except MTBR tests and describes Actual Bikes, and what trek's ad dept. types up is just a list of what they were told is on a bike.
so there is that to consider.
anything past some fancy pics taken in a studio, the ad department never sees the bikes they advertise.
the last two Marlin 5s i worked on had tektros, so i've seen them, along with the real world info i linked.

and johnny has not replied, so there is just vegan's insults of all sorts of people, and some ad campaign being discussed... have fun defending ads and arguing about a mute point amongst minutia.

i'm out. i have a BMX to reassemble.
smh.

We get it, YOU wouldn't put any money into any bike that wasn't a high dollar custom or boutique brand, but the reality is most bikes being ridden are over the counter affordable compromises that work just fine for the people riding them and maintaining them.

We get it you cannot understand what I wrote. That is not what I said at all but thanks for playing, Johnny tell them what they get to take home. "A new sofa from Broyhill, Broyhill we make furniture for game shows"

I don't believe in putting money towards bikes at the bottom end for good reason. They don't gain value, they don't get better, they just get expensive. I guess I don't have a ton of money to burn so I don't recommend burning it but if you are one of those people who can do that, I would rather you not and use that money for good purposes or give it to someone who could do something good with it but I guess you want to burn it and I cannot really stop you.

I never understand why people fawn over the bottom end? Is it they hear bottom end and think of Sir Mix-A-Lots song "Baby Got Back" and not realize what they are looking at is not a women's prominent backside? Or are we just lying to people to placate them or is it something else?

I've never heard of cable brake housing actually failing. If hydraulic housing is supposed to be routed through the fork blade, it sounds more delicate.

So both the owner of the bike and Trek say Shimano MT200, but a review of a 5 year old model of the bike on a third party website lists a different model so that’s what we’re going with?

We have 13 bikes from ~1980 - 2021. 9 have rim brakes, 6 have discs, so two of them can use either - a 2009 Trek and my e-bike, which I think is a bit earlier. Newer bikes had discs, older bikes had rim brakes, in the middle some bikes came with a choice, two versions of the same model.

Yeah. I think there was a crossover period there where some bikes would accept both.

That’s an installation problem, not a system failure. It sounds like someone didn’t properly tighten the hose upon installation. If the bike is new, take it back to the shop. Perhaps take it back to the shop if it is older.

Tektro HD-M275 according to the page on trekbikes.com and to avoid any doubt it includes this picture:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7c1e292863.jpg

That might clear things up if it was a picture of the OP’s actual bike and not a stock photo. Trek’s website lists several generations of that bike with different specs.

I clicked on your link, looked at the spec for Marlin 5 (both Gen 2 and Gen 3) and it says: Tektro HD-M275 hydraulic disc

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...26866e68a.jpeg
From the specs page for Marlin 5 gen 3. Confusingly there are several different versions of “Marlin 5 gen 3”. Always “innovating”.

too funny... Johnny checked out a couple of days ago, when it became obvious that his crash damage could have happened to ANY brake system his bike was equipped with.... but what brand of low end brakes are on his bike continues to raise controversy, like it's really some big deal.

oh, and one person has never noticed that most, if not ALL, front disc brakes should have the cable or tube routed to the inner side of the lower fork leg of a suspension fork... and that's what the calipers are designed for too
:popcorn

It's interesting that Trek can't seem to decide what the specification should be. We might expect that of bikes from 2021, but still? Or is it just a webmaster screwup?

Something is wrong with this story.
Being able to 'gently' pull the line out of the caliper makes no sense, even in a slow, lay down crash, unless something is really amiss either in the install or the line connector, etc. If assembled and installed correctly there is no way you can pull out the line from the caliper.
The brake system should be inspected by someone with experience, if it is an assembly/install/component failure, and the bike is out of warranty the failed part should be replaced by whatever the owner wants. Perhaps it is just a line problem and the caliper is fine. Perhaps it is a caliper problem...low to mid end calipers aren't expensive.
I find it odd, regarding the complaint, that if the line can be so easily pulled out that the brake is working at all. I'd think with every squeeze of the lever, in such a case, the hydro fluid would be spurting out and getting all over everything.
Perhaps I'm missing something.
Likely you can't replace the disk with another type of brake.
Another question...what did the line get caught on? I've crashed my gravel bike more than a couple of times and ride with lots of people and lots of races where there have been lots of crashes and I've never seen or heard of this, nor has someone come into our shop with this problem/complaint...odd indeed.
Good luck and keep us informed...

Blame the Ad Writers.
they may not even be cyclists.... and all they have is what someone else handed them as "copy".
maybe a substitution was made due to availability/supply chain...
i'd also suspect that one of the other marlin"x" models might have the shimanos, and the writer assumed they all do.

or just look at the bikes, answer johnny's question, give any personal advice, ignore the nits, and avoid the blame game altogether. ;)

ever worked on a well worn MTB?
the forks take one hella beating, nasty gouges, dings deep enough to create sticking, paint worn clean off, and the decals are lucky to last a month of sundays.
a hose/cable getting yanked loose is rare as slugs on a hot summer afternoon.

i once worked on an old Suzuki MX bike... it's rear suspension had quit moving, entirely.
the Shock body had worn thru, and then became filled with mud.
when i said it needs a new shock, at about $250, IIRC(Works Performance's el-cheapo version)the owner said "the Bone Breaker isn't worth that much! does it run now?"
"Yep, it runs" i replied.. he paid for it happily.... and probably with another broken leg, too.
if you meet a old man named Derick, using a cane to walk... ask if he ever owned an '82 RM250.