I had a great relationship with my second hand Kona Muni Mula. After two years of pretty regular riding I was wired in. We all get that feeling at one time or another, you don't need to think about how the bike will handle, but have time to see what is up ahead and work out how to tackle it. Still in my case no matter how hard I tried there were just one or two sections on my favourite trails that I could never clean.
Putting that together with the fact that everything attached to the Kona frame was wearing out at the same time, and that I really wanted to give disc brakes a go had brought me to the decision to buy a new machine. Full suspension to put together that elusive clean run, and discs to lift braking surfaces out of the mud and cut out expensive rim wear. The choice came down to a Scott G-Zero or a Marin East Peak. After taking a Marin out for a day I was convinced.
The big question after six months and 1000 (plus) miles is - Am I still convinced?
The price of quality MTB's is pretty much fixed. Look in any MTB magazine and you will find that all distributors sell the manufacturer's various models at exactly the same price - usually to the penny. This is most probably illegal, as in the case of the car manufactures being forced to change their practices in this country following the recent Government inquiry. But the Government is not going to hold an inquiry into the price of MTB's, so your average rider is stuck with the situation in the UK unless they are prepared to take a risk buying from abroad. However if you want to trade in, or customise a standard model, for example by adding disc brakes, a foreign purchase is not an option.
Having said that no fault could be found with the service offered by any of the three local bike shops that I approached. All were willing to take a trade-in, upgrade to Hope discs, with accompanying hubs and Mavic rims and also transfer the Chris King headset from old to new machine. Suitable discounts being agreed in respect of the spares created in the process. So in the end it did come down to price, but there was less than £20.00 between the three.
Marin bikes have been described as the Ford Mondeo of the trails. This I find to be a pretty good analogy. Like the Mondeo the East Peak has its good and bad points, but on the whole the good far out weigh the bad.
Its main advantage has to be its capability down hill and over technical terrain. There is a hill just north of Leeds that is part of my regular riding route. The surface is well rutted by water erosion with a very loose and open surface. It's straight and wide and cries out to be ridden fast, but needs a high degree of concentration to stay upright. I have witnessed one very nasty incident there myself and heard of three or four others. On the Kona the best speed I managed was 22mph - right on the limit. First time on the Marin I clocked 30mph with ease. Better by over 35% without even trying, it puts a big grin on. And those bits that I could never clean, well they all succumbed within a couple of rides as well. The other thing that I noticed almost immediately was that I could ride further. Ride lengths became considerably extended and recovery time shortened. I can only put this down to the full suspension making the overall ride less stressful on the body as a whole. At my age (42 since you ask), that becomes an important factor.
So with all the improved Marin down hill speed, technical prowess and total ride comfort, has my average speed increased? No, in fact it has not changed noticeably at all. This I put down to two factors. Firstly the up hill performance. Even after 1000 miles I still feel riding a full suspension rig up hill (particularly on road) is harder than an equivalent hard tail. Not by much perhaps, but definitely harder. Secondly (I know this is going to sound a bit strange) and more intangibly I find the Marin does not ask to be ridden hard like the Kona does. The Marin is like Motorway Mondeo Man. Long distances in comfort and at a fair speed - with the odd flat out belt when necessary.
There has been a couple of other little niggles. The cartridge type bottom bracket packed up very recently. But full marks to my LBS who replaced it under warranty (with an upgraded Shimano LX) with little persuasion. The Ovation chain rings too do no seem to be of best quality. These have been replaced after only 1054 miles of summer riding. The worst performance of any I have ever used. And finally adjustment of the front derailleur is a nightmare. The bottom tube of the swing arm covers the adjusting screws. This makes it impossible to get a normal screwdriver engaged. Have Marin produced a special tool?
And so back to the question after six months and 1000 (plus) miles - "Am I still convinced?"
The answer for me is a yes and a pretty definite yes at that. And I can't even say that I'm wired in yet! But I don't think it's for everyone by any means. And thank heavens for that! There are more than enough Marin East Peak/Mount Vision type machines out there without everybody driving one. Just like the Mondeo in fact!
| Component | Specification | Marks out of 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier | Aire Valley Cycles - Keighley, W Yorks | 9 |
| Brake Supplier | Hope | 10 |
| Frame | Ovation 6000 Series Aluminium | 9 |
| Frame Size | 17.5" | - |
| Fork | Manitou SX | 6 |
| Rear Shock | Fox Float | 8 |
| Headset | Chris King (transferred from Kona) | 10 |
| Hubs | Hope Sport Disc | 9 |
| Rims | Mavic X317 Disc | 9 |
| Spokes | Stainless Plain Guage | - |
| Tyres | IRC Notos XC 1.95 Kelvar | 6 |
| Chainset | Marin Ovation | 4 |
| F/Derailleur | Shimano Alivio | 6 |
| R/Derailleur | Shimano LX | 7 |
| Shifters | Shimano SL-MC 18 | 7 |
| Free Wheel | Sun Race | - |
| Cassette | 8 Speed 11 - 30 | - |
| Chain | Sachs 144 PC-48 | - |
| Pedals | VP-106 | 5 |
| B/Bracket | Cartridge | 3 |
| Brakes | Hope XC4 | 8 |
| Levers | Hope XC4 Pro | 8 |
| Stem | Marin Alloy 6" Rise | - |
| Bars | Marin XC Riser | - |
| Saddle | Wilderness Trail | 8 |
| Seat Post | Marin 350x27mm Quick Release | - |
| Trade in | Kona Muni Mula 1997 | - |
| Price | £1,165.00 (inc trade in, shock pump and grease gun) | - |
| Overall | 7.5 | |
Last Updated 28-11-2000
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