BMX/Kids – Marin

Marin Donkey Jr.

Blue outer space theme

Donky 24 in black

Donky 24 in blue

Is your 8 year old kind of picky? The Marin Donkey Jr. might be the bike to get. Kids (both boys and girls) seem to like the colors, the ride quality and the way the parts work.

These bikes were originally meant for bike shops in Japan, but when supplies of kids’ bikes ran low back in 2020, Marin diverted some of these great little bikes and sent them to the U.S.

The Donkey model is the next step beyond 20″ coaster-brake starter bikes. Perfect for riding to school, trying out the Grand Forest trails, or commuting to work (it’s never too early!). This Marin has gears to help tame a hilly neighborhood and a light aluminum fork (suspension adds 3 pounds to most kids’ bikes) so little kids can manage their bikes better on the trails. The wheels have quick-release axles so loading the bike into the car will be a snap.

Family rides will be more fun, as these light-weight geared bikes are designed so that your kids can lead the way, not struggle behind.

Made with aluminum frames and components, this bike can fit a water bottle and it comes with a quick adjust lever for the seat height.

Marin San Quentin 24

Get your little riding buddy on a fast and capable bike and you’ll get to ride faster yourself.

The Marin San Quentin is a premium quality off-road rig with better features than every other kids’ hardtail mountain bike out there. To start with, you get quick-release levers on the rear wheel and seatpost, and a thru-axle for the front wheel. You get a 1x drivetrain with 11 gears (shifting with a trigger-shifter instead of a twist-grip). Parts that are often constructed out of heavy steel on other kids’ bikes are made from light aluminum on this one. There’s a cartridge bottom bracket that’ll keep the water out of the crank area, and the control cables are fully shielded from the levers to the derailleurs which will protect the wires from rust and grit.

…And a 20” version for kids 5 to 8

This Marin has an air-sprung Rockshox suspension fork with aluminum (not heavy chromed steel) sliders and an adjustable spring rate and a lock-out switch.
Oh wait, the brakes! Did we mention that you get Shimano hydraulic disc brakes on this bike? Yep. That’s right. A kids’ bike that actually stops when they want it to stop. How about that?

Get your little buddy this Marin and she’ll be leading you down the trail instead of lagging behind.

Marin Bayview Trail 24

Bayview Trail in blue

If you are looking for a real mountain bike for your 8 to 12 year-old, look no further.

Marin’s Bayview Trail 24 puts all of the off-road technology that you would find on a good adult hardtail into this small package.

These bikes come with 80mm-travel Suntour suspension forks that are appropriately sprung for small riders, and they even have adjustable pre-load springs. The lightweight double-wall wheels come with quick release levers for easy maintenance and travel. Overall weight is reduced with high quality aluminum construction all around. The handlebars, stem, seatpost, crankset, derailleurs, brakes, and even spoke nipples utilize better materials to make the bike light and trouble free. The stem is the threadless style (not the old-fashioned quill style), which is more easily adjusted and about a half-pound lighter.

Bayview Trail in grey

There’s space for a water bottle cage. The seat height is adjustable with a quick-release lever. The cables that control the brakes and shifters run housing uninterrupted from the controls down, so if the bike is left out in the rain, the cables won’t get rusty. Even the cheap steel freewheels typically found on the back wheel of most kids bikes have been replaced by lighter and more durable 7-speed cassette-style gears.

Shifting and braking effort is nice and easy for small hands with quality Shimano Altus derailleurs and smooth Tektro V-brakes.

Okay, the bike is clearly higher quality than what you get from Specialized, Diamondback, Giant or Trek. How much more does it set you back? It runs about $30 more than most of those brands, which is about what it would cost you to replace the stock bolt-on front wheel axle from one of those bikes with a quick-release version.

Marin Hidden Canyon 20″

Hidden Canyon in silver

This Marin is a real mountain bike for your 6 to 8 year old.

The Hidden Canyon moves your child past the training wheels and coaster-brake starter bikes and into a geared bike with hand brakes. If your neighborhood is hilly, it means junior can ride instead of walking up hills. You can go further together than if the little guy or gal were struggling to keep up on a single-speed.

These Marins come with hand brakes (discs even!), a lightweight aluminum fork, chain guards, and 7 gears with a twist-grip style shifter. They are built to the same quality standards as our adult bikes. Most of the parts are made out of aluminum instead of steel, so the bike is rust-resistant and the overall weight is a whole lot less than a typical kids bike.

Hidden Canyon in blue

There’s a quick-release seat post clamp for height adjustments and sealed cartridge bearing headsets and bottom brackets for extra durability (and a lighter weight bike).
By the way, you get quick-release hubs on the wheels so you can easily remove a wheel to fit the bike in the car.

These bikes aren’t disposable junk. When your kid outgrows his or her Marin, these bikes will still be viable, ride-able bikes that can be traded in or passed on to the next child (and the next after that one).

About our website…

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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…