# Trek Marlin 5 Drivetrain Upgrade?



## Saigul (May 11, 2021)

Hey, I'm new to the forums but I thought to place my thread here. I have a 2021 Trek Marlin 5, and so far I'm loving it! I have just recently upgraded the tires and currently looking on upgrading my drivetrain to a 1x in the near-future. I am very confused on the compatibility with the Marlin 5's rear hub and the cost of upgrading the rear wheel plus the drivetrain itself. I know I need a new crankset (maybe a bottom bracket?), rear hub/wheel, cassette, shifters, and derailleur. So far I am looking at some budget options such as the MicroShift Advent X 1x10 and the Shimano Deore 1x12 groupset. (If there are any other options please let me know). Basically I just need help compiling a complete list of everything I need to upgrade/change in order to fit a 1x groupset on my bike. Thanks to anyone willing to help!


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## bow53 (Jan 8, 2021)

I'm not going to stop you but I am going to highly recommend you take a different course of action. With your bike its an entry bike. You would be better to save your money for something better in a year that will last you longer. I made the mistake of upgrading a lot on my bike and looking back at how much I've spent I could have gotten something really good used.


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

I had a look at your crankset (TY301), and while the Shimano doc offered instructions for replacement chainrings, your specific model wasn't listed in the documentation, and photos of it appear to show them riveted together. So in that respect it does look like you'd need a new crankset (and possibly BB).

Re the hub, I have seen a reference to adding a 10+ cog cassette on a 7-speed hub (by removing a cog), but I'm unsure how well that works.

So, realistically, you are indeed looking at a shifter, RD, cassette, chain, and hub replacement. It isn't feasible to upgrade the hub on that wheel, so realistically you're looking at a new rear wheel, or wheelset.

While I think you'd like 1X11, 1X12, I'd have to agree with @bow53 that it doesn't make sense on that bike.


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## 202cycle (Dec 6, 2006)

bow53 said:


> I'm not going to stop you but I am going to highly recommend you take a different course of action. With your bike its an entry bike. You would be better to save your money for something better in a year that will last you longer. I made the mistake of upgrading a lot on my bike and looking back at how much I've spent I could have gotten something really good used.


He better get one on backorder now if he wants one in a year.


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## henryspencer (Jul 29, 2020)

Good luck with the project if you decide to go through with it. One issue to look for on the rear hub: lots of Marlin 5s come equipped with a freewheel hub, rather than a freehub/cassette. Take some time to research the difference. If it's a freewheel, you'll need a new hub (which at this price point probably means a whole new wheel) to make this work. 

Rather than upgrade my son's Marlin 5, we sold it and got him a Roscoe 7, which he loves.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

The amount you would spend on an updated drivetrain will be way above what you paid for that bike. It's a starter bike and can only take you so far even with a drivetrain upgrade. Most starter bikes are typically put up for sale a few months after the rider outgrows it. If you try to resell a Marlin with a spendy drivetrain upgrade, most likely no one will buy it because you will probably ask for too much. It's like putting a Ferrari engine into a Kia. No one will give you Ferrari money for a Kia even with the upgraded engine.


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## Caligata (Dec 30, 2020)

phlegm said:


> Re the hub, I have seen a reference to adding a 10+ cog cassette on a 7-speed hub (by removing a cog), but I'm unsure how well that works.


Yikes, Marlin 5 is really 7sp cassette! I didn't think anybody was still doing 7sp.
Anyway, I have a 7sp, and I recently bought an 8sp cassette and removed a cog. It works great. Gives me the range I want, and I don't find the jumps (tooth counts) between cogs to be too much. Yes, others have said you can use a 9sp or 10sp and get the same results (yielding 8sp or 9sp). But I can't personally vouch for that.

Per Trek's website, the Marlin 5 uses a Tourney with 34T max cog, but Shimano has a reputation for being conservative. I bet it would work fine with 36T. Or drop it with an extension link, and it will probably work with a 42T cassette. I'm running 11T-42T on a Shimano that's rated 34T max cog (reached 36T cog on factory dropout, reaches 42T with extension link).


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## Luu Thanh Xuan (Dec 15, 2021)

Hi, I am a new biker and only use bike in the city. I have an used 2013 Trek 4300 dist from Japan. Seller said that's still good and warranty 15 months for it. Compare with Trek Marlin 5, 4300 is better than frame (alpha gold is better than alpha silver?) and groups (acera in Trek 4300). Now I'm confusing between upgrading Trek 4300 or by new Marlin 6. Please give me some advices. Thank you very much!


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