Marin Bikes are Made For Fun. Since the first mountain bikes bearing the Marin Bikes name debuted in 1986, the brand has been dedicated to enriching the lives of riders by making fun, high caliber bicycles, which provide years of riding enjoyment.
Whether your idea of fun involves riding rugged trails to that high alpine lake, pinning on a race number and entering your first race, taking the long way home on your commuter bike, bikepacking to that remote campsite, or just exploring the neighborhood bike paths, Marin brings the fun to your ride. It’s the principle that guides the Marin Team when developing new bikes, from long-travel, trail-devouring machines that are at home in some of the world’s most challenging race circuits to the multi-surface capable pavement collection. Each model is designed to be playful and to maximize the opportunities for two-wheeled fun.

Hardtail mountain bikes keep everything simple. No frame bearings to wear out, no shock to service. The no-frills nature of a hardtail frame means that you’ll be able to get better components for your budget, or pick up a good quality first mountain bike for much less overall.
Typically for a hardtail and a full suspension bike with the same RRP, the hardtail will have a better-performing drivetrain, brakes and fork. You’ll likely also get a lighter bike for your bucks too, if you’re shopping to a price point. Modern shocks have clever technology like platform damping which ensures that barely any of your energy gets wasted on the pedally stuff - but there’s still something wonderfully direct about the way a hardtail responds when you stomp on the pedals.
Hardtails are also great for teaching you basic riding techniques.

If you want to hit the jumps, the pump track or the skate park, a hardtail is an ideal tool for the job. Dirt jump bikes generally have stiff frames that are built to take some serious abuse, pick up speed lightning-fast and be bombproof with single-speed drivetrains and smaller 26-inch wheels.
All of these are present and correct in Marin’s dedicated jump bike, the Marin Alcatraz. While you can learn to get airborne on almost any mountain bike, the Alcatraz is the choice of dirt jump superstar Matt Jones and is the perfect bike for the job.