Weaknesses: The usual Marin flexible swingarm. Grab the saddle and the top of the rear wheel and see how much flex there is in this thing. This is ok on the XC bikes, I still have a '05 mount vision, but not on something with 5" of travel. I never felt safe on this bike so sold it and bought a Trek Liquid which has been great.
Overall: Marin need to get back to building good simple bikes, they really haven't made a massive improvement since their 1997 FRS bikes.
Strengths: It forgives my mistakes and encourages me to let it do what it does best which is hammer up or down just about anything. I've ridden xc and dh at Glentress and Intherleithen on it and while it is not specifically aimed at either It was simply amazing at both. A true all mountain machine which is perfect for anyone who wants just one bike that will do the lot. Inspires confidence, I'm off to the Alps with it as soon as I bloody well can. I ride it with 4" travel it seems to go faster or perhaps I'm just getting more feedback from the trail. It handles decent size drops with ease set up like this aswell.
Weaknesses: Tyres don't like Chiltern mud but that's normal. Brakes squeel but this bike just doesn't want to slow down.
Overall: Amazing bike that will make you ride like a lunatic be it uphill or down. The bike sets the pace you just have to try and keep up with it.
Strengths: Great ride adjustment for all conditions xc or dh.Climbing or decent,fantastic ride,and responsive to all types of trails in any situation
Weaknesses: Handle bars far to wide(upgrade)Brakes far to noisey(upgrade pads gold sintered EBC)
Overall: I had the 2003 model before this and loved it,due to a dissagreement with a car had no option by to buy a new bike and ribs.Love this bike to,had to change a few things but who rides a bike straight of the shelf and does't change it to suit them.Great bike.
Strengths: You pop the front in 5 and the rear in 6 and it’s truly amazing. You can see the front taking the hits, you can hear the chain rattle as the rear compresses, yet you feel nothing. Ass wrenchingly fast in the 4 inch setting. Amazingly plush in the 6 with crap all pedal bob, can handle small to medium hucks. Pop it in 5 and it’s the perfect trail bike. Fox Talas R is the best fork I’ve tested and a perfect choice for this bike due to its versatility. The bikes handled everything I’ve thrown at it so far from some proper free riding, dirt jumping and proper downhill. The suspension is so easy to set up, with a few minor shock pump adjustments and a quick fiddle with the rebound it’s all done. Once you get it perfect, i.e. with it set to your weight and the rebound set then this bike truly fly's down anything. Both the Talas on the front and the float on the rear only have rebound control but how can you say you need anything else? I’m defiantly in favour of fully active suspension as the frames so well designed to take out pedal bob then it’s never an issue. Small trail chatter is easy to iron out once you set the rebound accordingly. At 30lb (or there about) total weight this is light enough for all day rides yet durable enough for just about anything.
Weaknesses: Nothing bad about the stock kit bar the Motoraptor tires are truly awful on hardpack. The chain screwed up after a few months but that was pretty much just down to neglect on my part.
Overall: All hail the marin wolfridge as the most amazing all round bike i've ever riden, A seminally amazing bicycle!
Strengths: The bike has been well spec'd from the wheels up and in its stock form is a very capable machine. I've tried it in a range of settings and conditions and have now just left it set up with 6" of travel. It wallows a bit when out of the saddle climbing on smoother surfaces but generates some awesome traction on the steep n rough. Nearly always gravity that defeats me first before the back wheel loses grip. To coin a phrase "climbs like a mountain goat..on steroids". The bike was very twitchy downhill in stock form due to the height of the BB but fitting the alpine link has made it a new bike. She is a lot more stable and predictable at speed and encourages you to try the steeper faster line. The link also makes the front wheel lift a little easier when climbing but its just a case of getting used to it. Fox up front...cant go wrong.
Weaknesses: Bike very twitchy with standard link..get an Alpine Link. Bars are very wide and could do with losing an inch before you misjudge the gap between those two trees!!! Wheels feel heavy but are very durable. WTB saddle is quite uncomfortable..but its a personnal thing. Grips feel awful-changed to YETI loc-ons and now much better. Brakes squeal..and scream when wet. All small things and personal.
Overall: A cracking all round bike with amazing versatility. Does almost everything with ease and i chose it over more expensive bikes as it felt such a good package with fantastic rideability. Just get the Alpine link to make it better!
Weaknesses: The only weaknesses that the Wolf Ridge has are the obvious weight issues. The big free-ridey wheels with WTB's big burly 'tractor' tires and Mavics strong X-223 make climbing a bit of a chore. The bike also has a set of Marin Down-Hill Riser bars which makes single track blasts a bit hairy when your faced with a very narrow gap between a couple of trees. Don't let these problems but you off though, a lighter set of wheels (even just lighter tires would do the trick) and cutting down the bars a bit would provide you with an almost race ready XC bike while still keeping its free-ride ability.
Overall: This is a great bike if you want a go any where do anything bike. The vast amount of adjustable travel for so little weight is obviously where most of the money goes. The frame alone is just over a grand but Marin have still managed to find somewhere in the budget for a great spec'. The Hope Minis are a must with masses of controllable power, a XT/LX/Truvative chainset provides smooth and reliable shifting and a mixture of Marin's and WTB's finishing kit gives you a nice trouble free package.
Strengths: The rear end is an absolute revelation. Smooth as silk, no bob unless you stand up. Adjustable to suit mood and conditions. Forks finally match the capabilities up front, and are as good as they come. Just point and shoot.
Everything else just does the job really well...but this bike is more than the sum of it's parts, that's what makes it a great bike!!
Weaknesses: Wheels are purposeful but don't accelerate well. The bars don't suit me and the stem was too short for my taste. Change to suit it to your requirements. Saddle is a bit cheap.
Overall: All the bike you will ever need. Inspirational to ride. The money has been spent on the heart of the ride with frame and suspension being 'top notch'.
Cockpit tweaking aside, what makes this bike inspirational is the ride quality. It just encourages you to go loopy, to try silly lines.
If it were a person it would be a cross between a body guard and a NASA test pilot. It'll take care of you but if you want to go into orbit and go bannanas...it'll do that to.
Strengths: Really supply suspension eats the hits.
Weaknesses: Coming from a hardtail its hell on the climbs!
Overall: Spent only 1 weekend at Coed y Brenin on the bike as it was lent to me whilst my hartail was indisposed. Having ridden the trails a number of times before on hardtails the bike was a revelation downhill. The big grippy tyres work really well and the fox forks and shock eat the hits. Climbs were not so good. Almost no bobbing whilst seated in the middle ring but other than that its all over the place. I'd want lockouts I think. Its also a long bike which takes some getting around tight corners. If you ride XC with emphasis placed on the downs it could be the bike for you. If like me however you like to beat people up the climbs as much as tear up the downs you might want to look elsewhere.
Weaknesses: Crappy travel adjustment that messes with pivot points hence causes set up problems, every time you change the travel you need to re set sag, even then the bike feels strange.
Strengths: Having had a '97 Marin Nail Trail hardtail with basic elastomer RST forks, this bike is excellent. It climbs well, makes a nonsense of the rough stuff and stops so much quicker than the old bike with V brakes. The bike was upgraded from the start with the Hope Mini Mono instead of the Hope Mini. Apparantly the first few hundred bikes will have the older Mini and later this year the Mini Mono will be standard fitment. The shock was changed from a Pro Pedal Fox R to a Fox RL ( No Pro Pedal available as aftermarket at that point in time ). The lockout is very useful on tarmac sections. I didn't ride the bike with Pro Pedal before buying so I can't say if it's worth having on a Fox RL shock. The Fox fork is excellent with adjustable travel as real bonus to balance the travel with the rear of the bike.
Weaknesses: The wide tyres are OK, but do seem to squirm around when you hit mud at any speed. The saddle ripped the first time I fell off ( slow speed fall whilst stopping when SPD cleat decided to stay in the pedal ). The biggest concern however has just arisen in the last week when I noticed one of the front bolts in the Quad link suspension had completely sheared off. Luckily the bolt had remained in the link so didn't collapse. The bolt was replaced by the Marin dealer immediately, but guess what ? The next ride out ( tonight ) and the replacment bolt has sheared off as well !!!! A phone call to ATB Sales is in order tomorrow.
Overall: Really like the bike, the only downside being the recent suspension bolt failures. If it wasn't for this then the bike would get full marks
Performance
100%
Reliability
60%
Value
100%
Overall Rating
87%
MY REVIEW
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Average Rating: 4 out of 5
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