Litenbror
Eats Squid
I just wanted to write this because when I bought the 2017 Marin Pine Mountain 1 I could only find one review so I thought I would add my review to help potential buyers. I will say this upfront I have never reviewed anything in my life so bare with me.
For perspective I payed $1089 AUD from torpido7 delivered so it was a great deal and I have upgraded some components so it probably has a total build price of $1600.
I needed a bike that serves a number of purposes I love a weekend ride but I take my kids to school as well so it needs to be able to take a bike seat and trailer. My old anthem was great but there is no way it could handle my Son on the back every day. The Marin checked the box for strength and flexibility with the steel frame taking the bike seat better than aluminium. Also duel suspension was out because of the bike seat so the plus size tyres give the back some suppleness that help both me and my kids.
I bought the bike a couple of months ago and so far the build quality has been very good. The SLX transmission is fantastic but the crank and nw chain ring were a bit of a boat anchor so I swapped them for a Zee crank and chain ring I had in the parts bin. I also upgraded the brakes from the stock shimano to a set of hope v4 that I got of crc for a bargain so now it stops really well. Probably overkill but better to have more brakes than less.
So how is the ride? Other reviews have discussed the upright geometry and yes it's not as slack as others on the market at the moment (nukeproof scout etc). I don't think this is as big a deal as some have made out. I'm a novice rider though so maybe when I get more experienced the slacker geo will make a bigger difference. For those who know Stromlo I took it through XC trail 2 this morning for the first time and I must say I was surprised, it really ate it up. The plus size tyres are the real hero of this bike, no matter how many mistakes I made with my lines the tyres just rolled right on through. I ran the pressure at about 15psi and it was a super supple ride with the bigger hits soaked up really well by the Rockshox reverb tk silvers up front. The only let down are the Nobby Nic tyres which really don't handle the dry gravel trails very well, I have a set of Vee Crown Gem which I will try next weekend and hopefully this sorts out the slippery feeling in the turns. Funny enough for a heavy bike it gets light really easly on the downhill sections and unlike my old anthem that felt twitchy this feels rock sold at speed and inspires confidence weather confidence is justified or not (I ended up in a thorn bush). The hope brakes saved me more times than I should have needed, any new rider that is considering an upgrade the hopes are worth every penny, overkill maybe but the control really helps when your learning.
Overall this is a great bike with a good finishing kit. A few upgrades and I have made it a really forgiving bike for a noob rider that also works for school runs and anything else you might need. Any questions or suggestions for the review give me a shout. Pic of the finished product below.
Sent from my A1601 using Tapatalk
For perspective I payed $1089 AUD from torpido7 delivered so it was a great deal and I have upgraded some components so it probably has a total build price of $1600.
I needed a bike that serves a number of purposes I love a weekend ride but I take my kids to school as well so it needs to be able to take a bike seat and trailer. My old anthem was great but there is no way it could handle my Son on the back every day. The Marin checked the box for strength and flexibility with the steel frame taking the bike seat better than aluminium. Also duel suspension was out because of the bike seat so the plus size tyres give the back some suppleness that help both me and my kids.
I bought the bike a couple of months ago and so far the build quality has been very good. The SLX transmission is fantastic but the crank and nw chain ring were a bit of a boat anchor so I swapped them for a Zee crank and chain ring I had in the parts bin. I also upgraded the brakes from the stock shimano to a set of hope v4 that I got of crc for a bargain so now it stops really well. Probably overkill but better to have more brakes than less.
So how is the ride? Other reviews have discussed the upright geometry and yes it's not as slack as others on the market at the moment (nukeproof scout etc). I don't think this is as big a deal as some have made out. I'm a novice rider though so maybe when I get more experienced the slacker geo will make a bigger difference. For those who know Stromlo I took it through XC trail 2 this morning for the first time and I must say I was surprised, it really ate it up. The plus size tyres are the real hero of this bike, no matter how many mistakes I made with my lines the tyres just rolled right on through. I ran the pressure at about 15psi and it was a super supple ride with the bigger hits soaked up really well by the Rockshox reverb tk silvers up front. The only let down are the Nobby Nic tyres which really don't handle the dry gravel trails very well, I have a set of Vee Crown Gem which I will try next weekend and hopefully this sorts out the slippery feeling in the turns. Funny enough for a heavy bike it gets light really easly on the downhill sections and unlike my old anthem that felt twitchy this feels rock sold at speed and inspires confidence weather confidence is justified or not (I ended up in a thorn bush). The hope brakes saved me more times than I should have needed, any new rider that is considering an upgrade the hopes are worth every penny, overkill maybe but the control really helps when your learning.
Overall this is a great bike with a good finishing kit. A few upgrades and I have made it a really forgiving bike for a noob rider that also works for school runs and anything else you might need. Any questions or suggestions for the review give me a shout. Pic of the finished product below.
Sent from my A1601 using Tapatalk