The Palisade Trail(2003) was my 1st "real" mountain bike, I did plenty of big rides/races and absolutely loved it. After 4 hard yrs, 2 cracks appeared on the head tube. Frame was replaced, no questions asked by the dealer (West Rand Cycles South Africa, fantastic service, Thanks!!)with a 2007 Nail Trail. I Upgraded everything. I now have an awesome bike and will update this review when I can,I will be doing Sani2c (300kms over 3 days)2008 on this bike. So far lovely set-up and huge weight saving over the Palisade due to component upgrade!!! I doubt you will find a better HT frame.
Bike Setup: Nail Trail 15inch Frame. XT crankset. XT cassette. XT RD.Deore FD. Exustar Pedals. Juicy 7 brakes, front and rear. Rock Shox Tora front shock 100mm travel,and Poplock. USE XCR seat Post. XT Shifters.Mavic Crossland rims with Larsen TT(ust)tyres.Mavic Hubs. PRO headset.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike Penciner
a Weekend Warrior
from Israel
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2007
Strengths: Great frame, excellent stock setup, smooth, fast ride
Weaknesses: not as good as my old bike on sand - considering upgrading the tires. steering a bit skittish.
Bottom Line:
After riding an entry level hardtail for a year (and 2500 km), moving up to this bike was like a dream. The frame is amazing, and the ride is very smooth (& fast) even with the front fork locked out! I highly recommend it for my kind of riding - long hauls over varied terrain, lots of climbing & non-technical singles.
Bike Setup: Stock 2006 model - Manitou Axel Super, Shimano Lx+Deore, Truativ Firex, Hayes HFX-9 hydraulic discs, Mavic XM 117, IRC Mythos XCII
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike Penciner
a Weekend Warrior
from Israel
Date Reviewed: November 14, 2006
Strengths: Great frame, excellent stock setup, smooth, fast ride
Weaknesses: not as good as my old bike on sand - considering upgrading the tires.
Bottom Line:
After riding an entry level hardtail for a year (and 2500 km), moving up to this bike was like a dream. The frame is amazing, and the ride is very smooth (& fast) even with the front fork locked out! I highly recommend it for my kind of riding - long hauls over varied terrain, lots of climbing & non-technical singles.
Strengths: Great shifting, great brakes that you can trust, fork is amazing, smooth comfortable ride, very very versatile can do cross-coutry and most single black diamand downhill trails, very light and easy to take care of. Great all-around, all-mountain bike.
Weaknesses: Seat is a little uncomfortable after a long day of riding, pedals are pretty low (sometimes when i take a sharp turn and I'm still pedaling, my foot and pedal will touch the ground).
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike for the all-mountain rider with a small budget. Versatile, affortable, tough and light are words to describe this bike. Heavy duty manitou black fork well get you down the hill quick and in 1 piece, but light enough to get back up the hill instead of paying for a charlift.
FOR THE OVERALL RATING WITH THE FLAMIN' CHILLIS. IF I COULD I WOULD PUT 4 1/2 FLAMIN' CHILIS.
Bike Setup: Manitou Black fork, Hayes nine HYDRAULIC disc brakes, great frame, all you need in a bike.
2006 MARIN NAIL TRAIL
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Joshua Eliason
a Cross Country Rider
from Israel, Givat Ada
Date Reviewed: October 30, 2005
Strengths: Great fit, lightweight, steady ride with a good value set of components. The relationship I have with "Ol' Betsy" has long outlived all of my buddies' relationships with their bikes. I'm still in no rush to upgrade/migrate to full susp. My stomping grounds are mostly tortuous rock-strewn trails with medium-duty slopes. "Ol' Betsy"'s hardtail leaves my buddies eating my dust on the uphills. then I lag slightly on the downhills.
Weaknesses: "Ovation" Hubs died on me too often. The Shimano Deore hubs solved that. Front fork (Manitou Magnum, 80mm travel) has long ago lost its agility, despite repeated dealer maintenance. An upgrade is not worthwhile - that would probably tip the balance in favor of getting a whole new bike. Also, those little gear indicators on the handlebar need improvement. One broke off completely, the other got completely scratched and I cannot see what gear I'm in: everytime I overturn Ol' Betsy to inflate the tires, oil the chain, etc - the indicator window scratches against the ground. Gotta sneak peeks at the cassettes to see where I'm at.
Bottom Line:
Reliable, likeable (not to say loveable) rig, offering a considerable bang for the buck. The 18.5" frame is dimensioned just right for my 6' height, which really sets me free to enjoy the view - free of aches and pains on our 25-40 mile rides. A great buy for weekend warriors and for those slightly more dedicated riders. I've never hit the glass ceiling with it!
Similar Products Used: None, although I've often trial-ridden much more expensive bikes to learn why I should upgrade. Borrom line - so far I'm not convinced.
Bike Setup: The original configuration, except for Deore rear hub. Shifters, rear wheel & cassette, chain, spokes, rear shifter clamping ear have all been replaced with equivalent parts.
Strengths: This bike is a great all around bike. I have found that the frame creaks a little at first then after about 3 months use it goes away great cranks rims and brakes i love it!!!
Weaknesses: I am 16 years old and last year i was completely new to biking. So i wanted to buy a decent bike with disc brakes... Alot has Changed from then and now I am doin 5 to 10 foot drops... In 6months i managed to crack the frame!? NOT doing drops but rather doing regular xc riding. This bike was flawless except for the Pilot Sl shocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are absolutely the worst shocks ever i tried convincing my local shop Ski Market that they had been broken since i had bought the bike. So 8 months after i complained constantly to them they finally called Rock Shox and they said interestingly enough to my surprise they offered me an offer of 2003 Rock Shox Duke Race shoxs which were now old stock for 150$. this made me think that they have had some major complaints about the Pilot SLs and gave me that offer.
Bottom Line:
Great Bike but for some reason the frame cracked under normal xc abuse (check where your rear wheel quick release fits onto your frame or be prepared for a bad crash!!!)and the shocks are crap go search for Rock Shox Pilot SL on this website and see what other people have said about them i had them from the shop "brand New" and when i bounced on the shock they bottomed out WTF?? So after a painstakingly long argument with my bike shop i had them call rock shox and i got a deal on old 2003 overstock Rock Shox Duke race for 150 the company themselves told me this i could get them if i traded in my POS Pilots and now im happy after a broken frame and new shocks. The bike is awesome otherwise great parts. It is a great setup with all the parts get this bike but be prepared to replace the shocks. I thik i just got a bad frame and shocks it is a great deal and Marin and Rock Shox will warranty both the frame and the shocks (well at least they did that with me) And again have fun and I really think this bike was just a lemon.
Similar Products Used: My old Huffy (Piece Of Sh!t)
Bike Setup: Marin Nail Trail Rock Shox Duke Race
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Louis
a Cross Country Rider
from South Africa
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2004
Strengths: Excellent price for a well specced, light weight and very responsive bike
Weaknesses: Shock perhaps a little soft - fitting the firm ride kit to see if this improves it
Bottom Line:
I needed a higher spec, lighter bike to my DB and found this at a very good price (beating the competition handsdown for the same spec). I've found the bike to be responsive and handles cross country with ease - thus far i love it and will use for some time to come.
Similar Products Used: Diamonback Vectracomp (love this bike)
Bike Setup: Standard
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Edmund Fong
a Weekend Warrior
from Atlanta, GA USA
Date Reviewed: March 13, 2004
Strengths: Bought the bike at a great price. The components are great with the price with deore lx and deore shifters. The bike overall is great. The frame is well built although I would prefer a clear coat over the decals. A little plush with the orginal suspension fork which I changed out. The bike is a big different from the full-suspension bike I rode before. climbs better and all. The full suspension of course had its ups too.
Weaknesses: Certain parts need to be upgraded if you want the best ride. Overall, not much bad about the frame. The components are what you pay for.
Bottom Line:
Great bike. looks good all silver the way I set it up. If you can find the bike at my price range I think you should look into it. the frame is well built and I think will last me a long time. Deore XT crankset gave me a performance boost and so did upgrading to new fork. The crankset that came with it and stated to be deore but looks like alivio to me. Maybe because of the old model.
Similar Products Used: Fastrax Scandium full suspension bike cfd-2000 (stolen...crap)
Bike Setup: 2002 Marin frame. Deore lx rear dearailler, deore xt crankset, Manitou elite 100mm front suspension, thomson seatpost.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rolando
a Weekend Warrior
from Austin, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2004
Strengths: Price, weight, component set, style
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
I got this bike on sale at Ozone Bikes and I have to say I was very impressed. I was amazed at what a difference a quality bike makes on your riding experience. You can toss this bike around the trail and it goes exactly where you want it to go. It's light yet very strong. Haven't had any problems to speak of. Marin has won me over to their products. I can't say how great a deal this bike was...half the price of bikes with lesser components. As a weekend warrior you can't beat this bike for the price. Try it out you won't be sorry.
Bike Setup: stock except for Crank Brothers Mallet C pedals (sweet)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Kurt Martin
a Weekend Warrior
from Murfreesboro, TN
Date Reviewed: January 13, 2004
Strengths: This is a great bike for the money. You can't beat the quality of the components for the money with any bike out there...I know because I shopped hard before I bought this one. The disc brakes are excellent, so great that everyone that has ridden my bike went out and bought disc brakes as soon as they could. The weight is nice, the crank is great, and I have had no problems at all with the fork. Compared to the forks that come on other bikes in this price class, the Pilot is far superior.
Weaknesses: Haven't really found any.
Bottom Line:
Bottom Line? If you have 700 dollars laying around and can't decide, go with the Nail Trail. You would have to pay 850 to get a comparable Trek with Disc Brakes so this is definately a great deal. Plus, the brushed metal/silver look is awesome.
Submitted by
Greg
a Racer
from B-ville, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 29, 2003
Strengths: Great Bike! Good disc brake with powerful stopping power. Great frame that's strong enough to take the abuse of lighter riders for free-riding yet light enough to be used for an xc race bike. The quality of the components and Make this bike a great deal for the money. Fairly stiff Truvativ cranks.
Weaknesses: Fork isn't quite as good as it could be, but it definitley gets the job done.This bike would be better complimented by a Sid fork but definitley is responsive enough for this bike. None other than that!Great bike!
Bottom Line:
Great for lighter riders looking for a race bike.Amazing value.
Bike Setup: Marin Nail Trail 03. Hutchinson python and mosquito tires .
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Andrew Smith
a Cross Country Rider
from Leicester, England
Date Reviewed: April 3, 2003
Strengths: Light, strong frame, very comfortable seat, excellent disc brakes.
Weaknesses: Bad choice of forks (RS Pilot SL), slightly flexy crankset (TruVativ Firex)
Bottom Line:
This otherwise excellent bike is let down by the forks. I have had this bike for a little over 2 months, and already the air spring in my forks has stopped working properly - every time I hit a decent size bump, it bottoms out. I am seriously considering buying Duke SLs instead, to bring it up to the bike I was originally going to buy - the Rocky Ridge. The seat is very comfortable, the riding position perfect, and, despite being a hardtail, it rides bumpy trails brilliantly, gliding effertlessly over the trail surface. I bought this bike over the Rocky Ridge originally because it was £200 less, with the only obvious difference in spec being the forks. As I can get Dukes (specced on the Ridge) for around £200, I decided to get the cheaper model, and upgrade if the Pilots were no good. I strongly recommend buying this bike, or the Rocky Ridge, if you have a little more money, if you are a trail rider, with the occasional competitive urges - I will use it for a local MTB race series come the summer.
