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2003 Marin Rift Zone

Posted by Matt | February 2, 2006 | 7 comments so far

Matt's Marin Rift Zone

In January 2003 I decided it was time to find out what the fuss was all about with full suspension bikes and turned naturally enough to Marin.

I fancied a full suspension bike really to iron out the trail buzz that seemed to be giving me horrendous headaches after longish outings. So far it’s helped but it hasn’t stopped them.

Another plus for me was the opportunity to have a bike that climbed well, had a decent front fork and the chance to add disc brakes. Although I could have achieved some of this with the old Muirwoods frame I had, having done the sums it seemed cheaper and more fun to buy a new bike.

As with most people, the original spec of the bike was the starting point for tweaking the bike to suit me. Early tweaks included Hope Mini disc brakes (I specced them from new), new riser bars, wheels, tyres and handgrips. In addition, Marin upgraded the original pivot linkages to one piece efforts which stiffened up the swingarm nicely. See Trigger’s broom for a more recent update.

So, how does it ride? Well that’s a tricky one. At the time I didn’t have the experience of full sus to make direct comparisons but it was certainly smoother and faster than anything else I had ridden. It took me ages to ‘dial myself in’ to the RZ but after the first summer I managed to reach a point where I was relatively happy. These days, I ride it almost exclusively and can honestly say it is essentially foolproof. It may now be a bit limited in travel but for my kind of riding (cross country with some decent sized lumpy bits) it’s fine.

The fact remains that it’s me that needs to improve, rather than the bike.

Rift Zone specification (as at Feb 06)
Component	Spec	Component	Spec
Frame	2003 Marin QUAD Rift Zone 17.5″	Headset	WTB Momentum
Forks	Manitou Skareb Elite	Bars	Easton EA50 2″
Front mech	Deore LX	Stem	Marin 120mm
Rear mech	Deore LX	Seatpost	Easton EA50
Shifters	Deore	Saddle	WTB Speed V Sport
Front brake	Hope Mini	Pedals	WTB 310
Rear brake	Hope Mini	Rims	Mavic 317
Chain	SRAM	Hubs	XT (front) Hope (rear)
Cassette	SRAM PG950	Rear Shock	Fox Float R
Chainset	Truvativ Stylo XR	Tyres	Continental Vertical 2.3

Filed under Bikes in February 2006

About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.