EVENT: MARIN BIKES DEMO DAY

28 June 2014

 

MARIN ATTACK TRAIL AND MOUNT VISION DEMO DAY

It was a bright sunny morning when a van drove into Diary Farm Carpark A, found a spot to park and unloaded 4 spanking new Marin Bikes. It's the demo day for the Marin Attack Trail and Mount Vision. the boys from Rodalink placed the bikes along the roundabout of the car park and unloaded the rest of the stuff from the van. Some tools, an ice-box and soft drinks. Simple setup but they are all set for the demo day.

 

The demo day is for the 2 alluminium versions of the Marin Attack Trail and Mount Vision. The carbon versions are for display only. A quick recap of these 2 bikes that had been taking the limelight lately at many online bike portals as well as magazines. 

 

(QUAD-Link on the Attack trail)

 

(IsoTrac on the Mount Vision)

 

 

 

ATTACK TRAIL & MOUNT VISION

 

The Attack Trail is designed and built for all-mountain and enduro riding, with 150mm travel full-suspension chassis, and design features including low, slack geometry, short chainstays, smart component selections, and 27.5-inch wheels built with 21mm rims and 2.35-inch tires. For the carbon version, the frame design has a custom-molded polyethylene shield that protects the frame from impacts and works as a secondary cable-management device. Looks good. The Attack Trail also feature the award-winning multi-link suspension design that allows engineers to alter wheel path, shock-leverage ratio, and effective pivot location to manage pedal and terrain forces. The QUAD-Link 3.0 uses two short links to create a floating pivot center (Instantaneous Pivot Center – IPC) which changes the leverage ratio on the rear shock. The design also effectively separates pedal/brake forces from terrain inputs, resulting in excellent small bump compliance, firm pedaling platform and a natural resistance to botttom out. The QUAD-Link 3.0 system runs on Enduro bearings inserted into cold forged and CNC linkages. All Enduro bearings supplied with Marin full suspension frames carry a lifetime warranty. The highest spec model feature Rock Shox Reverb Stealth dropper post and E13 wheelset.

 

The Mount Vision is a trail bike, with the geometry of an Enduro bike but the weight and efficiency of a cross-country (XC) bike. These models offer 140mm of fixed travel front and rear, and 27.5-inch wheels. Design features include a build that’s significantly lighter than the Attack Trail bikes, achieved with a simplified suspension system, fixed-travel 32mm chassis forks, and lighter components. The Mount Vision adopts a new suspension system replacing pivot bearings which work with a shock linkage to control big-hit capabilities. Specially engineered seatstays isolate three degrees of deflection to a specific area and eliminate an extra pivot point, thus maximizing stiffness and reducing weight in the IsoTrac suspension system. The rocker link provides a progressive leverage ratio to the rear shock, though not as progressive as the Quad-Link system. Each rear shock has been tuned for the IsoTrac leverage ratio, maximizing pedaling performance and mid to late stroke terrain management. Torsional stiffness built into the swingarm construction effectively keeps the rear wheel inline with the centerline of the frame. The IsoTrac system runs on Enduro bearings inserted into cold forged and CNC linkages.

 

First impression when Bikezilla tried both bikes: The Attack Trail feels plush and confidence-inspiring. It gives the impression of being capable of taking all kinds of technical terrain. Exactly how you would expect of enduro bikes. The Mount Vision's suspension feels less responsive than the Attack Trail but that feel gives it a very lean and to-the-point ride which is typical of shorter travel climbers. On further riding, Bikezilla was impressed with the plushness of the Mount Vision yet the ability to maintain climbing capabilities. At one section, the Marin representative was even seen mashing the bike up a slope standing up (just for the fun of it) and Bikezilla followed behind and noticed a consistent speed and no obvious energy sapping bobs. On the down, the expertise of the Marin representative and the carbon Attack Trail was an awesome combo. Smooth and flowy downhill. The components were also well chosen and gives great value with regards to their retail prices. To us, the one winning reason on choosing either a  Attack Trail or Mount Vision over another brand is the looks of these bikes. They are beautiful machines. 

 

(Our Marin Representative for the day)

 

(Some thrilled guys after their demo run)

 

DEMO DAY

 

The participants came at intervals of half hour blocks and took their turns to try out the bikes led by the Marin representatives. Although not a very long route, the demo took us through long climbs, a few technical spots where control of the bike is tested and then the rock garden. We noticed some converts in the demo group. Some riders came to the demo site to specially check out the Marin bikes even though they didn't manage to book a slot for the demo ride.

 

Let's look forward to more demo days so that we can really choose our purchases based on actually riding a bike and not only reading about it.

 

(More happy faces)

 

Marin Bikes are available at Rodalink (http://sg.rodalink.com/) and ReEvolution (https://www.facebook.com/ReEvolutionsg)