hi guys/gals, like everything i order, i like to be different and as such i've just bought myself a marin muirwood 29er. everyone i see has specialized or giant bikes and i wanted something different, trouble is, after spending £700 on bike and gear, i realised i don't know much about marin.can anyone tell me if i've made a good decision? i'm using the bike for commuting and general cycling (mostly road but some off road) also can i fit chunkier tyres to this bike and take it offroad?

any help much appreciated

There's a certain irony about buying a Marin to be 'different'.

Marin's are good bikes chap, very popular middle of the market brand.  You can put some wider MTB type tyres on it but you may find the gearing a little hard going off road.

There seems to have been a backlash against them a few years ago, usually by people who don't understand why people can have fun on a bike even if it hasn't been welded from kryptonite by the light of a full moon.

thanks for that.

1 other thing i was wondering was how off-road can a hybrid bike go?

They went through a bit of a phase where the purists regarded them as "boring", but even the most anti-Marin cynic at my LBS admitted that my new Rock Springs was an absolute hoot to ride.