After racing the Spring Challenge on a borrowed bike, I had two weeks to figure something out for Sage Brush. Warranty replacement for the Motobecane was going to take a while, so I decided to get a new race bike. The Marin Team CXR is a carbon 29er hardtail. The frame is tube to tube construction, where carbon tubes are bonded together to make up the frame. Cool features include a tapered head tube and bent chain/seat stays with the rear caliper located inside the bend. The front end and BB areas are huge (= stiff!). It comes with Black Flag wheels and Fox RL fork with 9mm QR. I swapped out the wheels for my Stans crest wheels, and installed my old Reba with 1-1/8 steerer. Basically, I didn't see the point of a new fork with 9mm QR setup, so I planned to sell the OEM fork and upgrade to a thru axle fork and wheel eventually.
Ride impressions Using my old wheelset and fork made for a direct comparison with the Motobecane Ti frame. The Marin climbs like a goat. It's stiffer than my old Motobecane Ti 29er, which is evident in climbing, tracking through turns, and pedaling out of the saddle. At the same time, there's a subtle smoothness to the ride. It's clearly a hardtail, but an element of mellow takes the harsh edge off the trail - even in comparison to my old Ti frame. It handles tight switchbacks nimbly, unlike some 29ers (like my FS RIP9) that navigate switchbacks like an 18 wheeler. It picks up speed super fast on the downhills. The stiffer front end definitely shows up the flexiness in my old Reba and front wheel. Need more ride time to get familiar and dial everything in, but it's good so far.
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