Marin Rift Zone 29 XR long-term review – update three

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Discovering that saving even more weight is harder than he initially imagined, Alex is refocusing the modus operandi of his Marin Rift Zone 29 XR on practicality and functionality with a few cable-removing and performance-enhancing upgrades.

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My latest changes to the Rift Zone are intended to up practicality and reduce maintenance hassle, at the same time as adding an element of up-market refinement.

While that may sound as if I’ve treated it to the bike equivalent of a spa day with a bar-to-derailleur makeover, what I’ve actually done is remove all the dropper and drivetrain cables.

Fitting RockShox’s brilliant – and recent five-star-winning – AXS Reverb post has helped do this (even though the Rifty’s routing is good) and tidied up the handlebar in the process.

The battery-powered, wirelessly operated post has 170mm of drop in this 30.9mm variant, with an incredibly smooth and reliable action – and, most importantly, it's so easy to install.

Other benefits of a wirelessly operated post include being able to swap it from one bike to the next without a full strip-down and re-install. That helps justify the Reverb’s £750 asking price – in theory, you’d only need one post for multiple bikes.

Not content with the remaining cables, I finally got round to fitting SRAM’s GX AXS Transmission on my UDH-equipped bike.

Once again, removing the cables for the GX Eagle drivetrain was an exercise in cathartic minimalism, cutting the clutter. Plus the Bridge clamp means there are no extra band clamps around my bar, boosting that clean-cockpit feel.

Still not content, I swapped out the stock DB8 brakes for some punchier Code Ultimate Stealths. The newest Stealth lever design brings the (remaining) cables as close to the bar as possible, cleaning up the lasso-style looping of brake hoses seen on the older designs.

The Ultimate-level Codes get pad-contact and lever-reach adjustments over the minimalist DB8s, and the power increases in the process.

I’ll have more on the performance of these upgrades in my next update.

Previous updates follow…

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR long-term review – update two

Mountain biking can be seen in two very different lights. On the one hand, it’s a sport of marginal gains where the world’s top racers are looking to shave off every bit of weight possible, unlocking suspension, frame, tyre and wheel performance increases mere mortals wouldn’t be able to detect.

On the other hand, we normal folk – with me very much included – will barely notice the difference between the mid- and top-spec bikes in any given model’s range.

Befitting this tale of two halves is my quest to shave weight from the Rift Zone.

Having set my sights on swapping out the Marin-branded bar, stem and grips since my previous instalment, I’ve ended up fitting PNW’s carbon fibre Range Handlebar Gen 3, accompanying Range Stem Gen 3 and a pair of regular Loam Grips, which are some of my favourites.

Initially jubilant that the carbon material and shorter grips would shave a chunk of weight, it turns out this upgrade is safely in the marginal gains category.

The relatively quick swap has nipped a mere 28g from the bike’s headline weight figure. That's equivalent to a whistle-whetting gulp of water, almost an entire portion of my favourite snack bar (Cadbury Brunch Bars, FYI), or skidding a significant chunk of your tyre’s tread off by locking the back wheel up down a tarmac road.

Although no saving is to be dismissed, this one is likely to go unnoticed out on the trails, especially given my luddite rather than gifted skills on the bike.

What’s likely to make a bigger impact, however, is the swap from Marin’s skinny 31.8mm-diameter bar to the chunkier 35mm of the PNW model. While it’s possible to retain the smoothness and ‘compliance’ (shudder – I hate that word) of a narrower-gauge bar with thicker-diameter examples – see OneUp’s models – quite a few brands sprinkle a little too many stiffness-creating ingredients into their efforts.

Of course, I’m saving any judgement until I get out and ride the things, and at least I’m confident knowing the grips, wheels, tyres and frame won’t be contributing to any changes in ride feel.

I’ve got bigger swaps in mind for the future though; I’ve been eyeing up the delights of a wireless dropper post, weight-saving or not.

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR long-term review update one

Before I’d even had time to bed the brakes in, the Rift Zone got to work helping me review six mountain bike wheels for a recent group test.

It proved to be the ideal tool for the job, accompanying me on the same test loop multiple times for each of the hoops so I could make proper back-to-back comparisons.

My test lap used bits of the famous Glentress trail centre, mixed and matched with the most challenging off-piste singletracks to help vary the terrain, in order to really push the wheels to their limits.

Of course, the steadfast and predictable performance of the Rifty enabled me to dive deep into the performance of each wheel, not showing any distracting or untoward ride qualities.

While testing the wheels, I also pushed the bike’s limits up to the extremes of its bell curve. High-load berms – used to investigate the rim-tyre connection and the wheel’s stiffness – put just as much force through the frame as the hoops. But not once did the Rift Zone falter, moan or crunch.

Rock gardens were intentionally and lazily banged through in a bid to highlight rim-sidewall weaknesses and find out how much spoke noise there was. Equally, rough, high-speed sections of trail were ploughed into headlong.

Again, the Rifty remained unfazed and stoic in the face of gruelling punishment.

As a reward for its service, and to begin my journey towards reducing its rather portly headline weight figure, I swapped out the standard Marin-branded rims for what I deemed to be the best set of hoops out of the six I tested.

Cue the Just Riding Along Ravines. Weighing only 1,790g a pair, fitting these to my bike has dropped a not insignificant 440g, taking the bike’s weight to 14.41kg without pedals.

It’s a great start, but there’s more work to be done, so keep tuned to find out what adventures I’ve been on and how I’m going to save even more weight.

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR frame, suspension and specifications

Built using the brand’s Series 3 aluminium, the Rift Zone’s tubes are curved and smooth, boasting an elegant, uninterrupted line from the head tube to the rear axle.

Its cables are routed internally through the front and rear triangles, and exit briefly around the bottom bracket, keeping looks sleek.

There’s a single bottle mount on the top of the down tube, a 73mm threaded BSA bottom bracket and 148x12mm Boost rear-axle spacing.

All Rift Zones use SRAM’s Universal Derailleur Hanger, and while this model only gets the brand’s mechanical GX Eagle drivetrain, the frame is ready for a SRAM Transmission upgrade. Marin even sells a GX Transmission Rift Zone for £4,745.

The Rift Zone uses Marin’s 130mm-travel MultiTrac rear-suspension design. This is a single-pivot system with a linkage to drive the rear shock, tuning the leverage rate.

It’s claimed to absorb big hits, and provide impressive small-bump sensitivity and a good pedalling platform.

That bounce is damped by a RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ shock, fitted with a custom tune.

It’s paired with a RockShox Lyrik Select+ with Charger 3 cartridge, which, except for the ButterCups and increased internal bushing overlap, is identical to the Ultimate version of the same fork.

Along with SRAM’s 12-speed GX Eagle drivetrain with a 32t chainring, it has got mineral oil OE-only DB8 brakes matched with HS2 rotors (200mm front, 180mm rear).

The TranzX dropper has 170mm of travel and is fitted to a Marin Speed Concept saddle.

Also from the Marin stable are the handlebar (800mm wide), stem (35mm long), grips and wheels.

Finishing off the build are Maxxis’ EXO-casing dual-compound Assegai 29x2.5in tyres, front and rear.

All in, the large Rift Zone XR weighs 14.85kg without pedals.

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR specification

• Sizes (*tested): S, M, L*, XL
• Weight: 14.85kg, L size without pedals
• Frame: Series 3 6061 aluminium, 130mm travel
• Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+
• Fork: RockShox Lyrik Select＋, 150mm travel
• Shifters: SRAM GX Eagle
• Derailleurs: SRAM GX Eagle
• Cranks: SRAM GX Eagle (1×12)
• Wheelset: Marin Aluminium Double Wall on Formula hubs
• Tyres: Maxxis Assegai EXO 29X2.5in (f) and Maxxis Assegai EXO 29X2.5in (r)
• Brakes: SRAM DB8 200/180mm rotors
• Bar: Marin Trail, 800mm
• Stem: Marin CNC, 35mm
• Seatpost: TranzX 170mm dropper
• Saddle: Marin Speed Concept

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR geometry

With fork travel that slots it in at the upper end of the trail bikes category, but rear squish that wouldn’t look out of place on a downcountry bike, the Rift Zone’s geometry is the deciding factor, pushing it comfortably into the trail bike realm.

Up front, there’s the relatively slack 64.5-degree head angle. This is matched with a pedal-friendly 77-degree seat tube angle and fairly stout 632mm effective top tube.

Its reach figure is respectably modern, sitting at 485mm for my large bike. Short chainstays – 430mm across the sizes – should help to keep handling snappy, while a relatively low 343mm bottom bracket is welcome.

At 637mm, the stack is relatively high, once again hinting at the Rifty’s extra rad name and nature.

Why did I choose this bike?

It’s never easy choosing a long-term test bike, and the last time yours truly had a workhorse loaner was back in 2019-20, when I was riding Orange’s Stage 6.

Since then, little has changed with what and how I ride; I still love the gravity-fuelled side of the sport. However, I’m in the rather luxurious position to have as many enduro bikes as I can get my hands on, while trail bikes are less common.

Enter the Rifty.

Its long-travel fork is a definitive nod to my love of descending, while the shorter-travel rear end and light(er)-weight parts – particularly the tyres – are the all-day epic yin to my DH yang.

Another key consideration is SRAM’s UDH. While I’ve already tested the top-end XX Transmission group, I’ve also been putting the miles on the more affordable GX version, and needed a bike with this tech.

Plus its geometry hits sweet-spot figures, particularly the steep seat tube angle and generous reach.

I didn’t want to be pining for a bike with different numbers as soon as I got my hands on it, so going for these known quantities feels a wise move.

While the lover of all things shiny would have preferred the delightfully coloured AXS Rifty, I’m just as happy with the more basic-spec cream-to-brown fade that I’ve lovingly named ‘galactic shit storm’.

It truly sparkles in the right light.

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR initial setup

I've got plenty of experience with the RockShox Lyrik fork, making it pretty easy to set up. For my aggressive style and 74kg weight, I installed two volume-reducer spacers and pumped the air spring up to 82psi.

I fully opened the rebound and high-speed compression-damping adjustments, but added plus five clicks from fully open of low-speed compression damping.

Out back, I left the two stock volume-reducer spacers installed and inflated the air spring to 189psi. I fully opened the shock’s rebound, which is its only external adjuster.

The tyres weren’t set up tubeless from the factory, but Marin supplies sealant and valves with its bikes, plus the rims are already taped.

Getting them airtight was just a case of removing the tubes, installing the valves and sealant, and pumping them up. Easy peasy.