MARIN NEWS & REVIEWS

The Verdict

The Alpine Trail has some real UK-friendly touches. The bottom bracket, headset and swingarm pivot (the traditional places to hide cheap gear in) are all well-sealed quality items. Combined with the sensible cable routing and hydraulic brakes this all gives the Marin the best odds of surviving through a British winter. Although it’s let down slightly by the gears and unimpressive finishing kit, the vital organs of the bike (frame, fork, shock and wheels) are all amazing performers for the money and should still be functioning well for a good while yet.

More maximum mileage fun from Marin’s classic XC workhorse

Marin’s Mount Vision has been through many evolutions since it became one of the first widely accepted full-suss XC rigs nearly a decade ago, but it’s still one of the smoothest riding trail bikes around.

The ‘05 mainframe keeps its mirror image semi monocoque design, but now gets a gusset tray between bottom bracket and forward linkage pivot for reinforcement. There’s neater CNC detailing on the rear end too, as well as a super tough matt grey hard anodised finish on both Mount Vision and Mount Vision Pro models.

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