I think Marin have it right, good forks and suspension are things that last, if you can keep the price low on the rear mech and other stuff which is replacable it's the way to go. Seems as though most manufactures don't abide by this and stick XT mechs on left right and centre leaving poor forks etc.

Pleasantly ugly looking bike too.

I thought gussets were a way of reinforcing fixed diameter tubes at points of stress. Surely with a custom designed monocoque, this strength could be designed in? Or is a headtube gusset as essential as an XT rear mech for the tyre-kickers out there?

I reckon a headtube gusset is probably an easier option than engineering the chassis, bearing in mind the weld goes down the length of the downtube.

Nice bike been looking at this one Long and Hard in my LBS, very tempted likely treat myself to 1 in a few Months. ( take the Wheels off my current bike and exactly how I'd spec a Bike, Deore + FSA kit, perfect )



Serious VFM, and a sensible UK weather design.


I think I got it to 32lb's 17.5ish frame with pedals, Mike ?? ( 5-6 less than my aging GT )

thanks Mike!!!

GF is considering the bike, saw the Pic full screen LOL maybe sooner than a few months.

Thinking of changing my 3 year old Marin Rift Zone quad x country for a TARA of similar spec for a more laid back exciting ride on the rougher twistier trails.

Any comments?

I test rode althought briefly the rocksprings today, in 4inch mode cause thats what I mainly want it for, with the option to go out to 6inch if needs be and..


I quite liked it, but didn't love it, back end felt abit vague so I'm seeing if they can get a Fox DHX 3.0 Coil shock ( I hate Air shocks ) and what price, should let me sort out the rear. Guess not used to the 4Bar setup mainly.

Didn't have anyway where decent to try it on though sadly :(

Hey Roger, I just did exactly that( well, in fact my new frame is a 2005 TARA frame - not 2006 and I put my old bits on it from by 2003 Rift Zone, so to speak).

So, here is what I found when I did what you are planning (well nearly, note the 2005 frame).

So, its a 2005 TARA frame with an Alpine link added by me which drops the BB and changes the head angle a bit too.

It weighs about 33.5 lbs with flattie peddles, the original no-name hubs, Specialized Enduro Pro 2.3's front and back and Mavic 321 Disk Rims. I have Hope MM's on 160 discs, XT front and back with SRAM triggers and the rest as the original bike came - look it up on Marin's archived web-site.

The bike is better in every way than the 2003 Rift Zone. Its sharper, smoother and, surprisingly, faster. Climbing, if you can believe it, is better. And now it is butter smooth in decent. Big drop-offs and smallish jumps that were feasable, but jarring before, are still exciting, but are now more controlled.

I upgraded the rear shock from a Fox Float R (which already had a TFTuned PUSH upgrade) to a Fox Float RP3. I also have a slightly better fork than the Vanilla (Manitou Minute 1 - great fork, but needs TFTuning at least once a year).

But I think the main thing is the frame.

As a result, I imagine the 2006 Tara frame is a step up again from my 2005 Tara set-up and I would have loved to afford that. It probably does not need the Alpine Link, but I would be interested to hear other views too.

So, go and buy it NOW!

Charlie.

Thinking 'NO' GT Ruckus Feels better why waste 1K+, got a HT when efficency is required.


Will ride the GT tommorow, while the Marin is still in my brain, see what I think.