higher price ranges. The cables are fully shielded, with housing running from the levers all the way to the derailleurs (a nice touch that keeps your shifters running smoothly). The cockpit components are all robust, feather light and colored to match the bike.

Marin Bobcat Trail 4

The Bobcat 3 will get you out of the house and onto the trails for around $800. The Bobcat 5 will get you into to a simple (and tough) Shimano Cues 1 x 11 drivetrain, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes and an adjustable Rockshox fork for just over a grand.

By the way, the folks at Marin named these bikes after the Bobcat trail system near Sausalito, California. If you feel like riding your Bobcat Trail on the Bobcat Trail (in Marin County, essentially the birthplace of mountain biking), let us know and we’ll give you directions to get there.

Marin Larkspur

Marin Larkspur 2

The Marin Larkspur has all the looks of an old-school step-through but with chunky tanwall tires, wide rims, powerful disc brakes and the option of a dropper seat post (which comes stock on The Larkspur 2). Beneath those old-school looks is a super modern and Marin Bikes-made steel frame and plenty of today’s standards to keep it right up to date.

Why just roll to pick up a few groceries or ride to work when you can take a detour down your favorite dirt track on the way? It’s an adventure bike, it’s a gravel bike, it’s a mountain bike, it’s a commuter bike… it’s whatever you want it to be.

Built with similar frame geometry to the earliest mountain bikes, this bike is surprisingly capable off-road.

Marin Rift Zone jr.

Rift Zone jr. with 26” wheels

Have a young trail shredder in your life? There’s a smaller do-it-all trail bike from our friends at Marin, The Rift Zone jr. Available with either 24” or 26” wheels, the Rifty jr. Makes full-sized performance available for riders in the 4’6” to 5’ tall set.

Just like with the full size Rift Zone, the junior has 130mm rear travel, a lightweight aluminum frame and a super-plush suspension platform for great times on the trails.

Got another little shredder still on a balance bike? The Rift Zone 26 shares the same frame, fork and shock as the Rift Zone 24. Simply swap the wheels to downsize it to 24″ as the perfect hand-me-down.

Marin Team mountain bike

Marin Team 1

Marin made this bike for you.

The Marin Team 1 and 2 are race bikes that are plenty capable and tough enough to pilot on really technical trails. They’re light (but not too light), they have fast-rolling tires (that still have decent bite in slimy mud) great suspension forks and precise Shimano 1 x 12 drivetrains.

Marin built two bikes with the high-school mountain bike league in mind. Kids that grow out of their starter mountain bikes are going to want something fun and fast, and while a $5000 carbon fiber hardtail would be nice, it can be a bit much for the budget (especially if the rider is still growing). These bikes have msrps of only $1500 and $2500.

Other options in this price range typically include ten-year-old full suspension bikes (that have obsolete wheel sizes and worn-out parts) and used carbon fiber hardtails (that probably have the same drawbacks). Pick the right bike. Pick fresh equipment and a versatile design.

Marin Team 2

If you’re looking at the Budu race series this year and want a faster bike consider the Team. Gear Grinder club rides will be more fun on these super capable bikes.

The Team 2 model now comes stock with a dropper post, and one can be added to the Team 1 bike for only $120.

By the way, for every four of these bikes sold by their dealers Marin donates one of these bikes to the high school mountain bike league.

Marin Wildcat Trail Series

Marin Wildcat 3

Marin’s Wildcat series are tough and capable 27.5″ trail bikes with dimensions that fit shorter riders just right. With similar components and prices to the Bobcat trail models, the main difference will be shorter reach to the handlebars, lower standover heights and different colors.

The Wildcat Trail 2 and 3 are great mid-level mountain bikes that will work well for the off-road beginner and occasional rider. They are built around 27.5″ wheels that have tremendous traction and roll over larger obstacles without a second thought.

The Wildcat Trail 3 is a fast and durable bike that will stand up to the rain and mud for many seasons. You get awesome tires, hydraulic disc brakes, a Shimano Altus or Microshift Advent drivetrain (with cables that have housing that runs uninterrupted from the lever to the derailleur, a nice touch), and a 120mm-travel Suntour suspension fork with a lock-out switch.

Marin Bolinas Ridge 1 & 2

Bolinas Ridge 1

Here’s are some nice starter mountain bikes for teens and adults.

These are Marin’s Bolinas Ridge models. They’re nice entry-level hardtail mountain bikes equipped with disc brakes, Shimano drivetrains (Tourney and Acera), and Suntour suspension forks with 100mm of travel (the Bolinas Ridge 2 has a suspension lockout on it). A lot of good component spec and a brand new bike for less than $700.

The Bolinas Ridge models happen to roll on top of 27.5 inch wheels. The 26” wheel size was the mountain bike standard for over 30 years but now most off-road rigs are now using 27.5” or 29” wheels for the improved traction and ability to roll over large obstacles.

With these bikes you get a broad size range. With the extra small 13″ frame size rolling around on top of 27.5″ wheels you‘ll get nimble handling, good comfort and decent standover clearance for folks in the 4’9″ to 5’1″ height range. The small to medium sizes are still easy to handle for people just over 5’ tall, and can provide some room to grow up to 5’7” or so.

Bigger sizes are also available (of course) in both versions. We generally advise larger adult riders to grab the Bolinas Ridge 2 or make the step up to more expensive bike models that will provide greater long-term durability.

About our website…

Add to cart…

You may have noticed that many of the bikes on our website are lacking prices.
We also seem to be missing an “add to shopping cart” button.
These omissions are purposeful.
We like bikes. We like you. We want you to ride a bicycle that works well, fits you correctly, and is appropriate for the kinds of riding that you like to do.
We can’t make all of this happen through a website.
If you want a new bike, come in to Classic Cycle. Talk to us. Touch the bicycles. You can ride around Winslow, and see what the different models have to offer.
Come in to the shop and try out the bikes that interest you. Ask for our opinions and get some concrete facts. With us you’ll know who is behind the product review.
Sit at our bar and watch bike racing on the television or experience a bit of our little museum.
Spend some time here so Jaime can show you clothing and accessories that will resolve the little issues that nag at you while you ride.
Paul will assemble your bike with the same attention to detail that went into building bikes for two Olympic Games and countless professional racers.
Leave the UPS guy alone. He can’t help you put that mail-order bike together…