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My local BS have stopped selling Marin - 'they've gone downhill' was their comment
I'm not a fan of the latest FS bikes. The join between the toptube and the seat tube is too "boxy" for my liking. But, that makes no sense as I like the look of my 07 Quake, which is "boxy" allover.
Mine looks like this... [img] 
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The welds are beautiful, too.
My local BS have stopped selling Marin - 'they've gone downhill' was their comment
They certainly did.
From this, which for the time was epic;
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Via this. Don't know if any of these made it in to the wild or not!
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To the new stuff. A good recovery, I'd say!
Then again, so did Saracen, and they're churning out some great stuff again now. For illustration, from this sort of thing;
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To this monstrosity;
[img] http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=74643 [/img]
And now, some great looking bikes;
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Good to see Marin getting back in the game properly. Good luck to them!
What is going on with that disappearing/reappearing fork brace?
No brace in the pic bonesetter has posted but in the bikeradar review he links to (dated 2/10/15)....
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That would be a deal breaker for me.
Am I the only one that bought a Nail trail.?
I loved that bike.
That would be a deal breaker for me too
It looks to be there for the mudguard mount they mention. Tbh there still looks plenty of clearance. Interestingly it's not on the marin website video either. I no longer mountain bike but this has me quite interested
@Rickmeister - nope, I had a 1995 Nail Trail.
But my first proper mtb at 11 years old was a 14.5 inch 1992 Bolinas Ridge, purple with lime green forks and decals... adored that bike, and is the reason why I still like the brand, even if I haven't bought one since the Nail Trail.
Still got my Nail Trail frame as a rigid SS. Bought it with last of my savings when very skint 2001ish. Well paid for itself many many times over
my first proper mtb was an eldridge grade...it was all matt black except the rears stays which were that dayglo orange/red. the decals and stem were the same colour.
i absolutely loved that bike. it rode beautifully and i was absolutely devastated when it got stolen...insurance wouldn't pay out either!!
i would love to own one again
Still the best bike I've owned.From sticking it on the bike rack,to bottle position to ease of worKing on it, then it's superb ride. Faultless.
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Just had it confirmed by marin the fork brace on the pine mountain is there on production models. It's for mudguard mounting. They also said a 29er x 2.3 should fit but 27.5+ should really be used as that's what it was designed for
Oh dear
(good work BTW - back to the Stooge then? Don't take any notice of the Greg downer piece. He's focused on non-issues)
My first MTB was a '92 Pine Mountain (which I understand is still in the garage of the guy I sold it to 20 years ago...).
I also had a DH-FRS (frame only, 6" travel, with 100mm forks...) which was the same as the B17 that made people reconsider how much travel you could have and still ride XC with
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zippykona I think if my East Peak from 1998 had had disc mounts I'd still be using it.
Lol bonesetter the stooge is beautiful. Marin is hard to see past for the cash tho. And it takes me back to my teens.
A genesis fortitude alfine with big clearance or a longitude with alfine. I'll just keep on thinking as I'm in no rush tbh
Tho tbh the fork brace thing doesn't bother me really it's quite handy so long as it doesn't restrict mud clearance
I had a '94 Bear Valley SE.The grey one. I loved it, but don't think I'll be returning to rigid steel now, nice as the new Pine Mountain looks
Charlie the BM has sold 2 PM1's
Here's 25yrs of Marin. 1990 Pine Mountain. Spent today sorting drivetrain, all new cables, put v brakes on, new grips, rack and road quick release mudguards. Also put City Jet tyres on.
Been sat doing nowt for years. Great feeling bringing an old friend back to life for new adventures.
Doing c2c on it next week. Can't wait.
Yeah I know the slabs need jet washing!
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My first one was a Nail Trail, broke it (1 month) and bought a Specialised, broke that (1 week) and have carried on spending money on bikes ever since.
Squin , that's brilliant!
When that was new I'd have ripped the piss because of the mudguards and rack.....25 years on and I'm in full agreement about having them! 😆
Thanks Jonnystorm. Rack and mudguards only went on for the first time yesterday (as did the slick tyres) in preparation for coast to coast. I'll probably keep it like is it after as it's going to be my commuting bike.
Having not ridden it for over 10 years, it feels like I've got a brand new bike. Most of the upgrades were from my spare parts box so I only spent apx £40 bringing it back to life.
In 2007 i got my first MTB - a Marin Wildcat Trail. I was blissfully unaware that you needed a different bike for every type of riding so used it for everything and it was brilliant. Ok, so not great at DH (neither was i to be fair) but more 'forky' forks soon gave me more confidence and if i was feeling brave, it was fast enough. All day rides were no problem as you'd expect from an all day bike but it was happy to partake in a spot of dirt jumping if i asked. I'm very surprised it's still in one piece as it really shouldn't be. I had some pretty big crashes on it and lost many rear wheels but the frame is still sound. I don't know if that's because modern mtbs are really rather strong or Marin make a great frame. Could be a bit of both but it has left a lasting impression of the brand. It still lives in my shed, ready for my eldest if he gets bored of rugby, football and gurls.
Look how pretty she is...
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I too am still running one like zippykona's above. Kept ahead of a few guys at CyB when we visited a few weeks ago.
Flap jack, we need pictures!