[Closed] Marin Alchemist all over again?

Damn, that looks fine.

Wait, not fine. What's that other word? Ah yes, gopping, that's the one.

Ah yes, gopping, that's the one.

Very much this

They are very fugly.

Looks like someone's held the swingarm over a fire for a few minutes.

No mention whether forks need any change to damping to run with the NAILD rear. It seems counterintuitive to me that a big reduction in damping at the back doesn't need to be matched upfront in some way, especially for climbing.

eye bleach, someone please pass me the eye bleach

theres a review of "it" over on PB

They must be very impressed with the suspension performance if they're willing to sign off on manufacturing a bike that looks like that because of it.

For reference
[img] [/img]

Does this run on some telescopic linkage that they try not to show you? How long do you reckon that will last there?

That is one ugly sumbitch.

The other problems with the Alchemist as I recall were:
A. Not very good.
B. Heavy.

Throw in fugly & the bikes doomed.

Have to hope that "it" is as light as **** & peddles like a dream!

I think the suspension design definitely ticks the "pedals well" box. That's it's whole M.O.

Suddenly the Alchemist looks like pure gold!

Well I suppose you don't need to sorry about rock strikes on the chainset.

Marin goes from strength to strength

Wow that's a beautiful looking bike. Said nobody, ever. It looks like it was left near a really hot furnace.

It ain't pretty i guess but i like it.

There i said it 🙂

Good looking and cheap. What's not to like?

Oh and i hope that layback LEV goes on sale separate as well.

It sounds like a very fast bike, I quite like the looks from a sort of cutting edge viewpoint. The bottom barcket smacks mentioned on PB sound worrying.

It also looks hilariously complicated and will probably turn into a creaking mess after 12 months riding in Calderdale.

Yet more Emperors New Clothes imo.

The rear wheel still moves up and down, yes, it might be a little bit different but it ain't going to be making that much difference. The guys going fast are going fast because they are good riders (with more "suspension" in their legs than any DH bike) not because of some linkage or other.....

I also wonder how torsionally stiff it actually is?

Seems like a lot of twisting load (the sort of loads you put into a bike by leaning the bike over and really standing hard into the outside pedal) are taken low down into the front triangle, rather than spread up and unto the top tube (remember, bikes were perfect 2 triangle affairs for many years, until things like Carbon Fibre and hydro-forming allowed designed to break the cardinal rule, namely 'I shall not put bending loading into the middle of a tube'

If it works brilliantly, I guess we'll get used to it. If it works about the same as the huge range of better-looking designs, it's hard to see that it'll stick around.

But does it make the trail come alive????!!!!!!

maxtorque have a read of the first impressions review, a lot to be going on with and as it's mainstream you can probably go throw a leg over one soon.
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/marin-wolf-ridge-first-ride.html

The rear wheel still moves up and down, yes, it might be a little bit different but it ain't going to be making that much difference. The guys going fast are going fast because they are good riders (with more "suspension" in their legs than any DH bike) not because of some linkage or other.....

Fast guy goes faster than he expected on a longer travel bike.
I put that as worth a serious look

My times were four to six seconds faster on my two-mile test climb, and I bettered most of my popular test loops. It defies reason that those events occurred on a thirty pound, softly sprung, 160-millimeter-travel bike with the fork and shock set wide open.

Fast guy goes faster than he expected on a longer travel bike.

Maybe he caught a glimpse of the bike in a reflection and was trying to escape?

Good to see the collective wisdom and herd mind is in full force.

It's not the prettiest thing, but every review I've read of this bike seems genuinely impressed. Either Marin have thrown substantial review backhanders, or maybe they are actually on to something.

If this had Transition, Intense, or Santa Cruz written on it, I suspect the response would be very different.
It's just as hame it's let down visually, by the odd seat angle, and by the price...

Disclaimer of interests: I've had many Marins in the past, but they were mostly crap, and the reason I've had many is that they were predominantly warranty replacements. There's no love lost between us.

Looks to have a good mud collection between the swingarm and seat tube

Bit heavy for a top spec carbon everything 8grand bike, but probably not bad for a 160mm 29er

Good pedaling, and competent descending enough to break through its aesthetic challenges?

Doesn't look that bad, i've seen much worse.

The looks wouldn't bother me at all, I've never noticed the subtle curves of my swingarm while boosting sweet jumps and railing berms.

The 'oh look it's melted' thing seems to be very much STW rather than real world.

The huge chunk of frame ahead of the BB does seem to be asking for trouble though, and as for a telescopy bit right down in the bowels.... let's hope it's well sealed!

But if it were turquoise and said yeti on the down tube, the ensuing? fanboi circlejerk would leave it looking like a plasterers radio.

can't believe they think it a good idea to put a slidey thing right where the crap accumulates and they've given it its own bowl too 😕

[img] [/img]

it's going make a lovely noise when a stone gets in here

[img] [/img]

all that lovely crunching carbon

Why have you post a pic of a fertility sculpture? 😆

Seems overly complicated to me

I just see a mortar and pestle.

A carbon fibre mortar, a carbon pestle. Perfect for crushing granite 🙂

A carbon fibre mortar, a carbon pestle. Perfect for crushing granite

This is STW, surely the perfect bike to grind your artisan coffee beans while out on the trails.

Is it just me, or does that inside "bend" at the bottom of the BB look ripe for cracking?

Think about the loads there when you're standing on the pedals and pumping the bike downwards? (the Normal direction reaction load is into the top of the front triangle, so effectively all your weight (and the dynamic component of that weight) is trying to lever the BB bit off the bottom of the main triangle. Bending load city! And then they put a hole through it for the lower pivot link arms........

Someone run the FEA on it, i bet it's horrible!

(not for nothing do most bikes have the BB at the bottom of the seat tube and inline with it)

Like this:

[IMG] [/IMG]

Genuine question: Do people really make bike purchasing decisions based on "Do I think it looks pretty?"

Looks like what Polygon are doing. Aaaand why is the seat over the rear-axle 😯

Genuine question: Do people really make bike purchasing decisions based on "Do I think it looks pretty?"

To an extent, yes. Especially for that kind of money.

That is one ugly mo-fo of a bike, but Marin have made some challenging designs in the past.

That bike makes the old whyte look pretty 😆

In case you forgot

I like that, and it's clever and I don't doubt it rides really well BUT

1 - it's complicated, which can be a problem

2 - I can see it ending up like linkage forks - great, but everyone's used to how normal bikes ride so aren't bothered.

3 - Wtf is he talking about when he says "people just want to have fun"? Seriously? If you want to have fun why are they going to buy a bike on the basis of supreme efficiency and saving 6 seconds off a two mile climb? People in search of fun can often be seen *pushing* bikes up climbs (which is fine) so who the hell cares about supreme efficiency?

4 - He also says "and "can only afford one bike". Er.. if you can afford one of these things then you can certainly afford more than one normal bike!

How thick is that bit below the holes? I bet that'll be solid carbon

Genuine question: Do people really make bike purchasing decisions based on "Do I think it looks pretty?"

Not pretty as such, but I do have to like the look of a bike. I've never had a Cannondale or Giant for this exact reason. It's also one of the reasons why 99% of my bikes have been Steel Hardtails.

3 - Wtf is he talking about when he says "people just want to have fun"? Seriously? If you want to have fun why are they going to buy a bike on the basis of supreme efficiency and saving 6 seconds off a two mile climb? People in search of fun can often be seen *pushing* bikes up climbs (which is fine) so who the hell cares about supreme efficiency?

4 - He also says "and "can only afford one bike". Er.. if you can afford one of these things then you can certainly afford more than one normal bike!

Completely agree on these points Mol. I ride for fun and to unwind. Weight and speed rarely come in to it. I can afford one bike and that's why I have a second hand Stache and not a carbon wonder machine.

Genuine question: Do people really make bike purchasing decisions based on "Do I think it looks pretty?"

Every single time I buy a bike.