Hello! My name is Daniel George, and I make videos about things relating to travel and college life!
Instagram Handle: @datcuriousguy
My other KZfaq channels include:
- CountingCars: Check out amateur car videos of fancy or interesting cars here.
- CameraDude: Check out cool photography tricks, Phone Camera Tests, and a lot more here.
- CollegeDude: Check out videos documenting my college life here. You can Visit my channel here : / @collegedudeyt
The Bike at it's Website :www.marinbikes...
There are many versions of this bike, the one i bought and featured in this video is the Medium (M) size frame, with 27.5" wheels.
Ok, remember that video I made about what to look for in your old bike before you buy a new one?
Well, since I made that entire video on my bike, I think it’s quite clear that I was on the path to a new one.
And if no one else is doing it, then I’ll go ahead and do a bike check on my brand-new trail bike. The Marin bobcat trail 5. The 2018 edition.
I haven’t seen any reviews on this bike so far.
Instead of giving the details, I’ll elaborate on the main features that got my attention.
First of all, why Marin all of a sudden? Well, that’s simply because they made the bobcat trail 5, a bike which runs a one-by, or a single chainring up front. Sure, there are other bikes with single front chainrings, but those cost the amount you’d pay to fly in first class.
So… the bike has a one by at a considerably lower price point compared to other bikes with a single chainring, so Marin scores high marks in this field, and it’s one of the biggest reasons why I chose this bike.
Next comes the suspension.
The rock shox recon coil fork is, hands down, one of the best forks I’ve ever ridden. For a coil suspension fork, it’s super-duper plush.
In fact, when I found it was a coil fork and not an air fork, I though they were fibbing. It’s too plush to be a coil fork.
On this 100mm suspension fork, you can adjust the preload and rebound speed.
Not to mention the manual hydraulic lockout. Many people say that the pre-load doesn’t make much of a difference. I disagree. Also, here’s something important.
On my older bike’s fork, it says the stanchions are 32mm thick. While they were actually about 24. The recon, really is 32mm thick, and it doesn’t flex.
If there’s anything to say about this fork, it’s that the damping is very refined.
And If the websites are correct, this is supposed to be one of the best coil forks on the market.
I can agree with that. Another miracle on this bike is the handlebar width.
They’re 720mm. if they were any wider, I wouldn’t be able to fit the thing into the lift.
So this is kind of a miracle. The short stem also makes the bike more aggressive.
The aluminium frame only has external cable routing. This is fine, although at least one internal port would do.
The rest of the bike’s basically what you’d find on any other 1000 dollar hardtail.
You know, Shimano Altus brakes, an FSA headset, and a shimano Deore derailleur with a clutch. Oh, and do I have to mention the sunrace wide range cassette?
In any case, they all spell out fun.
Try counting the number of teeth on there. Personally, my favourite parts are the cassette and handlebars.
These parts, along with the one-by, scream out ‘Trail’ , and not XC. By the way, the cassette sounds wonderful.
So if you’re a rider who takes the fun line instead of the fast one, or a rider who likes it with less up front, this bike may be the one for you. Who knows?
It’s pretty impressive for a 1000 dollars.
There are only a few things that could be changed, like the seat post height.
Believe it if you can, this is the lowest it can go. And yeah. It hurts. Slightly. But the bike really feels good on it’s feet.
So thanks to you guys at Marin, and thanks to my local bike store.
Oh yes, thanks to you guys for joining me, and I hope you enjoyed today’s ride, and I’ll see you on the next one.