MARIN

Robert Buckley : The founder of the Marin brand.

Marin Mountain Bike was born in 1986 in the birthplace of American mountain biking, in Marin County, California. It was after a water skiing accident that Bob took up cycling to rehabilitate his knee. He doesn’t have a bike and goes to the shop next to his house. There he buys one of the first MTBs made by the Ritchey-Kelly-Fisher trio… It is on the advice of the mechanic of the store, who is none other than the competitor and champion Joe Murray. Bob was already in business with Asia for the trade in reptile skins. He decides to change and started on MTB which is a sport in full expansion. To design his future bikes, he asks the one who is an expert and advised him on his first purchase : Joe Murray. For the brand name, nothing could be simpler, the place where they ride : MARIN. For the names of the bikes, that of the trails where they ride : Palisade Trail, Eldridge Grade, Pine Mountain, Bolinas…

Joe Murray : An important man in the beginnings of Marin Mountain Bikes. 

Joe had the double East Coast/West Coast culture, you should know that the bike geometries are different on both sides of the United States. The terrain and the weather conditions are not the same. The bikes he designs are versatile (angles of 71/73° which will be the benchmark for 20 years) and already incorporate slooping (top tube tilted backwards), which gives a more responsive MTB and room to move on the bike. He also collaborates with the TBG collective (The Bicycle Group with Kona, Brodie, Merlin, Fisher, Rocky Mountain). Joe is already involved in the development of the first titanium MTB with Merlin, he strongly believes in this material of the future. Joe convinces Bob to put a titanium MTB in the Marin catalog. Merlin, which is starting out, agrees to deliver its first 100 titanium frames to Marin. Following a disagreement between Marin and Merlin, the order was canceled and Marin had its frames manufactured by Litespeed in 1988. Marin will keep the Team Titanium until 1996 and will make an Anniversary series limited to 50 frames in 2008.