# Is a marin quake xlt any good?



## HowMaybesGo (Oct 1, 2010)

there is a guy wanting to trade me straight across for my 2011 Giant Reign 2. He said he would if he got to keep his crank, chain guide, and brakes....... is it a good deal? i know nothing about these Marin bikes. i just bought an '11 scratch air 8 for my do it all bike and i was going to get a downhill bike in the future but maybe this is a quicker way for me to get there. let me know if it is worth it guys. thanks!

Marin Quake XLT - Pinkbike.com (his bike)


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## Pedal Shop (Dec 14, 2006)

not knowing about what the condition and build kit is on your trade, l can't say it's a good deal --

l can say though, the Marin's a sweet ride. l have been selling them since they came out. they rock at all the freeridey stuff and then, they'll out climb almost anything in its class, even some of the twinky XC bikes that climb to be good climbers.

the frame design is a little funky looking but it's very well designed.

--- random shots of some pedal shop has sold or demo'd: MARIN Photo Album - Page 1 - Pinkbike.com


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## OUTsane(the original) (Oct 21, 2009)

I LOVE mine! I bought it from Pedal Shop last year and have been riding at Diablo since, it rocks! It handles everything I've put it through just fine, and I'm sure it can handle a HELL of a lot more. I actually just took it XCing on Friday. One of the coolest things about it is the super long seat tube, it's long enough that I can actually get more than full leg extension, and I'm six foot.

At the lifts on top of Diablo.










It's also pretty cool that no one knows what the hell it is. I think just about every time I go to the bike park someone asks about it, it certainly happens often enough.


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## HowMaybesGo (Oct 1, 2010)

2011 Giant Reign 2 - Buy and Sell and Review Mountain Bikes and Accessories

this is a link to the for sale ad i have here on mtbr.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

nice looking Marin bike...but I would never trade down for suspension....Giants suspension way better then the marin's single pivot


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## OUTsane(the original) (Oct 21, 2009)

SHIVER ME TIMBERS said:


> nice looking Marin bike...but I would never trade down for suspension....Giants suspension way better then the marin's single pivot


It's not a single pivot... I don't think Marin make any single pivots anymore.










I think it's just a really short four bar. They call it the quadlink II.


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## Pau11y (Oct 15, 2004)

SHIVER ME TIMBERS said:


> nice looking Marin bike...but I would never trade down for suspension....Giants suspension way better then the marin's single pivot


Yeah, I'm pretty certain it's not a single pivot... That said, it sure looks like there'd be a bit of brake squat...what w/ how flat that smaller link is sitting... 
Owners, chime in?


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## frorider (Apr 2, 2005)

SMT, put down the crack pipe. The Quake is not a single pivot. 

It's the Whyte-engineered 4 bar virtual pivot that avoids infringing the VPP and DW link (and Maestro and CVA) intellectual property. Even with pro pedal off, it pedals very efficiently, perhaps better than VP2 bikes of similar travel. I don't own one but have ridden several and have a riding buddy with one.

The shock adjustments are difficult to get to, since the frame gets in the way, and removing the shock takes longer than with most bikes. Center of Gravity is a bit high w/ this frame design, obviously. OTOH, the elevated chainstay design has some advantages.


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## OUTsane(the original) (Oct 21, 2009)

Pau11y said:


> Yeah, I'm pretty certain it's not a single pivot... That said, it sure looks like there'd be a bit of brake squat...what w/ how flat that smaller link is sitting...
> Owners, chime in?


Nah, I don't notice it squatting much under braking. I think it helps that the brake is so far away from the links. Also, the way both links are aranged looks to me like it would help stop that sort of rotational pressure, pulling on the rear one and pushing straight in-line with the front one.


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## marinwolfrider (May 20, 2007)

The quake is a great freeride bike, I have the first generation 2006 frame and it's held up well. The shock is a ***** to adjust as frorider said. I rode it all over Northstar this last weekend and it did real well on live wire, but I was wanting more bottom out resistance in the rocks (boondocks). For a trail bike pedals really well, snappy on the tables, but the cockpit is a little too cramped for all out downhill. Northstar is really a dh bike resort.


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## Quarashi (Aug 23, 2006)

Don't get it. If you just bought a scratch air, this would pretty much fill almost the exact same niche as that bike. If you want a DH bike, get a DH bike.


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## HowMaybesGo (Oct 1, 2010)

Quarashi said:


> Don't get it. If you just bought a scratch air, this would pretty much fill almost the exact same niche as that bike. If you want a DH bike, get a DH bike.


My thoughts exactly! i was hoping it was the 7.8" or 7.9" (i think they made one in 7.9) travel but the guy told me it is only 180mm...... so i'm going to pass.


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## Pedal Shop (Dec 14, 2006)

Comments on the comments.

** takes me +/- 10 minutes to pop the shock off the frame -- no funky tools needed: just a multi-allen wrench and only two socket wrenches: 10 & 13mm --- pop the main pivot bolt, from there you can pop the bolts for the rear shock out.

** frame doesn't need any brake boost or anything even remotely close to something like Kona's D.O.P.E. the frame design simply doesn't need it.

** climbing with it is silly nice... one of these days l'll wup up a video showing how well l can climb with it. l don't think l have any special skills in climbing. l know several people who can climb way the heck better than me.

** seen lots of them rebuilt with Boxxer's and 40's, using them for DH... that's the way the Marin team have been using them in the past. The rear travel is what it is... ask me, it's plenty.

** if you're local to VA.. give me a shout, l can set up a demo-day for ya.

** tuning the rear shock? ehh, sure, it's not all that easy but l can tune it just fine in a matter of minutes -- set it N forget it. any frame that might have some of the design geared around ease of adjustments isn't thinking things through too well.


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## OUTsane(the original) (Oct 21, 2009)

HowMaybesGo said:


> My thoughts exactly! i was hoping it was the 7.8" or 7.9" (i think they made one in 7.9) travel but the guy told me it is only 180mm...... so i'm going to pass.


The 7.8 and 7.9 are just model numbers. They just have different build kits, the travel is the same, 6.7".


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## HowMaybesGo (Oct 1, 2010)

OUTsane(the original) said:


> The 7.8 and 7.9 are just model numbers. They just have different build kits, the travel is the same, 6.7".


wow...... I am retarded. They are the same. But 180mm is just over 7in. 170mm is 6.7in. I don't know why I assumed they went up in travel.


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## OUTsane(the original) (Oct 21, 2009)

HowMaybesGo said:


> wow...... I am retarded. They are the same. But 180mm is just over 7in. 170mm is 6.7in. I don't know why I assumed they went up in travel.


They went up from 170 to 180 when they did a slight redesign in... '10 I think. Pedal Shop would know that better than me. They also have a ten inch version now too, but I think it has a different name.


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## marinwolfrider (May 20, 2007)

IMO a dual crown isn't going to turn the quake into a dh bike. I've got a totem which has the same A2C as a Boxxer, and the rear end bottoms on rocky stuff. 6.7" is simply not enough for tahoe rocks. Again, it is a quality bike, does the whole trail and free riding thing great. For whistler type flowy stuff with roots, it's a perfect fit.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

frorider said:


> SMT, put down the crack pipe. The Quake is not a single pivot.
> 
> It's the Whyte-engineered 4 bar virtual pivot that avoids infringing the VPP and DW link (and Maestro and CVA) intellectual property. Even with pro pedal off, it pedals very efficiently, perhaps better than VP2 bikes of similar travel. I don't own one but have ridden several and have a riding buddy with one.
> 
> The shock adjustments are difficult to get to, since the frame gets in the way, and removing the shock takes longer than with most bikes. Center of Gravity is a bit high w/ this frame design, obviously. OTOH, the elevated chainstay design has some advantages.


I have not been watching them the last few years...my bad...looks like the VPP, but higher and switched around in front. Which would raise Center of gravity. Would love to see the suspension move in a vid...cant find one...but I still take the mastro over it


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## cicatrix (Nov 15, 2010)

it actually is a competent DH bike with a dual crown. I'm saying this after riding the Austrian, Slovenian, Swiss, and French Alps with it.


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