Submitted by
flyingmudball
a Cross Country Rider
from York
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2007
Strengths: 2004 model: Light, excellent quad rear suspension and well matched forks cope with anything I ride; Mono Mini brakes (a real bonus at this price point!); Light wheels (WTB hubs)help with overall zippy feel; Fox Float R shock (some bobbing on the road, but much better matched to quad link suspension than newer propedal shocks).
Weaknesses: ISIS bb changed under warranty after 2 mths, then ditched in favour of XT Hollowtech II 6mth later; WTB hubs not particularly weatherproof, but easy to service. Eventually upgraded to Hope wheels after 18 mths.
Bottom Line:
2004 model perfect for fast XC on a wide variety of trails. Newer models seem to be compromising for wider appeal at expense of lightness - a shame, as there are plenty better all mountain bikes out there.
Strengths: Light, fast, agile, smooth, enjoyable to ride and plenty of mud room. No problem with the 4 bar linkage, though linkage behind the seat tube collects the mud.
Weaknesses: Isis bottom bracket, I broke two. WTB headset, not sealed well enough for bad weather riding, replaced with FSA. Stem long, fork steerer tube cut too short. Front mech difficult to align efficiently. Skarebs work well but get a bit flexy in rocks. Rear swing arm tracks well but could be laterally stiffer. Bottom bracket slightly high.
Bottom Line:
This bike loves the twisty singletrack. It's a XC bike that can trail ride very competently. Climbs very well, very little noticable bob. Descends smoothly, though is a bit flexy through loose rocks when trying to chase down my mate's Turner. Improvements, perhaps the BB could go down by a few cms, I never hit my pedals, and the head could be slackend by a smidging, stiffen the rear swing arm laterally and have a slightly more linear spring rate, plus a lock out, needs better headset and ditch the crappy Isis system and don't cut down the fork steerer tube. I really enjoy riding this bike it does what it was designed for. You won't be disppointed should you buy one.
Similar Products Used: tested Scott Genius, Cannondale Jekyll, Trek Fuel, VT. Ridden many hard tails too.
Bike Setup: LX/XT drive train, Fox Vanilla 100mm, tried some Pace RC40's at 130mm but it made the bike feel vague on the singletrack losing some of the bike's charm. Panracer 2.1 Firepros. Hope mono minis 180/160. Flite, Easton bars.
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Submitted by
Richard
a Cross Country Rider
from Alameda
Date Reviewed: January 16, 2006
Strengths: Frame Design
Weaknesses: The Forks, and whatever odds and ends were sacrificed for value...
Bottom Line:
Being a hardcore steel hardtail fan, i was very suprised at the weight/performance. Climbing was a breeze, passed my previous benchmark (hardtail). Was very impressed at the how efficient the rear suspension was, kept looking back to see if my rear tire was flat, very soft, but very effiencient climbing...prolly end up pumpin the rear shock later..(Im a lite rider, buck 50). Downhills were a blast, approaching 40mph i felt like i could do more...while still pumping the shocks...Great bike..
Bike Setup: Stock with upgraded Fox Forx, XT Hubs, 760 Der, XT Cassette.
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Submitted by
john gillespie
a Weekend Warrior
from united kindom
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2006
Strengths: light weight,responsive,lifetime waranty,hope mini disks
Weaknesses: cage placement.
Bottom Line:
have found no probs with this machine that were not sorted by marin or by the abuse that i dish it. upgrades include hollow tech cranks after getting fed up with isis wearing out. hope hubs and pins as standard ones were just not staying put and after a few bent disks enough was enough.creaked like a sod, spoke to marin they replaced the two piece quad links to one piece links and I got a bearing change all free of charge. I am worried by the strength of frame.im not a huge bloke 10stone i am doing 3 to 4ft drops.what sort of drops have other owners got away with and is it worth upgrading rear suspension.
Strengths: A delight to ride, whether on the streets of Brixton or general offroading for which it's designed. Seems to go over everything. Light, freewheels well.
Weaknesses: Had one or two problems swapping over to disk brakes, which I guess are now standard.
Bike Setup: Will take (Old Man Mountain) pannier racks for touring if you need - can be fixed on to the V brake mounts.
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Submitted by
Nathan Wood
a Racer
from Victoria, B.C, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 10, 2005
Strengths: an extreamly light and agile F.S. x-country bike. the manitou skareb super w/tpc lockout combined w/ the fox float RL w/ propedal is a deadly XC combo.
Weaknesses: the only probs. I had w/ the Rift Zone inlcuded skipping gears and the noise made by the chain slap on hollow tubes. the skipping was solved by continuous housing from the second housing guide to the derailler. the chain slap noise was solved by an anti-chain slap device.
Bottom Line:
The stock parts are a little(actually a lot)to heavy for a XC race, but the frame and fork spec'd out with appropriate hardware will turn this XC bike into a XC machine. To sum it up, the stock bike is perfect for the casual XC/light trailrider,if you want to race, buy ythe frame and fork and splurge on the parts, you won't be sorry. P.S. all of you people whining about creaks or poss. breakage. get real, first, learn to set your bike up so its quiet , second the bike comes with a lifetime warranty, nuff said.
Similar Products Used: The bike I'm reviewing is an 2004 rift zone.
Bike Setup: ,04 rift zone w/ a man.skareb super and a fox float RL. w/ propedal, Mavic Crossmax wheels, XTR deraillers and cranks, Deore hydraulics w/ hayes rotors(their lighter then shimano rotors)XT rapidfire pods, FSA XC riser bar, Carbon wrap Pazazz stem, Race Face XY post and a Selle Italia SLR saddle.
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Submitted by
Gaz Edmunds
a Weekend Warrior
from Washington, DC
Date Reviewed: February 23, 2005
Strengths: Pretty light, and fairly durable (despite what the asinine reviews below this one say. Wooden seatpost? Coke cans? Dozy Brits..!). This bike is pretty damn fast, and fun to throw around. I like the styling a lot too - sets you apart from the hordes of Blurs and Cannondales I see all over the place. Finally - and this is DAMNED important - Marin has some kickass customer service.
Weaknesses: The creaking. Oh, the creaking! Finally got annoyed at taking the bike apart, regreasing, reassembling, still getting creaked at, and called Marin. Seems that some of the 2003 bikes were made using a two piece link system that apparantly causes it. BUT - the nice lads at Marin told me to bring it to the local dealer and that they would retrofit it with new one piece linkies free of charge, and thus solve the creaking. Also all Marin FS frames have IDIOTIC water bottle placement, but this doesn't bother me, since anyone with a brain should be using a Camelbak. Finally, the last weakness I'd say would be that no matter what size frame you get, it's got the same standover. Which is not a bother if you're 5'7 - 6'0, but if you're shorter or taller, then it's tough getting an exact fit.
Bottom Line:
The frame, for it's couple of minor faults, is MONEY. I test rode a stock Rift Zone and Yeti Kokopelli side by side, and I have to say that the Marin won hands down. (This is surprising, since I went in there having already decided to buy the Yeti!)
The component spec on the fully built Rift Zone (particularly the 03 and 04) leaves a lot to be desired, but if you can spy a custom one on ebay or the like, I'd jump on it as fast as I'd jump on Rebecca Romijn. (Well, not that fast..!) It's an excellent bike for someone on a budget, making the transition from hardtail to squishy, but be prepared to add some extra cash along the road to upgrade parts. (I've probably sank another $500 into this bike since I bought it, but I now have a bike that really is a Blur Killer, and I have a nice pile of XT parts that I'll use to build up a nice hardtail frame that's sitting in my basement.) Unless you're a serious XC rider and can afford $3k plus for a Turner or a Racer X, the Rift Zone is an excellent rig. Keep your eyes peeled for these on eBay, or the MTBR classifieds, and if you can get a frame for around $400, or a complete bike for $1,000 or less, do it. The 05 model has MUCH nicer components these days, and well worth a look. I'd give it a solid four burners, but will upgrade it to five to help offset the spam reviews below!!
Bike Setup: Custom built - 03 Rift Zone frame with Fox AVA rear, Rock Shox Psylo fork, RaceFace Turbine cranks, King headset, full SRAM X9, WTB laserdisc lite handmade wheelies, Hayes hydraulics, and a comfy Laser V Progel saddle. Aaaah, my arse feels good!
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Submitted by
chris hamilton
a Weekend Warrior
from san francisco, ca
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2004
Strengths: Forks, Frame and nice lightweight 233 tryes all come as stock. No bob on steep climbs, nice firm rebound on front forks on rutted downhill.
Weaknesses: stock bar grips are crap.
Bottom Line:
the bottom line is that I shopped around like a b*tch and I got an incedible deal on a 2003 demo model that had been ridden around a parking lot a few times. If you're quick, there are two more 2003 ex-demo Rift Zones, which are priced around $1,100. This is a great XC light wieght bike which is as much at home on the climb as it is on the descent. I'm 170 and the stock get up suits me fine. I am a very happy chap.
Similar Products Used: Yeti Kokopelli, Jeckyll 600.
Bike Setup: all stock for now.
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Submitted by
Ben Swanson
a Cross Country Rider
from Nashville, TN USA
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2004
Strengths: My 1st full suspension, can speed downhills and not too much bob on uphills. Rode on street a lot too and it was fast.
Weaknesses: Broke frame after 6 months at chain stay. Frame is very loud and creaky. Hayes HFX-9 brakes suck. Front shock not stiff enough.
Bottom Line:
I really enjoyed this bike for the 6 months I rode it and think it was good deal. I am big rider 6'4", 220 and felt like the bike fit good. 6 foot drops probably not good idea on this bike if u r fat like me. Hope Marin sends me newer or graded frame, and I'll give them another shot. If I break another frame going to try something else.
Bike Setup: XT crank, derailluers, cassette, Hayes disc, Thomson, Mavic
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Submitted by
jp
a Weekend Warrior
from warrington, uk
Date Reviewed: November 29, 2003
Strengths: firstly it's very light, feels as though you could go anywhere, which you pretty much could. The ride is comfortable and you are insulated from the terrain effectively. Good shock / fork (for me anyhow)
Weaknesses: Feels insubstantial and the monocoque design / materials amplify all noises. eg the creaking i suffer from the bottom bracket area drives me mad and the dealer advises me it's 'fretting' and needs to go into the shop for strip & lube & whatever. I have had a LOT of problems with rear gear action - poort shifting, chain skipping, noisy. I eventually swapped the cassette for an XT cassette which is better, but still not great...
Bottom Line:
If you value comfort over excitement, this might be for you.
Similar Products Used: first FS bike. Previously hardtail bikes
Bike Setup: stock with XT cassette, shimano flat pedals, new lo riser bar
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Submitted by
Richard
a Weekend Warrior
from London
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2003
Strengths: Light Weight, mix of components at price, smooth ride, responsiveness, brakes (Hope Minis)
Weaknesses: Bars, too flat & narrow for me, Hope Discs hissing, feels a little cramped compared to my Spec Stumpjumper - I've got the largest 19" frame and am 6'3" I'll see how I get on, but may fit a longer stem with some bar ends
Bottom Line:
Light, good ride, stiff - my first full suspension purchase (hired lots) and it's what I want a step up from a hardtail without huge weight and bounce/bob.
I got a good deal list over here is 1650 with the discs I got it for 1200 - so pretty happy.
Giving it a good blast at the weekend to see how she feels after several miles/hours on the trail.
Submitted by
phil jackson
a Weekend Warrior
from Hull East Yorkshire uk
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2003
Strengths: The rear suspension is excellent, the four bar linkage works really well with very little bob when climbing.The forks are very responsive and light.Full bike weight only about 26lb . The saddle is well comfy
Weaknesses: pedals , bottle cage mounts and having to pay more for the hope mini's (£200)
Bottom Line:
I love this bike! the weight is low and the finishing kit is good.This is the perfect bike for all day cross country hacks , the next day you don't feel you've been out on a ride!The WTB saddle and suspension system make for a very comfy ride.I was a bit annoyed at having to pay an extra £200 for a good set of brakes(hope mini's)but it's definately a good investment.The next model up , the Mount Vision , in my opinion is overpriced especially when the frame is the same through the range. If you enjoy long cross country hacks then buy this bike , you'll love it.
Similar Products Used: Marin Rocky Ridge , Kona Kahuna
Bike Setup: Stock except for hope mini's and WTB V12 pedals
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Submitted by
Alex
a Weekend Warrior
from Penzance, Cornwall, England
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2003
Strengths: The rear sus design is so efficient when putting the power down.Massive amount of mud clearance.To me it looks sh*t hot. First cross counry bike for me and i am well impressed at how it handles bigger hits.
Weaknesses: Tyres and grips are poor. Swapped wtb pedals for time atacs.Tyres are really thin for me( Compared to my old nokians) upgading to 2.1 panaracer fire xc
Bottom Line:
Absolutly pro bike. Being from a jump background i was extremely impressed with the weight and stiffness. Makes long rides bearable even for me. At the end of a ride you feel like you want to back out on the trail and do it all over again. Tyres are crap but easily changed. Overall a top bike for the cash.
Similar Products Used: Orange sub 5, East peak, wolf ridge, specialized stumpjumper fs
Bike Setup: Stock except for peddles and tyres
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Submitted by
daniel
a Cross Country Rider
from london uk
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2003
Strengths: its got a red stripe on the down tube!!
Weaknesses: total waste aluminium, melted down coke cans i reckon.. awful pedal power!! needs and engine fitted to the rear hub to get the beastly thing moving! go buy some boxer shorts instead
Bottom Line:
need a new bike?? bhuy and apollo batter than this thing, snapped the frame on first ride and the paint job flaked in 56 mins, take ure mom on holiday instead!! much more fun! and not such a waste of good money..
