Sea Otter 2013: Marin prototypes spotted

Image 1 of 27

This article originally published on BikeRadar

At this year's Sea Otter Classic, Marin had four prototypes dressed in black with decals that read “08.01.2013”, a reference to the expected debut of the new bikes. Three of the four new bikes are carbon and all reflect one of two current trends: 650B wheels or disc brakes for cyclo-cross.

Attack Trail is back

After a brief hiatus the Attack Trail is back in the Marin line, now with 650B wheels and a full carbon frame. “We really think this is the sweat spot for this wheel size," said Marin product manager Mark Vanek.

The Attack trail uses Marin’s Quad Link suspension design, which uses a pair of short links to control the movement of the rear suspension. It has 150mm of rear suspension travel and is compatible with 150mm-160mm forks.

The carbon frame features internal routing for the rear brake, front and rear derailleurs, and a dropper seatpost, all of which tuck cleanly into the frame on the left side of the head tube. The production bike will have a down tube protector with channels molded into the guard that will also for external cable routing as well. The frame’s 66-degree head tube angle places this bike on the slacker end of the 150mm-travel spectrum.

The frame has a 73mm threaded bottom bracket shell and uses an interchangeable chain guide system for use with various 1x or 2x chain guide options.

Mount Vision now in 650B

Like the Attack Trail, the Mount Vision also gets 650B wheels and a full carbon frame. It sports 140mm of front and rear suspension. Although the difference in rear wheel travel is only 10mm, the Mount Vision and the Attack Trail have very different personalities.

Where the Attack Trail is an aggressive all-mountain/enduro bike, the Mount Vision is positioned as a lightweight, performance-oriented trail bike. It has a 67.5-degree head angle and a simplified suspension design that Marin calls Iso Track, which is a straightforward single-pivot design with a rocker link driving the shock. According to Vanek, the primary motivation for moving to a simplified suspension design to save weight, bringing the complete Mount Vision prototype down to a claimed 25lb/11.34kg.

Like the Attack Trail, the Mount Vision has a smart-looking integrated housing port on the head tube, a threaded bottom bracket and uses the same modular chain guide system.

Rocky Ridge trail hardtail

The third new mountain bike in the Marin line is a long-travel 650B hardtail with an aluminum frame. Unlike the two new carbon bikes, the Rocky Ridge has external routing for all the cables, save for the dropper seatpost, which is routed through the down tube.

Carbon Cortina

Marin introduced the disc-equipped Cortina in aluminum last year. For 2014 there will be two carbon builds as well.

The carbon Cortina is constructed using the same methods as Marin’s carbon road and hardtail mountain bikes: individual tubes are formed over mandrels and then mitered and wrapped. Marin claims this method allows the engineers to fine tune the ride characteristics of each tube.

It uses a Press Fit 30 bottom bracket, and internal cable routing along the top of the down tube that allows the user to select between ports for Shimano Di2 (shown), internal routing with housing, or internal routing without housing.

The rear brake caliper is mounted to the chainstay. While many disc-equipped road and cyclo-cross frames are made to take either a 140mm or 160mm rear rotor, the Cortina is designed specifically for a 160mm rear disc. Rear dropout spacing is set at 135mm.

Vanek expects the top-end build to be sub 18lb/8.2kg.

Pricing is yet to be determined for the four new bikes. Finished models will debut August 1, with availability expected to be shortly thereafter.

Click here for Cyclingnews' complete Sea Otter coverage