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Submitted by
GK
a Weekend Warrior
from Phoenix, AZ
Date Reviewed: February 22, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | National | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | warranty replacement with custom build | | Strengths: | Great versatility - can be used for non-racing x-country riding all the way to hard-pounding all mountain riding (probably even light free-ride in the hands of the right person).
I also looks good - I love the fact that you don't see other Marin bikes on the trail and it's profile is so unique.
Light weight and long legs - I have mine built in the 28lb range and have 6in of travel on both ends which makes it a great competitor for the SC Nomad. | | Weaknesses: | Cannot use Sram front derailleur due to swing arm clearance (not really a big deal unless you absolutely hate Shimano).
Bottom Bracket is a little tall, but I think it can be adjusted by flipping the swing link by the bottom bracket upside down. This could be a benefit thought if you are tip-toeing around tall rock gardens on the trail. | | Similar Products Used: | Not really similar, but the Marin East Peak. | | Bike Setup: | Nixon Plat fork, Juicy 7 brakes w/6in rotors, X.0 twisters, X.9 rear derailleur, XT front derailleur, Crossland wheels, Nevegal tubless, and a few other bells and whistles. | | Bottom Line: | This is really an outstanding bike. I recieved the Attack Trail as a replacement for my cracked East Peak. There is an amazing difference between the old single-pivot East Peak and the Quad system. I never noticed it before, but there was a lot of brake jacking on the old East Peak. The new Quad system on the Attack Trail completely erases that problem.
Also, since I never had a real basis for comparision, I never noticed how much the old single pivot bobbed. It did not have any kind of stable platform shock (which was probably most of the problem), but the Attack Trail is bob-less yet remains responsive on the trail during climbs. It really stays connected on rough, steap climbs even when out of the saddle (as long as you keep your weight back).
The biggest difference that I have noticed is the geometry. It is amazing...the difference between a 70 degree head angle and a 68 (I am guessing 68 degrees since I have a slightly longer fork than what comes as OE) has improved stability at high speeds and has not had a negative effect in tight turns. I ride agressively on some really rough trails and the steering is much better. Also, decending on rough trails is much easier since I don't feel like I am about to be thrown over the bars on the steep stuff.
Finally, the adjustable travel in the rear is useless. I do not notice a difference in the ride between the different travel settings at all. I simply leave it in the 6 inch setting all of the time. However, it is very nice to have the adjustable travel in the front. The front end is a little tall for steep climbing so the IT lever on the platinum is great for adjusting without stopping and makes a dramatic difference in the climbing prowess.
I would definitely recommend this ride for anyone who wants one of the best bikes on the trail without have to jump on the Turner or Santa Cruz bandwagon. Also, buying a fully built bike at retail is considerably cheaper than a similar offering from either of the afforementioned brands. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Z
a Racer
from Black Hills, SD
Date Reviewed: October 5, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$700.00 | | Purchased At: | adrenalinebikes.com | | Strengths: | Adjustable travel, Quad link suspension design, Strength, Weight, Climbs/Descends well, High bottom bracket, Price, versatility! | | Weaknesses: | Paint chips easy, Water bottle cage location, High bottom bracket for those without balance, Ok I'm reaching here. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Enduro frame w/ all parts upgraded was last bike | | Bike Setup: | Bought frame and built up myself...Fox Talus RLC 90-130mm up front, Monkey bar, SRAM 9.0 shifters/derailleur, Truvativ Stylo team crank, Mavic 717/American classic Hubs, WTB mutanoraptors, Avid Mechs, egg beaters | | Bottom Line: | Great, under-rated trail bike! I use my for XC racing in the 4" setup, Trail use and endurance races in 4.5"-5" setup and then throw it in 6" for light freeride. It climbs very well. Very little bob unless really cranking out of saddle and I am 6'2" and weigh close to 200lbs. Descends well. Not truly a Freeride bike as I have mine set up, but could be if you ran a double crown fork and coil over rear shock in 6" settting. I was debating between the Marin, a Rocky Mt ETXS, and Yeti 575. I went with the Marin for price(about half for frame) and versatility of adjustable rear travel. The FOX Talus really adds to the bikes versatility allowing balanced travel change to match the rear. In most the reviews I've read, guys just leave it in one travel setting and don't mess with it. I mostly ride in the 5" travel but often change to 4" or 6", so I really like the feature(It's really simple & fast). In the 4" setting it has a nice steep head angle, and rides fairly stiff. 5" is probably the sweet spot as it's plush but doesn't eat up peddal transfer. 6" relaxes the head angle a bit and goes through its travel pretty fast...unless you ramp up the air pressure or spring rate, but I rarely bottom it out. Did I mention that total weight is around 27lbs. Not bad for 5+" bike. Marin truly pioneered and refined the "All Mt" trail bike, as I don't think you'll find a more versatile bike out there for any price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave Hill
a Weekend Warrior
from Tampa FL
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Alifia river park | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$375.00 | | Purchased At: | Trailsports Outfitters | | Strengths: | Adjustible rear travel,very comfortable feel when on the bike.Most importantly this quad suspension it works.And finally the price. | | Weaknesses: | I have one gripe and this maybe due to set up needing tweeking.When you take a hit the chain skips causing numbing blows to the knee at inopurtune times.The reason I think this is a set up problem because I have not read any other complaints concerning this issue. | | Similar Products Used: | Cannondale Delta V,Marin County Rift Zone | | Bike Setup: | back foxfloatRL with the lockout front Manitou skareb Elite Hayes hydraulic disc breaks truvativ crank and shimano lx deraillers | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is that this the best bike I've ever owned.I previosly rode a rift zone for 2 years which is why I'm familliar with the quad suspension.I cracked that frame and they offered me an upgrade I couldn't refuse.So take this into account when purchasing a bike research how well they honor their warranty cause there,s some scammers out there not naming names.I had a new frame and had it assembled in less than 2 weeks thats impressive!!!!! | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave Hill
a Weekend Warrior
from Tampa FL
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Alifia river park | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$375.00 | | Purchased At: | Trailsports Outfitters | | Strengths: | Adjustible rear travel,very comfortable feel when on the bike.Most importantly this quad suspension it works.And finally the price. | | Weaknesses: | I have one gripe and this maybe due to set up needing tweeking.When you take a hit the chain skips causing numbing blows to the knee at inopurtune times.The reason I think this is a set up problem because I have not read any other complaints concerning this issue. | | Similar Products Used: | Cannondale Delta V,Marin County Rift Zone | | Bike Setup: | back foxfloatRL with the lockout front Manitou skareb Elite Hayes hydraulic disc breaks truvativ crank and shimano lx deraillers | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is that this the best bike I've ever owned.I previosly rode a rift zone for 2 years which is why I'm familliar with the quad suspension.I cracked that frame and they offered me an upgrade I couldn't refuse.So take this into account when purchasing a bike research how well they honor their warranty cause there,s some scammers out there not naming names.I had a new frame and had it assembled in less than 2 weeks thats impressive!!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Marty Smith
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Kolapore | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2500.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Depot | | Strengths: | This bike has a great component line-up. Excellent climbing ability considering the bikes downhill and rough-rider capabilities! Too many strengths to list here. | | Weaknesses: | Only weakness for me was the headset and the bar width. Both were taken care of by my great LBS prior to final delivery. | | Similar Products Used: | Santa Cruz Blur, Rocky Mountain ETSX, Intense 5.5, Fisher Suger 2+, and the list goes on. | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for a King HS and Roll-X pro rubber. | | Bottom Line: | I was a non-believer at first but thanks to some good salesmanship from my LBS I'm a proud owner and rider. I was given a demo bike for three days and fell in love with this bikes capabilities. I leave it set at full length in the front and 5 inches in the rear. It climbs extremely well for a bike with this much travel and allows me to bomb downhills with confidence. When climbing the suspension works flawlessly allowing me to mash the pedals out of the saddle when needed with no bob from the rear end. The only bob you will sense comes from the front end in extreme efforts. Lock -out the Talas, set your blow-off, and pass your archaic ride partners on their beloved hardtails. It hugs the ground regardless of the terrain giving constant sure-footing best descibed as "riding rails". This is a perfect (relatively affordable) all-around machine capable of handling XC and all-day epics. Don't hesitate to try this bike unless you are scared you will buy it on the spot. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fintan Moloney
a Weekend Warrior
from Bristol, UK.
Date Reviewed: May 25, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | Koro Koro - Belmont trig, Wellinton, NZ. | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$3000.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Bristol UK | | Strengths: | Inspired chassis and suspension design. Wish list spec. Shockingly fast. | | Weaknesses: | Suspicious ripple in the plate of the non drive side swing arm. Has no tangible affect on the ride but I find myself increasingly concerned it may fail horribly and injure a child or a cuddly animal or me. Sheared all 4 linkage bolts but replacements have been fine. Can creak if not lubed lots. Lockout lever on Talas fork changes compression damping settings when operated. Could it be too adjustable? | | Similar Products Used: | A lot. | | Bike Setup: | 15.5" Frame, standard British spec. Running full travel (125mm) front and 125mm rear travel. Hope bits are very shiny and work brilliantly. | | Bottom Line: | Grip, grip and more grip, Jon Whyte knows where to find it and this bike is the way. Beautifully flickable throught the twisties, this bike glides over tough, technical terrain and bucket loads of g-force await you at every corner. It would be easy to say, the fun has now gone from getting up diffacult technical climbs 'cos its easy on this, but it was never fun to begin with. In the air its stable and feels light. Landings are delt with flawlessly by the rear end with an occasional clang of dissaproval from the fox fork. As a package it all works to give the sensation of control and dependability, the ride is smooth but with good feed back letting you feel the trail. I've sold everything else I own to go ride this bike in Colorado for the summer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alex
a Weekend Warrior
from Boulder
Date Reviewed: March 7, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Great bike: climbs over everything, descends fantasticly. Big improvement over single pivot Marins | | Weaknesses: | Paint (details below), Fox Float RL 04 is harsh: plan to replace with an RP3 to be able to turn ProPedal off. | | Similar Products Used: | Marin Mount Vision 2000 | | Bike Setup: | custom: Crossmax XL with Fat Albert, ... | | Bottom Line: | I got the Attack Trail 04 frame as replacment for a cracked Mount Vision 2000. Since I got a great deal from Marin I should not complain. However, maybe there was something special about replacement frames but this frame has the worst paint job I have every seen on any bike. I am not talking about the choice of color. The mate black looks great - for about a week. Water color is more resistant to the elements. After 3 months of weekend -only riding this bike looks worse than my 1992 Trek 7000. The black paint just peels off. Just rubbing your leg on the frame will expose the white primer. Hitting the frame with your finger nail will expose the blank aluminum. If you have similar problems please send me an email. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kingsclere Rider
a Weekend Warrior
from Kingsclere, Hants, UK
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Afan Argoed, Wales | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$3915.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike in Bristol | | Strengths: | The equipment fitted as standard. The ride and handling. | | Weaknesses: | None yet. Cost, we get ripped off in the UK. | | Similar Products Used: | Marin Wolf Ridge 1999 | | Bike Setup: | UK version i.e. Hope M4 brakes and Hope XC hubs. | | Bottom Line: | Having owned and riden a 1999 Wolf Ridge for 5 years with very few problems it was only right that I tested the 2004 Attack Trail. I was sold on the first demo ride after taking the bike to Cwn Carn. I have never riden so fast and felt so in-control (both up and downhill). The stopping power of the M4s is unparalled. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Glen
a Cross Country Rider
from Marin County, CA
Date Reviewed: March 4, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Wildhorse Valley | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$3000.00 | | Purchased At: | Various | | Strengths: | Six inches of rear travel with adjustibilty to 4 inches. | | Weaknesses: | Fox Shock, you can't work on them yourself and they have a inconsistent history for dependability. Also the Fox shock has an intemediate setting between lockout and free that is worthless. In fact the lockout is more like the intermediate position should be.
The avid mechanical brakes work too well. I am having trouble with the rear brakes locking up the wheel. I don't think the brakes are broke in yet, though and this is the first time I have used discs. Every ride I seem to be getting a better feel for this, so it's not a serious comlaint. | | Similar Products Used: | Marin Mt. Vision with Manitou SXR with a beefed up spring kit. | | Bike Setup: | Marzocchi Z 150 FR ETA with QR20 axle. 8 inch avid mecanical discs. Shimano XT componets.
| | Bottom Line: | I went looking for a fork that would hold up to my 220lbs and settled on the Marzocchi which determined my frame. Realize that for me this is a crosscountry bike. The bike has amazed me after 3 good rides. I love the ETA adjustment on the fork that loweres the front when I go uphill and also stiffens it. I also like the Fox shock lockout, this bike needs lockouts if you don't uses them it pogo's like crazy. The bike has surprised me on how well it climbs.
The bike is a monster going down hill. I don't look for a line I just go like hell and take the line I end up on, the bike just gobbles it up. The front fork is responsible for most of this. It has a real nice soft feel on the high side of the travel and as it compresses it stiffens up for the big hits. This works real nice, it goes over 3 inch logs with no effort, you don't even need to unweight the fork.
As for the rest of the bike the rear suspension works real nice and between that an the fork you start thinking that you would like to find some bigger drops because the ones your used to just got too small.
Value wise this stuff is awful expensive so 3 chili's. Overall it is too awesome to not have so 5 hot-che-mama's
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark Woods
a Weekend Warrior
from Leeds, England
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2800.00 | | Purchased At: | AireValley Cycles | | Strengths: | Absolutely Awesome Bike - lightweight, amazing climbing and acceleration capability. Disc brakes (Hope M4 are very, very effective - but I'm a newbie to disc brakes, so I'm easily impressed...)
| | Weaknesses: | WTB pedals were inconsistent in mud (and caused a few crashes!) - replaced with Shimano M959 - which are fabulous.
Actually, one more niggle: The position of the water bottle cage. I don't use one, but I do use Vistalite batteries on the mount - and it's right on top of the frame. Not dangerous, but slightly annoying. | | Bike Setup: | As 2004 spec. | | Bottom Line: | It was worth selling a kidney for... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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