Between Marin’s booth and the Subaru exhibit, vintage bike nerds should have had a great time at Sea Otter. While Sea Otter was celebrating 25 years, Marin was pushing the big 30 going back to the days when Joey Murray was the original product manager for projects like the first Madrone Trail (which was on display). Thirty years later, Marin is once again working with Joe Murray and the brand has a few new bikes in the works like the plus sized Pine Mountain series.
Starting with the Pine Mountain 1, Marin is toeing the waters with a fully rigid plus sized bike, but this is just the beginning…
Shown in prototype form, the first Pine Mountain will be very close to the bike here including the suspension corrected rigid fork. Expect to see an additional brace across the top of the fork for production as well as side mounts on the legs however. Completely suspension ready, the Pine Mountain 1 will include Schwalbe tires instead of the Vee Tire co rubber pictured and utilized a chromoly frame and fork.
Running quick releases front and rear, Marin’s first plus sized bike will not use boost standards but a typical 135mm rear and 100mm front. Fitted with a number of additional bosses for three bottle cages, under top tube fittings for frame bags or other accessories, the geometry is suited to aggressive trail riding but the accouterments will lend themselves to getting out into the back country. Fitted with an SLX 1×10 drivetrain with a SunRace 11-42 cassette, the 2016 Pine Mountain 1 will sell for $1100. If you like the looks of that, we’re told we should expect some similar, but higher spec’ed bikes this fall…
Also in 4130 Chromoly but with much smaller tires, Marin’s new Four Corners should help you travel the globe. The sloping top tube frame includes clearance for up to 45mm tires with fenders, or clearance for 29 x 2.0″ knobby tires if you prefer dirt nomenclature.
Built with provisions for fenders, racks, a rear stand, and three bottle cages, the Four Corners should leave some room for your Marin Brewing Co. suds. Equipped with short drop bars with a 20 degree outward flare, the Sora 3×9 build will sell for $1100 and will ship later this summer.
Thirty years ago, this was it – the first Madrone Trail. Technically an ’86, this bike was built with Joe Murray geometry and sold for just $199.
Moving on in noteworthy-ness, the 1990 Team Marin included Tange Prestige tubing and “Boasts Super Narrow Rims and a full Shimano XT STI group.” Yes, “Super Narrow Rims” used to be a selling feature.
The Titanium FRS frame from 1993 explored the world of full suspension with an Answer/Manitou rear fork built into the frame.
The Titanium FRS got a little more sophisticated in 1996, with a rocker suspension and a whopping 5.3″ of rear travel.
Also in ’96, the Nail Trail rode on a 7000 series double butted aluminum frame with a Shimano STX/STX-RC drivetrain.
1998 started the Quake series with the 5.0 with its aluminum monocoque frame which eventually led to bikes like the Quake CL7 below. We’ve come a long way in 30 years – who knows what bikes will look like in 2045?
