2023 Marin Rift Zone
Wheel Size: 27.5’’ and 29’’ versions available
Travel: 130 mm rear / 140 mm front
Geometry highlights:
- Sizes offered: XS (27.5’’ only), S, M, L, XL
- Headtube angle: 65.5°
- Seat tube angle: 77°
- Reach: 485 mm (Rift Zone 29, Large)
- Chainstay length: 430 mm (all sizes)
Material: Aluminum
Price: Complete bikes $1,800 to $3,500
Intro
The Marin Rift Zone has been in Marin’s lineup as their mid-travel Trail bike for a while now, and the aluminum version gets an update today. It’s still offered with both 27.5’’ and 29’’ wheels, both of which feature 130 mm of rear travel, paired with a 140 mm fork, and the whole range is notably affordable, and a very good value for money.
The Frame
Marin also offers a carbon-framed Rift Zone, but the aluminum version is the one to get an update this time around, so we’ll focus on the new bike. As per usual for Marin, it’s a linkage-driven single-pivot layout, and despite the relatively affordable price of the complete bikes, Marin hasn’t skimped on the feature set. The Rift Zone now gets a SRAM UDH derailleur hanger, and features internal cable routing (with a big bolt-on port on the downtube to (hopefully) make routing easy, ISCG-05 chainguide tabs, a molded rubber chainstay protector, and room for a water bottle inside the front triangle on all sizes.
There’s nothing too flashy or fancy about the Rift Zone frame, but it looks nicely sorted out, and if our time on its big brother, the Alpine Trail, is anything to go by, Marin knows how to make a solid, well-built frame for not a ton of money and we’ve got high hopes that the same will be true of the Rift Zone.
Fit & Geometry
The new Rift Zone doesn’t deviate too far from the prior version when it comes to geometry. It’s still offered in sizes XS (Rift Zone 1 27.5’’ only) through XL, and the geometry of the 27.5’’ and 29’’ models is mostly similar. No matter the wheel or frame size, the Rift Zone gets a 65.5° headtube angle, a 77° seat tube, and 430 mm chainstays. Reach on the 27.5’’ models is slightly shorter than the 29er version (ranging from 415 to 500 mm for the 27.5’’ Rift Zone, including the XS; the 29er starts with a Small size at 435 mm and grows to 515 mm for the XL). The 27.5’’ bike also gets a slightly lower bottom bracket (20 mm drop, for a stated 339 mm BB height, vs. 35 mm drop / 434 mm height for the 29er).
The Builds
Marin offers three builds on both the Rift Zone 27.5’’ and the 29er version. The builds are essentially the same irrespective of wheel size and are notably affordable across the board. The base Rift Zone 1 comes in at just $1,800, and while it doesn’t come with a dropper post, it’s still notably good value for the money. The $2,400 Rift Zone 2 gets you a dropper post, better suspension, and a 12-speed drivetrain, and the top-tier Rift Zone XR ($3,500) steps up to burlier suspension, bigger brakes, a higher-end drivetrain, and so on.
- Fork: X-Fusion Sweep (27.5’’) or Slide (29’’)
- Shock: X-Fusion 02 Pro R
- Drivetrain: Shimano Deore 11 Speed w/ Sun Race cassette
- Crank: Marin
- Brakes: Shimano MT200, 180 mm rotors
- Wheels: Marin rims / Shimano MT200 hubs
- Seatpost: Marin Alloy
- Fork: Marzocchi Bomber Z2
- Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select RT
- Drivetrain: Shimano Deore 12-speed
- Crank: FSA Comet
- Brakes: Shimano MT200, 180 mm rotors
- Wheels: Marin rims / Shimano MT410 hubs
- Dropper Post: SDG Tellis (S: 150 mm; M-XL: 170 mm)
- Fork: Marzocchi Bomber Z1
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance
- Drivetrain: Shimano SLX w/ XT rear derailleur
- Crank: FSA Grid
- Brakes: Shimano MT420 4-piston, 203 mm front / 180 mm rear rotors
- Wheels: Marin rims / “Forged Alloy” hubs
- Dropper Post: TransX (S: 150 mm; M/L: 170 mm; XL: 200 mm)
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) The Rift Zone looks like a very promising option for an affordable Trail bike with good geometry and a solid parts spec for the money, but is that all borne out on the trail?
(2) And how does the Rift Zone stack up to a few of the other notable options in that category, such as the Norco Fluid?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Marin’s been known for making very solid, affordable bikes for a while now and the new Rift Zone looks like a nice continuation of that legacy. We’re hoping to be able to get on one soon to find out more.
Do we know how much these bikes weigh?
Ballpark 32-33 lbs, maybe less for the 1 w/o a dropper. The carbon versions come in closer to 31-32 lbs.