2013 Marin Bikes
There aren’t many bike companies around who can boast as much mountain bike heritage as Marin, designed in the same spot in Marin County, California for over 25 years. The UK has always been a big market for Marin, so we were keen to grab a quick look at some of the 2013 range.
Mount Vision
It’s hard to believe that the original Mount Vision is now 17 years old! Today the Mount Vision offers 140mm of rear wheel travel through Marin’s Quad 3 suspension system. Top of the range model, the XM Pro comes with Fox CTD Kashima coated suspension front and rear, a RockShox Reverb seatpost and Sram 2 x 10 transmission, while next model down, the XM 8 (pictured) has a more traditional 3 x 10 drivetrain courtesy of Shimano XT, as well as Crank Brother’s new Kronolog dropper post. This year sees the addition of a 142mm thru-axle and tapered head tube across the range, for a 15% stiffer frame than it’s predecessors.
Rift Zone
For 2013 the Rift Zone is only available as a 29” wheel option. Also using the Quad 3 system the Rift Zone delivers 100mm of rear wheel travel. Pictured is the Rift Zone XC6, the lower specced model in the Rift Zone line up. Why? Because at a penny shy of £1,700 I really don’t think you’ll be able to find a better priced full-sus 29er. With the exact same frame featuring a tapered head tube and thru-axle as the more expensive models, this is the perfect platform for anyone looking to give 29ers a go.
Team CXR 29ER
In a similar vein the Team CXR 29ER is also fantastic value for money, a complete build 29” wheeled carbon fibre race bike for £1,999.99. Again this would make the perfect platform for any cross country racer out there, although the standard spec of XT/Deore 3X10 transmission, superlight custom wheelset and RockShox Reba fork is impressive enough.
To see more photos of the bikes, visit the IMB facebook page.
Fri 13th Jul, 2012 @ 11:49 am
