IamNed

Hi, new to forum so please advise if I should post this elsewhere. I just entered mountain/trail biking by buying a Marin Pioneer Trail 29er yesterday. I bought it from a bike store. As with my other bikes, I like to record exactly what I have, and as I'm looking at the specs on Marin's website, I see that I have a 2013 frame and fork with 2014 components (wheels, tires, drivetrain).

I don't mind, but is this normal? That a bike manufacturer will mix components? My road bike and fixed gear bikes match the specifications per year perfectly.

I am I_am_Ned

trail_monkey

That's interesting. I recently was told this by Jensen USA. Bike manufacturers buy loads of parts from aftermarket companies to put on their bikes and they often buy too much. So Companies like Jensen buy their leftovers (when they start producing the next years models and aren't going to use what they got left anymore) and sell it at huge discounts. Thats how I recently got my Race Face cranks from Jensen at half the normal price. Anyways my point is maybe Marin decided they were going to keep building the same style for 2014 except upgrade to a different frame so they are using up their 2013 components? I was thinking about buying a Marin before I settled on my Jamis. How do you like it? I have not heard bad things about them.

IamNed

Hi trail_monkey, I don't know anything about mountain/trail biking, but it looks like a damb fine piece of art in my family room at the moment. All new bikes get the family room treatment for a while in my house.

Reviews are scarce but good. It's an above entry level bike priced at $650 that I got for significantly below that. I put five miles on it last night. I'm looking forward to enjoying it and adding extended riding time to my season. I've put 4500 miles on my road bike and fixed gear since April, so I look forward to the fun I can have with this bike. For the heck of it, the first five miles involved going through the potholes I avoid, over the curbs that scare, and through my yard so my wife could see that I can go anywhere. My first impression riding it last night was "what a relief"...to know that any little hole or deformation in a road won't throw me off the bike.

I am I_am_Ned

roccobike

If you're concerned, contact Marin with the serial number on your bike's frame. They can tell you if the frame is a 2013 or a 2014. It is possible, it's a 2013 color scheme that was assembled at the beginning of the 2014 assembly year. The frame was then outfitted with 2014 components. Remember, just like cars, assembly of 2014 bikes begins in 2013. What really matters is did you get the bike at a good price. If the answer is yes, don't worry about the color scheme as long as you like it.

trail_monkey

Thats a good point. Cars that way also. They start new year production midway through the year before. As far as entry level, mine started out as one too but I have enjoyed upgrading parts. I am an ex auto mechanic turned cable tv guy. So I enjoy researching bike mechanics, buying tools to work on them, and building or upgrading my own. I have learned a lot so far. Good luck on your new Marin!

thehammerdog

Buy definition of "NEW" ya gotta go with 2014.

Zephyr11

That's happened to me before when I bought at the end of a model year. My Yeti has an '07 frame and '08 parts package, and my Cervelo randomly has a crank from one production model up the line (that came like that, I didn't upgrade it). Probably just ran out of parts.