Marin Mountain Bikes Larkspur

Price Paid:  $460.00 at REI

Model Year:
2007

Bike Setup:
Factory

Summary:
With a very light aluminum frame and a decent set of gears, this bike is fast, affordable and fun to ride around the city.

Strengths:
Weight, speed. The brushed aluminum finish is outstanding.

Weaknesses:
Shimano front derailleur may work inconsistently at times. This can be easily corrected with little bit of tuning.

Similar Products Used:
Tested and compared to Novara Corsa - the Larkspur was just more solid, lighter. Both are 24 speed but the twist shifters on the Corsa are a pain.

Price Paid:  $460.00 at South Salem Cycle

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Ankeny Wildlife Refuge loop

Bike Setup:
Stock. Added fenders, bottle holders, rack, computer, front and rear lights, and GPS for geocaching and tracking my route.

Summary:
This is my first quality bike after getting back into riding. The quality of the bike has just got me more and more excited about the sport and off to do longer rides. It may spur me on to a future road bike.

Strengths:
Comfortable geometry, comfortable seat, good gearing for nasty hills around here, and can maintain a respectable speed on the flats.

Weaknesses:
8th gear is a little noisy and sometimes I get a little jump when I accelerate hard. Not sure how better to describe that.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $360.00 at Sun & Ski

Model Year:
2006

Favorite Ride:
Blanco Road to Bulverde

Bike Setup:
Shimano C-100/Acera front/rear derailleurs
Shimano Sora Cranks
Shimano EZ Fire Shifters
Alex TA-19 Rims
Kenda Koncept tires
Tektro Brakes

Summary:
Great bike made me fall in love with biking again. Smooth very forgiving ride with awsome seat, shock seat post, big slick tires. Easy upright shifters, nice gearing for almost every hill. The bike is so good that it wants you to go faster & faster. First rides; 10 miles, next 15 -20 miles, now 30 - 50 miles, this is where you start longing for more. This bike leads you to a road bike & more money......

Strengths:
Great soft riding bike, big tires, great WTB seat & seat post, shifters aren't smooth as butter but get the job done well, the adjustable stem helps get your postioning right, handle bars are quite wide, grips are well padded, & brakes grip amazing given that my bike is carrying a full-figured gal like me! Light for price and nice components will always keep for family rides!

Weaknesses:
Rims flex on the long rides, don't expect to keep up with the road bikes, it's a Hyrid! This bike is one that will make you love riding, long to ride more and probably lead to a road bike (I bought one this week). Pedals are cheapish and are being replaced. First cranks were replaced for Shimano Sora.

Similar Products Used:
Trek 7.2fx, Raleigh Route 1, Fezzari Speedster 1, Specialized Globe,

Price Paid:  $38000.00 at Wheel and Wrench (no

Favorite Ride:
Summit County Bike & Hike Trail Ohio

Bike Setup:
2003 Marin Larkspur Hybrid

Summary:
Good bike, I love it. I bought it before I knew about biking, mostly because of looks.

Strengths:
I like the rigid fork (the comparable Trek & Specialized have front suspension).

Weaknesses:
No quick releases! No adjustable stem!

Similar Products Used:
Trek 7200, Schwinn Seirra