MARIN NEWS & REVIEWS

Review kindly supplied by Quest Adventure

This weekend I’ve had the new Marin Attack Trail 6.8 for company. I’ve been looking forward to riding this bike since I saw the new catalogue. I was a big fan of last year’s Attack Trail and I wondered how the new one would compare. There have been a few changes and some weight shed too, so it all looked promising. The travel has been pushed up to 150mm and last year’s Pikes have been replaced with Revelations, the rear shock is a Monarch. Gone is the large plate gusset on the front end, replaced by a much more pleasing looking tube.  The headtube is tapered and the downtube has been beefed up a bit too. The shock links have also been machined out and lightened up too.

It would also seem that finally Truvativ have managed to make an attractive set of cranks with the Stylos, very nice. Not bad in the weight stakes either, hopefully the black will stay on the sides and wear well. Amazingly I am well known for my rather cack footed pedalling style but despite all the mud I never scratched it up with my heels.

Speaking of which on last years bike I caught my heels once or twice on the swing arm and on the links too, but it didn’t happen at all on this bike, maybe it has been slimmed down a bit?

So how does it ride?

Well I think my companions on the Swinley ride will tell you I was loving this bike from the off. I’m not quite sure how my ’style’ of riding is best described, but this bike fits me like a glove. I never once even thought about how it was preforming, I just rode it with a grin on my face.

The Attack Trail is well at home on the singletrack, but you do have to keep an eye on your pedals as sometimes you can clout them on trail obstacles. But it’s the downhill sections where it really announces it’s intentions, somewhere along the lines of “Is that the best you can do?”. It’s really stable, flickable, and unusually it manuals at the drop of a hat. Those last minute hucks off trail obstacles are easily accomplished and the 150mm of travel are a real get out of jail free during those awkward moments!

The downside? Well I guess if there is one it would be this bike is never going to win any uphill races. However that said it does seem to be lighter than the previous model and you don’t really notice the weight that much. Coming from a bike that is a few pounds lighter than this I can’t say I really felt handicapped. There is an unexpected bonus though, on a steep climb when the bike is in the granny ring the quad link system seems to seek out every last bit of grip there is, providing you can get forward on the saddle and get low you’ll still be riding when your fellow riders are off and walking. It shouldn’t be possible on a bike like this, but it is

Verdict:

So what do I think? I love it. Is this much travel really necessary on a bike round here? Well I ride a hardtail, so clearly no! But if you want a really comfy bike that climbs well, descends like a mini downhill bike, is quick and nimble through the singletrack this is the daddy. You can ride the Attack Trail all day and not feel beaten up. It really is a hoot to ride. It encourages you to ride like a loony and rewards you by getting you to the end in one piece with a big grin on your face, you can’t ask for more than that!

For more information about the Attack Trail 6.8 click here

To find your nearest dealer click here

BikeMagic.com love the new Marin Mount Vision 5.7 giving a fantastic 4 out of 5 stars! The say it has great suspension performance, agreeably tweaked handling, excellent fork. To read the full review click here.

“Marin’s established aggro bike gets tighter and tougher and has had a few detail tweaks to keep ahead of the pack.”

The Score
***** Best in Test
MBUK Winner – Hard Hitting Trail Bike Test – Feb 2010
“Super aggressive character and tightened front end feedback keeps the Attack Trail at the top of our affordable play bike charts – It feels like a mini gravity bike right from the get go.”

To visit the Attack Trail 6.8 web page click here.

To find your nearest dealer click here.

Read the complete review in Issue 247 MBUK (Feb 2010), or see below…

Marin’s punchy trail iron has had a few detail tweaks to keep ahead of the pack. This radical geometry, mid-travel mayhem machine has acquired reworked rear suspension and a tapered head tube front end for 2010 to give an even more aggressive ride, but you have to ride it hard to “get it”

THE CHASSIS

Like the Commencal, the new frame differences are hard to spot at first, but there are plenty of them. A tapered head tube and larger diameter down tube up front, as well as a bracing pipe, replace the gusset plates between the top and down tubes.

The pivot points have been moved to change the suspension behaviour and add 6mm (0.2in) of travel. Curved, thinwall “high volume” linkages also ease previous shock access problems.  The heavy-duty ISCG tabs are ready to take a chainguide or a Hammerschmidt shift cable and a remote control seatpost too.

The rear swingarm gets a seat tube wrapping brace plate rather than a pipe brace, but otherwise the curved rectangular section stay subframe is unchanged.

The new Maxle Lite screw-through rear skewer in the modular bilt-on dropouts saves a few grams though. The lack of bottle cage means a Camelbak is essential on longer rides but mud clearance is massive. The “Quad Link” bearings are also lifetime warrantied so you get a free set if they wear out.

THE DETAIL

As on of the two more expensive bikes here, Marin have an advantage when it comes to spec but it’s more what they’ve specced the bike with than how much it costs that really matters. The Team version of the Revelation fork gets the excellent Black Box damping over the SL version on the £1999 AT 6.7 but both get 20mm Maxle through-axle and a stiffer tapered steerer. Both bikes also get a short 75mm stem and broad 28in low-rise bars too, which are key to the AT’s outstanding aggro attitude.

The extra budget does get you broad Mavic rims and a Hope Pro rear hub though, plus sharper feeling X.9 shifters and rear mech. While the 185mm front rotor on the Elixir brakes works well, they don’t half polish up quick, and we can see some riders switching to bigger discs both ends.

If you’re bog trotting in winter you’ll want to switch the Ardent tyres too, although they’re grippier than you’d expect and superb at trail centres all year.  According to Andy – Marin’s brand manager – the tyre’s rolling speed reduces their Cwmcarn DH test run times by several seconds too.

THE RIDE
The fact that Marin are talking to us about detailed downhill split times from back-to-back testing sessions gives you a clue about the intent of the Attack Trail.

With its super wide bar set low and close on top of a downhill-style slack head angle, it feels like a mini gravity bike right from the get go. The relatively steep seat angle also keeps your weight forwards and provides you with continual feedback for milking maximum traction out of the distant front end.

The Maxle 20mm axle-equipped Revelation fork with tapered steerer is also super tight in terms of tracking accuracy. Fully adjustable dual air spring stroke and the excellent Black Box damping system add custom control for all rider levels. As as a result, you can really attack the trail on the Marin, hammering the front end into the roughest sections or swinging onto the sketchiest lines and holding it there in total confidence.

The altered rear suspension is noticeably more linear and less ramped too, so there’s less chance of blowing rear tyres in rocky or steppy situations. The weight-responsive rear suspension makes popping the nose up for drop launches or ditch clearing effortless too.

The Monarch shock is definitely on the controlled, not cushy, side but the more you ride the plusher it feels.  The slightly starchy feel combines with the changed suspension for much less sag and mush in the granny ring. It still stands up and  charges well in middle and big rings though, punting up short verts and firing out of corners with real enthusiasm. The Ardent tyres also make the long climbs a less gruelling experience than the complete bike weight would suggest.

The rear Maxle axle reduces twist across the swingarm tips as well, so while it’s not that tight, it doesn’t stumble or twang sideways badly if you drop a sketchy landing.

THE SCORE

MBUK Winner – Hard Hitting Trail Bike Test – Feb 2010

Super aggressive character and tightened front end feedback keeps the Attack Trail at the top of our affordable play bike charts. It feels like a mini gravity bike right from the get go.