The all NEW Marin Rift Zone is here! More travel and revised Geometry, but still the ultimate trail bike available in both 29″ and 27.5″. Duncan Shaw and Owen Timm took the opportunity to check out just how capable the bike is with a game of “RIFTY.”
The Marin Rift Zone is made to party, whatever your jam may be. Your ideal partner for everything from all-day epics, to local shred laps, and everything in between. Critically acclaimed since their debut over five years ago, they epitomize our Made For Fun mantra above everything else and are the heart and soul of Marin’s full suspension lineup.
Rift Zone alloy models are all-new from the frame-up for 2023, with more travel, fresh geometry, updated suspension kinematics, and refined details. Furthermore, the lineup has been aligned between the 29” and 27.5” wheel size models.
And this just in, the new Rifty has already won Gold, with Marin-sponsored ambassador and all-around awesome human Martha Gill taking the top step on the podium in the Dual Slalom at Crankworx Rotorua 2022.
Frame
Series 3 aluminum frames with new tubing and forgings freshen the Rifty’s overall aesthetics, with a shorter seat tube and lower standover from previous models.
Slick braze-in cable guide entry and exit ports look great and eliminate cable/hose rattle. Cable routing is built into the forging, and the bike is a zip tiefree zone. The dropouts are now compatible with SRAM’s UDH rear derailleur hanger. The Rift Zone is also a quieter bike, with all-new chainstay and seatstay protectors with increased coverage to minimize chain slap. Proper ISCG tabs and threaded BB shells remain.
Travel
Rift Zone 29” and 27.5” alloy models see travel bump up 10mm in the front and 5mm in the rear, now at 140mm/130mm, respectively, bringing the bike firmly into the trail category. Rift Zone 26 and Rift Zone Jr models now see 130mm travel front and rear.
Geometry
Both 29” & 27.5” frames share key geometry figures, with 65.5° headtube and 77° seattube angles, along with 430mm chainstays. In short, we pegged the fun-o-meter by making these critical updates to the angles. Rift Zone 26 and Jr see similar updates, with 65.5° HTA and 76° STA, with 425mm chainstays.
Kinematics and shock Tuning
The team here at Marin spent countless hours dialing in the frame kinematics, ensuring maximum performance with current shocks on the market. From there we worked with engineers at Fox, RockShox, and X-Fusion to dial in the tunes to deliver the best combination of pedaling efficiency on the climbs and flats, while delivering bottomless-feeling control when the going gets rough. The new Rifty doesn’t just have more travel; it also improves the way travel is used.
The Lineup
One key feature that hasn’t changed is the Rift Zone assortment, with three each 29” and 27.5” models, and the 26” and 24” for the young rippers. Now these models have been homogenized between wheel sizes, so colors, specifications and pricing remain the same at the various 1/2/XR levels, no matter the rolling stock.
To find out more about the Rift Zone range, head here: