Marin is a bicycle

Bicycle

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

 manufacturer in Marin County, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, established in 1986. It specializes in mountain bikes but also has other types. Many of its 68 bicycles are named after locations in and around Marin County.

Bicycle range

Since the late 1990s Marin has manufactured full suspension

Bicycle suspension

A bicycle suspension is the system or systems used to suspend the rider and all or part of the bicycle in order to protect them from the roughness of the terrain over which they travel...

 mountain bikes. Working with Jon Whyte, a British engineer who worked with Benetton Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 racing cars in gearbox design, Marin developed a single-pivot rear suspension. Subsequent innovations including the TARA (Travel And Ride Adjustable) and quad link suspensions have lost the purity of the original concept but have maintained their popularity.

Marin's mountain bikes use steel frames for conventional hard-tail bikes. With the ascendancy of aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

, titanium

Titanium

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....

 and carbon fibre, steel bikes are a niche market.

The Pine Mountain, manufactured by Columbus

Columbus Tubing

Columbus is a manufacturer of steel tubing used in bicycle frames, located in Settala, in the Province of Milan. The company was founded in 1919 by A.L. Columbo and was taken over by Columbo's youngest son, Antonio, in 1977...

, is aimed at the cross-country racer. In the UK the Pine Mountain is available only as a frame. The Bear Valley frame is heavier but features seat stay bosses for a luggage rack and brake mounts.

Marin offer mountain bikes (full suspension & hardtail), road, street/urban, comfort and specific designs for women & children generally placed in the mid-high end bracket of each respective market.

External links

• Company homepage