Mountain Biking - Marin compared to Kona?

The Marin Rocky Ridge has a Deore rear derailleur, a marzocchi Dirt Jumper III while the Kona Stuff has a Alivio rear derailluer, a Marocchio Drop-off Comp 100mm. Both are made of 7005-alumnium, and both has hayes HFX-9 brakes. I dunno much about Marin, but I know Kona has strong frames. They both are real close in price but the Marin seems to have better componets. I'll be using this bike for Ag. XC and light freeride. What do you guys think? If you need more, let me know and I'll post it so ya'll dont have to look. Thanks

one of my mates has a marin rocky ridge, nice ride, but kona has a good reputation for strong frames, eitha is a good choice, try getting your hands on each and taking them for a ride

Kona has a strong frame (I should know) ride both, and see how you like them....I don't know much about the marin, but after all a derailleur is 50 bucks...I wouldn't let that determine which bike you get

I'm very much a newbie, but I like my Marin just fine. I ride mine through some root-ridden trails that bounce your bike all over the place and it's held up to that ok. It's not an aggressive XC bike though and I don't jump it at all. The Kona is a few hundred dollars cheaper. I don't know if the different (better?) fork/derailleur warrant the extra money for the Marin.

If you're worried about frame strength, Kona has you covered :D

I have to say I like the RM better over the Stuff.. it also has 8" rotors vs the 6" rotors on the Kona... plus the better derailleur and better fork. However, they're not even close in price.. Compare the RM to the Cowan and you have a more fair comparison. The Cowan seems to be the better deal at that price range, seeing that it has an LX rear derailleur and Deore shifters vs Deore rear + Alivio shifters on the Rocky Mountain. Plus I like that wicked orange on the Cowan. :)

id say go with the marin, but i havent rode one, just heard good things, im not saying konas bad by any stretch either, ride both and see what feels better.

IMO, Marin are the better bikes for he money, ive always liked Marin, so, against a kona, i would go with the marin.... lovely bikes :)

We sell marin. I really like the bikes. They have some really great deals. Quality of build is just as good as giant and someof the others. The one thing that I find to be a common problem is that they geometry for people over 6' never really sells. Most of all, they are more bang for the buck. great bikes and not really common which some see as a plus.