The Marin Rift Zone has two faces. On the one hand, the all-mountain bike impresses with its iconic, no-frills frame design. But the Rift Zone also won the hearts of our testers with its successful geometry and fun character. The very slack head angle and long reach allow for high speeds - even though the Marin has significantly less travel than the rest of the test bikes at just under 140 millimetres.
The rear, on the other hand, is very short with its 430 mm chainstays. This gives the bike an extremely pronounced playfulness despite the long front end. Manuals and fast corner changes are easy. On jumps, the short-stroke rear end generates a lot of support. In short, the Rift Zone offers enormous potential for fun off-road. So far, so good.
On the other hand, the rather mediocre quality of the components means that the performance of the chassis is not fully utilised. This is primarily due to the low price. At € 3499, the bike is the top model in the Marin line-up, but it is by far the cheapest candidate in our comparison.
The low braking power of the simple Shimano stoppers in particular inhibits riding enjoyment on long descents. The second-rate Maxxis tyres with single compound also cannot keep up with the traction of the high-quality models in the test. In addition, the weight suffers from the low price.
The Rift Zone frame is the only one in the test field made entirely of aluminium, weighs 3250 grams and ultimately brings the total weight to 15.4 kilos without pedals. Together with the heaviest wheels in the test, the Marin is only suitable for pedalling-heavy tours to a limited extent. Tuning potential!
Conclusion on the Marin Rift Zone XR 29 in the test
The geometry concept of the Marin harbours incredible downhill fun potential. For all-mountain use, however, the bike is too heavy with its equipment, and the climbing qualities come up short. - Max Fuchs, BIKE editor
Technical data & notes Marin Rift Zone XR 29
Manufacturer information
- Price: 3499 Euro
- Available from specialised dealers
- Frame material: aluminium
- Frame size: S, M,L, XL(tested size L, 42 cm)
Measured values
- Weight without pedals: 15.36 kg
- Frame weight without shock: 3250 g
- Weight of wheels: 5501 g
- Handlebar width: 780 mm
Equipment
- Fork: Marzocchi Bomber Z1 Grip
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance
- Front/rear suspension travel: 138/134 mm
- Crank: FSA Grid
- Gear system: Shimano XT 1 x 12
- Gear ratio / bandwidth: 32; 10-51 / 510 %
- Brake system / disc (front / rear): Shimano BR-MT 420 / 203/180 mm
- Telescopic post / stroke / Ø: X-Fusion Manic / 150 mm / 30.9 mm
- Wheels: Marin rims; Shimano hubs
- Tyres: Maxxis Assegai; Exo Protection TR 29 x 2.50
- Ease of maintenance: medium
BIKE test rating¹: good - 171.5 out of 250 points
The BIKE judgement reflects the laboratory measurements (BIKE laboratory measurement) and the subjective impression of the test riders. The BIKE judgement is independent of price. BIKE judgements: super (250-205 P.), very good (204.75-180 P.), good (179.75-155 P.), satisfactory (154.75-130 P.), with weaknesses (129.75-105 P.), unsatisfactory (104.75-0 P.).
²Price may be subject to additional costs for packaging, dispatch and coordination.
Max Fuchs
Editor
