2021 Marin

Rift Zone Jr

The new Marin "Rifty" gets a sweet new alloy frame, more travel, and a consistent spec and geometry across all wheel sizes to fit any rider.

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As a more budget-conscious option for trail riders looking for a pleasant pedaling machine with a healthy serving of capability, the new Rift Zone hits the mark very well. It’ll still hold on for most of the gnarlier terrain if you find yourself in the remit of an enduro rig, albeit requiring a slightly more delicate touch. Most importantly though, it’ll climb relatively efficiently, and pop and play happily on groomed terrain, making for a great fun all-rounder. It definitely ticks that “fun” box.

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When searching for the best kids’ and youth mountain bikes, cheap and heavy bike-shaped objects sadly still dominate the ranges of even big-name manufacturers, credit therefore due to Marin for this genuinely capable ‘my first full-susser’ based on its popular Rift Zone. Like its 27.5 and 29-inch wheeled big brothers, the Jr is a trail-optimised all-rounder that can serve as a springboard for whatever riding style your young’n fancies pursuing. Need to know Sensibly priced first suspension bike Compatible with 24in and 26in wheels 120mm of travel front and rear One size, one price, one colour scheme Ready to unleash the potential in your little rippers 1×11 gearing with wide spread of ratios Kids’ bikes are a tough market to crack, given the balance to be struck between affordability for parents and a spec to inspire little riders. As such the Marin Rift Zone Jr provides solid foundations and a carefully considered build that can be upgraded and adapted to suit different applications as your kid’s riding progresses. The fact you can switch the wheels out from 24in to 26in means the Rift Zone Jr could last two ‘buying cycles’ as well, which is a bonus given kids can grow out of bikes faster than they do school shoes, and are often ready to go up a wheel size before you might think. Marin’s MultiTrac full suspension design is carried over from the full-size Rift Zone and is basically a branded twist on the tried and tested single pivot and linkage-driven shock configuration. 120mm of travel front and back seems a sensible mid-range for younger riders and the Jr looks every inch the downsized ‘proper’ mountain bike that it is, with a stylish two-tone paint job, neat graphics and a curved top tube to maximise standover for little legs. Short version? Parents and kids alike dig the looks and it clearly has all the cred of the full-sized Rift Zone in a downsized package. Given the price point the spec is well thought-out with X-Fusion supplying both fork and shock, brakes and drivetrain from Shimano’s unflashy but dependable Deore range, a SunRace 11-speed cassette and Marin-branded finishing kit. Short 155mm cranks show a commendable attention to detail and are better suited to little legs while the 11-46t cassette has a decent range for the climbs. At 720mm the bar is crazy wide for our seven-year-old tester but offers scope to trim to fit – we cut them down to 660mm which seemed about right. If there’s one big disappointment it’s the lack of seatpost adjustment resulting from the curved seat-tube. From full extension and the limit mark on the post you can only drop it 65mm before it fouls the inside of the frame, meaning we had to swap to a cut-down post to get the saddle low enough and accept the limited range to raise it for the climbs. A dropper is the obvious answer, and the frame has internal cable guides ready to accept one, but the maximum …Continue reading »

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