2020 Marin Rift Zone 2 Bike

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This Marin Rift Zone 2 review is from our $2,000 mountain bike group test, where we tested six full-suspension 29ers head to head. See the full story here.

• The most modern geometry of $2,000 mountain bike group test with 455mm reach and 65.5-degree head angle
• Extremely fun and capable on descents and in corners.
• Well-performing RockShox Deluxe Select Debonair rear shock
• Grippy, aggressive Vee Snap Flow tires keep the bike composed descending rough terrain but slow the bike down on climbs and through flatter portions of trail.
• Buy directly through Jenson USA but also have Marin dealer support through authorized shops
• Jenson USA Website
• Marin Website

Last and certainly not least is the Marin Rift Zone 2, coming in at $1,949. This is the newest iteration of the fun and capable Rift Zone line from the Northern California brand. The 2020 version no longer borders on cross-country travel and geometry. Its travel has been bumped to 125mm/130mm compared to 120mm/120mm on the older Rift Zone. The Marin's geometry is the most aggressive of the bunch with a long, 455mm reach and 65.5-degree head angle on our size medium. A 35mm stem means it’s ready for ripping. More SRAM SX Eagle, and a RockShox Recon fork is familiar but we have a promising RockShox Deluxe Select shock with Debonair sleeve out back. Shimano’s MT201 brakes, the same as the Giant, slow the bike down. With updated travel and geometry, Marin has gone extremely aggressive with their tire choice. The Vee Flow Snap tires are only 2.3-inches wide but they feature Vee's Tackee rubber compound with large, ground-chewing knobs.

Unfortunately, due to some shipping issues, the Rift Zone showed up the day after Steve and Brad headed home, so I was the only one to ride it. Using the same trails that I know well, I gathered some time on the bike. Right away, the slow-rolling nature of the tires was apparent. This is in stark contrast to the fast-rolling tires of the previous Rift Zone. Even though the bike is only 32.5 pounds, it’s extremely sluggishness uphill due to the nearly downhill-ready tires. Thankfully, and I’ll speak for Steve and Brad on this one, none of us in this test care about suffering to the top if we have a capable bike on the way down.

The new geometry, bump in travel, and RockShox Deluxe all combined with those meaty tires, make the Rift Zone punch above its weight class when things get rough and speeds increase. The damped nature of the tire construction and the RockShox Deluxe keep the bike composed through the chatter and on bigger hits. The tire profile is pretty squared off, however, and in hard-packed flat corners, leaning into those bulky side knobs can get squirrely. In sandy or loamy conditions, they’ll hold fast, but they’re not an all-conditions tire. The Recon on the Marin was the best-performing of the 3 we tested. It was smoother and more consistent than that of the GT or Giant. We’ll chalk up the performance variances to production issues at this low end of the spectrum. If you get a bike with a Recon, have your local mechanic give it a once-over. When it works properly, it works well.

The downfall of the Marin, like the Giant, is the brakes. A bike that can handle so much at speed particularly in the rough, needs to be able to stop at will. The Shimano brakes weren’t the worst, but they were definitely no match for the MT501’s of the Vitus or the SRAM Level brakes of the Fezzari. We’d definitely put our $200 toward better brakes on the Marin, knowing the kind of fun that awaits this bike on the descents. If we found an extra $50, we’d also take off the rear Vee Flow Snap tire and save it for use on the front once the other wears out, replacing it with a faster tire out back.

Marin has cracked the modern trail code with its newest Rift Zone. Upgrade the brakes, get ready to earn your way up, and prepare for class-leading descending on the way down.

You can purchase the bike directly from JensonUSA.com or from a Marin authorized bike shop in your area.