Direct sales brands might well be leading the charge in terms of bang for your buck, but what if you don’t want to go direct? It’s long been the case that the internet can’t fix your bike and Canyon specifically have openly addressed their customer service issues.
If you’re after a low-price, well-specced bike with dealer support, then the Marin Hawk Hill should be on your list. Coming in at £1,100, the Hawk Hill has been designed to give you the ride of a bike far beyond the price tag.
We took a closer look at the Marin Hawk Hill to see how the US brand have trimmed the price right down, without killing the ride. Could this be the ticket for your entry-level, future-proof and upgrade-ready trail bike out there?
- £1,100 RRP.
- Multitrac 120mm travel.
- 6061 Hydroformed, single-butted frame.
- Rockshox Recon fork, X-Fusion O2 Pro R shock.
- marinbikes.com
Often when we think of budget, we think cheap and nasty. We’ve been used to bike brands coming out with a ‘full XT’ groupset only to fit a nasty, steel cog carrier cassette and other things that aren’t so immediately obvious. That’s not what the Hawk Hill is aiming for though.
The all-new Hawk Hill has been designed specifically to offer as close a ride as possible to the far more pricey full suspension offerings in Marin’s range. Beneath the components is a tweaked version of Marin’s Isotrac system, the Multitrac, combined with modern trail bike geometry. Paligap’s Marin brand manager John Oldale gave us the details:
“A big part of the success of the Isotrac is down to the alloy tubing on the seat stays, by using very evolved tubing on the seat stay/ chain stays, it allows us to avoid having a pivot in or around the rear axle. The Multitrac system allows us to use more generic alloy tubing but maintain the well-loved kinematics of the Isotrac. We haven’t cut corners though, as we have used IGUS bearings in the rear pivot for longevity and reliability.”
With the Hawk Hill, Marin aim to offer your entry-level hardtail spec, but in a full suspension package that hasn’t been dumbed down to meet a price point. A closer look at the spec on the bike shows that, while cheap, has been done properly. 27.5″ wheels sport the ever popular Schwalbe Hans Dampfs, mated to an on-trend wide rim.
In the cockpit area, all sizes come with a sensible 60mm stem and 780mm handlebar. Internal routing keeps the Hawk Hill look clean and uncluttered. Shimano Deore is a far more capable groupset than it used to be too, with many of the features that have trickled down from the more expensive kit over the years and manages the Hawk Hill’s drivetrain.
The QR rear axle might seem slightly dated, but there are 12mm bolt through adaptors for when a wheel updgrade is on the horizon.
