Alex’s Marin Rift Zone 29 XR long-term review

Marin’s 2024 Rift Zone 29 XR (‘extra rad’) trail bike is designed to tackle the rough and tumble of lapping your favourite bike-park runs while being just as comfortable covering miles of beautiful singletrack on all-day epics.

It builds on last year’s model by upping fork travel to 150mm from 140mm. Its extended front-end squish is matched with the same 130mm rear end.

The brand has also relaxed the head angle from last year’s 65.5 degrees to 64.5 degrees.

Joining the slack front end is a long 485mm reach and a steep 77-degree seat tube angle, boosting descending capability and climbing comfort respectively.

For the very reasonable £3,775 / $3,899 / €4,289 asking price, Marin has cooked up a delightfully value-packed spec.

This SRAM-built bike boasts a Lyrik fork and Super Deluxe shock, a 12-speed GX Eagle drivetrain and DB8 stoppers.

There are Marin-branded parts here and there, including the seat, handlebar, stem, wheels and grips, but it has Maxxis tyres and a TranzX dropper.

Weighing a chunky 14.85kg as stock (size large), I’m looking to shave that down with some choice upgrades to improve climbing performance, while not negatively impacting how much fun it is on the downs.

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR frame, suspension and specifications

Built using the brand’s Series 3 aluminium, the Rift Zone’s tubes are curved and smooth, boasting an elegant, uninterrupted line from the head tube to the rear axle.

Its cables are routed internally through the front and rear triangles, and exit briefly around the bottom bracket, keeping looks sleek.

There’s a single bottle mount on the top of the down tube, a 73mm threaded BSA bottom bracket and 148x12mm Boost rear-axle spacing.

All Rift Zones use SRAM’s Universal Derailleur Hanger, and while this model only gets the brand’s mechanical GX Eagle drivetrain, the frame is ready for a SRAM Transmission upgrade. Marin even sells a GX Transmission Rift Zone for £4,745.

The Rift Zone uses Marin’s 130mm-travel MultiTrac rear-suspension design. This is a single-pivot system with a linkage to drive the rear shock, tuning the leverage rate.

It’s claimed to absorb big hits, and provide impressive small-bump sensitivity and a good pedalling platform.

That bounce is damped by a RockShox Super Deluxe Select shock, fitted with a custom tune.

It’s paired with a RockShox Lyrik Select with Charger 3 cartridge, which, except for the ButterCups and increased internal bushing overlap, is identical to the Ultimate version of the same fork.

Along with SRAM’s 12-speed GX Eagle drivetrain with a 32t chainring, it has got mineral oil OE-only DB8 brakes matched with HS2 rotors (200mm front, 180mm rear).

The TranzX dropper has 170mm of travel and is fitted to a Marin Speed Concept saddle.

Also from the Marin stable are the handlebar (800mm wide), stem (35mm long), grips and wheels.

Finishing off the build are Maxxis’ EXO-casing dual-compound Assegai 29x2.5in tyres, front and rear.

All in, the large Rift Zone XR weighs 14.85kg without pedals.

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR specification

• Sizes (*tested): S, M, L*, XL
• Weight: 14.85kg, L size without pedals
• Frame: Series 3 6061 aluminium, 130mm travel
• Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select
• Fork: RockShox Lyrik Select＋, 150mm travel
• Shifters: SRAM GX Eagle
• Derailleurs: SRAM GX Eagle
• Cranks: SRAM GX Eagle (1×12)
• Wheelset: Marin Aluminium Double Wall on Formula hubs
• Tyres: Maxxis Assegai EXO 29X2.5in (f) and Maxxis Assegai EXO 29X2.5in (r)
• Brakes: SRAM DB8 200/180mm rotors
• Bar: Marin Trail, 800mm
• Stem: Marin CNC, 35mm
• Seatpost: TranzX 170mm dropper
• Saddle: Marin Speed Concept

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR geometry

With fork travel that slots it in at the upper end of the trail bikes category, but rear squish that wouldn’t look out of place on a downcountry bike, the Rift Zone’s geometry is the deciding factor, pushing it comfortably into the trail bike realm.

Up front, there’s the relatively slack 64.5-degree head angle. This is matched with a pedal-friendly 77-degree seat tube angle and fairly stout 632mm effective top tube.

Its reach figure is respectably modern, sitting at 485mm for my large bike. Short chainstays – 430mm across the sizes – should help to keep handling snappy, while a relatively low 343mm bottom bracket is welcome.

At 637mm, the stack is relatively high, once again hinting at the Rifty’s extra rad name and nature.

Why did I choose this bike?

It’s never easy choosing a long-term test bike, and the last time yours truly had a workhorse loaner was back in 2019-20, when I was riding Orange’s Stage 6.

Since then, little has changed with what and how I ride; I still love the gravity-fuelled side of the sport. However, I’m in the rather luxurious position to have as many enduro bikes as I can get my hands on, while trail bikes are less common.

Enter the Rifty.

Its long-travel fork is a definitive nod to my love of descending, while the shorter-travel rear end and light(er)-weight parts – particularly the tyres – are the all-day epic yin to my DH yang.

Another key consideration is SRAM’s UDH. While I’ve already tested the top-end XX Transmission group, I’ve also been putting the miles on the more affordable GX version, and needed a bike with this tech.

Plus its geometry hits sweet-spot figures, particularly the steep seat tube angle and generous reach.

I didn’t want to be pining for a bike with different numbers as soon as I got my hands on it, so going for these known quantities feels a wise move.

While the lover of all things shiny would have preferred the delightfully coloured AXS Rifty, I’m just as happy with the more basic-spec cream-to-brown fade that I’ve lovingly named ‘galactic shit storm’.

It truly sparkles in the right light.

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR initial setup

I've got plenty of experience with the RockShox Lyrik fork, making it pretty easy to set up. For my aggressive style and 74kg weight, I installed two volume-reducer spacers and pumped the air spring up to 82psi.

I fully opened the rebound and high-speed compression-damping adjustments, but added plus five clicks from fully open of low-speed compression damping.

Out back, I left the two stock volume-reducer spacers installed and inflated the air spring to 189psi. I fully opened the shock’s rebound, which is its only external adjuster.

The tyres weren’t set up tubeless from the factory, but Marin supplies sealant and valves with its bikes, plus the rims are already taped.

Getting them airtight was just a case of removing the tubes, installing the valves and sealant, and pumping them up. Easy peasy.

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR ride impressions

Having already ridden, reviewed and liked the 2022 Rift Zone XR, I was hopeful jumping on the 2024 version would be a familiar and fond experience.

Despite the switch from Fox and Marzocchi dampers to RockShox, and the higher front end thanks to the fork’s increased travel, the newest model shares its feel with the older one.

What does that mean on the trail?

Pointing its nose up a techy climb, the steep seat tube angle helps keep your weight centralised.

This encourages a more upright ‘winch and plummet’ riding position rather than the shoulders-to-the-bar stance aggressive, XC-inspired trail bikes can generate.

Your hips are positioned comfortably above the bottom bracket, improving pedalling efficiency; there’s little worse than feeling as though your feet are stretched in front of you when you’re trying to crank to the top of a mountain.

Short 430mm chainstays keep the back wheel tight under you.

This is good for driving grip directly into the tyre’s tread, but can cause the front wheel to lift if you’re being lazy with your weight placement. Sit idly on the saddle while climbing and control can walk away from you.

Arguably, this was less of an issue on the 140mm-travel fork model because the front end sat lower, helping increase the amount of weight through your hands.

Fear not, though, slamming the stem onto the headset bearing race lowers the front end enough to mitigate this. On the 140mm-travel bike, I ran between 30mm and 40mm of stem spacers – on this one, I’ve got 15mm.

While the axle-to-crown height is increased by 10mm, overall bar height is pretty similar.

In terms of suspension smoothness, little has changed here, either.

The rear end works effectively to absorb trail chatter and small bumps, whether you’re on the gas or not.

Boosting traction on off-camber sections or slimy ascents, the Rifty is a riot to ride.

Its ramp-up is effective at reducing deep dives into the shock’s stroke when it shouldn’t, such as when remaining seated off small steps in the trail.

Pedalling performance is good; the rear end is steadfast and almost bob-free unless you’re pedalling in a really choppy way.

This aids its responsiveness, making sure the blend of long-distance comfort and descending capability is balanced.

On the downs, it’s super-poppy and playful, created mostly by the supportive and progressive rear end.

However, it’s best ridden in an aggressive and proactive way. Let me explain.

Imagine spreading hard butter on a soft, steaming, lightly toasted bit of bread; as you move the knife, the bread deforms and crumbles and the butter doesn’t fill in small pockmarks or divots.

Now think of spreading butter on a hard, knobbly rye cracker, such as a Riveta. The cracker’s imperfections can be felt through the knife as you glide it across the surface.

But the pressure you put through the knife makes the butter fill in the gaps and cracks, creating a smooth surface behind it.

Down the trail, the Rifty feels like the butter-spreading knife on a Riveta.

The harder you push it into the trail’s contours, the smoother, faster and more engaging the ride becomes, smoothing out imperfections in a damped and muted way.

The trail doesn't crumble beneath you – a feeling instilled by longer-travel rigs as they absorb even the smallest bumps – but it's effective at doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

Marin Rift Zone 29 XR upgrades

With room for improvement on the scales, that’s going to be my main focus in the short-term.

The wheels are an obvious candidate swap to shave some grams, the front weighing 2.36kg and the rear 2.92kg (with tyres, disc rotors and cassette).

Fortunately, I’ve just tested six trail-focused wheels, some of which represent great value and are impressively light. Stay tuned to find out which set or sets end up on the Rifty.

Other key areas are the saddle and seatpost. While not underperforming, they’re hardly the most luxurious or technologically advanced components. Switching them out is a sure-fire way to claw back even more weight.

As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve been testing SRAM’s GX Transmission on this bike, and this is going to be another upgrade.

Before revealing my findings and writing that review, I’m aiming to put 1,000 miles / 1,600km on it to see just how well it fares.

Once again, stay tuned for more on GX specifically, and to find out how swapping from mechanical GX Eagle to GX AXS Transmission alters the performance of the Rifty.

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