Celebrating thirty years in the business, Marin Bikes was at Interbike showing a couple of bikes that should stir something in riders around since the early ’90s (or longer).
Built from Columbus Thron tubing with a matte clearcoat, exposed brass brazing, and classy contrasting details, the Pine Mountain 2 and Four Corners Elite are easily among this observers’s show favourites. The pair do a fantastic job of balancing retro cues with today’s riding styles.
The Pine Mountain 2 is a modern reboot of the original, with butted and formed CrMo tubing, 27.5+ wheels, thru axles front and rear, and playful, progressive geometry. The XT one-by drivetrain is difficult to argue with and it’s hard not to smile when noting internal dropper cables emerging from brass-ringed ports.
Special badging on the seat tube commemorates the company’s 1986 founding, as do unique seatstay bridges and dropouts (the later using Naild‘s clever quick release thru axle). The underside of the top tube even features a trio of frame pack mounts. £2200 will make one yours.
The utilitour-oriented Four Corners Elite mines a similar vein- combining the current gravel/touring/advennture zeitgeist with similar retro details. Here a SRAM Rival 1 11-speed drivetrain uses that group’s full 10-42t cassette and hydraulic discs mounted to a versatile steel frame that will accept 2.1in mountain bike tyres. £1900 from your local Marin dealer
A steel fork and mid-range build mean that the Marin won’t be the lightest bike on any given ride- but it could easily have the most character.
Want.
marinbikes.com
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I like the Pine Mountain – is it 29 as well as 27.5+?
That Four Corners is the first Marin I’ve fancied for quite some time (do something about that stem though).