I was in Marin's new factory store (late 2010) and saw this beautiful bike hanging in the window. I already owned an Italian racing bike and a city cruizer so this looked liked a fun replacement for a recently stolen mountain bike... It was white (my favorite bike color) and had cool graphics and an interesting front "sprocket"... I rode it around the block twice with some adjustments and wasn't crazy about how and where the shift levers operated but I bought it just because of its cool looks.
It took me a few months before I finally road it on some steep trails in Marin and the first time I pointed this thing down a steep, narrow, winding trail and let it fly I think I became a kid all over again! It felt just like some of the 125cc dirt bikes I used ride when I was much younger - only without the motor, noise, and passive activity of twisting a throttle... The faster I rode it and the more I trusted the suspension and brakes to get through the rough stuff the more fun it... Read more