Having spent some time on the latest XC or Marathon bike offerings from Cannondale, Giant, Trek and most recently the Orbea Oiz, my riding experience got me thinking about the seemingly blurring lines between the current “marathon” and “trail” categories and asking if modern marathon bikes are, in fact, the new trail bikes?
Defining the trail and marathon bike categories
For the purposes of this discussion, I will define marathon bikes as bicycles designed for XCO or marathon racing (popular models seen at the XC World Cups and raced by our local marathon teams). As for trail bikes, I am referring to bicycles designed with a roughly 50-50 uphill / downhill performance bias, typically featuring rear wheel travel in the region of 120 – 140 mm.
Marathon bikes have not traditionally been great descenders. Sure you could ride downhill on them but the geometry and components did not inspire confidence when things got a little steep or rough. The short travel suspension, skinny tires, twitchy frame geometry, and more dainty componentry had one backing off the pace on the descents for self preservation reasons.
The evolution of bike design
Times are indeed changing though, particularly with the increasing technicality of World Cup XCO race courses; where these marathon or cross-country bikes are tested and ultimately designed to perform best.
Anyone with an interest in bike design or at least an eye for it would have picked up that these race weapons have gotten longer and slacker, in terms of their geometry, over the last 5 years or so and are increasingly seen with up to 120 mm of suspension travel as opposed to the classic 100 mm or less.
Add to that a move towards wider tires that offer better support, compliance and traction, and more robust brakes, cranks, wheels, etc and the result is a machine that is far more capable on steep and rugged terrain. So why is that relevant here?
The South African Context
South Africa has had a big marathon culture for decades now. There is something about the endurance format of riding and racing that just clicks here. The younger generation of riders is certainly showing more interest in trail riding and XCO racing formats but we are still a marathon dominated population and thus we purchase a lot of marathon bikes.
As a rider who thrives on the technical aspects of mountain biking and loves to see others progressing and enjoying it as well, this used to bother me quite a bit. “Why are so many people riding marathon bikes when they could be having so much more fun on a modern trail bike?”, I would ask myself.
Interestingly enough though, it seems the bikes have been changing for the riders with the latest marathon bikes being better all rounders, up and down, than trail bikes were just a few years ago! My concern for people having the wrong equipment may not be so relevant anymore. Or is it? Let’s take a look.
The difference between a trail bike and a marathon bike
Variation between bikes within the categories will often be a little more extreme than the average variation between these categories and going on those averages you’ll find the 3 dictators of ride experience between marathon and trail bikes will be the geometry, component spec, and suspension travel.
Geometry
The geometry of a trail bike will likely be about 10 mm longer in reach for a given size and about a degree steeper in seat tube angle and slacker in head tube angle. The chainstays may be a little longer as well (3-5mm) and the wheelbase roughly 20 mm longer due to longer reach and slacker head angle. The stack height (head tube height above bottom bracket) is also taller on trail bikes (10-20 mm). While these may seem like small differences, they add up to make a notably more stable platform for riding rough and technical terrain for trail bikes and a comparatively more forward biassed and twitchy ride on a marathon bike.
Components
On the componentry side, you’ll find wider tires with more aggressive tread patterns and hopefully a thicker casing on the trail bikes as well as heavier or more robust wheels that hold a line better. Shorter stems and higher rise bars on trail bikes will give a more stable riding position and steering input. The opposite is true for marathon bikes.
Suspension
While the XC / marathon bikes are increasingly seen with 110 and 120 mm of suspension travel on the front and often the rear of the bike, bikes typically put in the “trail” category are more in the 120 – 140 mm arena with some sporting up to 150mm of travel up front. More suspension means that the bike will be more settled on rough terrain and absorb a greater amplitude of impacts for a more controlled ride. The tradeoff is typically a loss in responsiveness when getting on the pedals for a big effort.
You can read more about the importance of suspension and geometry here.
What does a trail bike do better?
To summarise what was said above. Trail bikes will tend to be more stable on rougher terrain as well as more efficient here than marathon bikes (if it is really rough). The riding position that a trail bike puts the rider in is more upright with a higher front end that inspires confidence on steep terrain.
Interestingly enough, there are some highly technical climbs on the Cape Town trails that I have yet to get up without a foot dab on a marathon bike but can clean consistently on a trail bike. Big tires and the extra suspension make these bikes phenomenal on technical climbs if you have the power to move the extra weight.
You’ll find that your technical skills progress faster on the more forgiving trail bike platform and that these skills transfer well back onto a marathon bike.
What does the marathon bike do better?
Marathon bikes are highly efficient when it comes to covering large distances. The forward biassed riding position is aggressive for pedalling and more aerodynamic. Paired with a stiffer suspension platform and fast rolling tires and you have a speed machine for terrain that isn’t overly rugged or too steep on the descents.
Their lower weight makes them responsive to inputs on the climbs and in a sprint as well as often giving them very light steering. They really are a pleasure to ride if you’re used to a heavy trail or enduro bike!
Their geometry and componentry advancements have stood them in better stead for steep descents and rougher terrain but they still fall behind a trail bike in this regard; trail bikes of course undergoing similar advancements.
My experience on the Orbea Oiz and others.
As mentioned in the introduction of this article, I have been fortunate to have spent some time on bikes such as the Cannondale Scalpel, Giant Anthem, Orbea Oiz, and some others while my daily driver is a Giant Trance X (140/150mm trail bike).
The time spent aboard these modern marathon (or XC) bikes has really opened my eyes to how capable they have become over the last several years. Dropping into parts of the Coetzenburg XCO track (where I raced my first ever XCO…) such as Pickup Sticks or Varsity Dropout, the bike feels at home on the steep gradients, gnarly rocks and big compressions.
For sure, a trail bike would be even more competent and comfortable here but looking at where the XC and marathon bikes were a few years ago to how they perform now is a stark contrast. In fact, they are on par with, if not ahead of, what would have been called a trail bike 7 or so years ago.
The clear increase in capability of these bikes may have been slightly obscured because the kinds of courses being raced by pros and the trails ridden by weekend warriors have evolved too! So maybe my concerns of people missing out on the joys of riding technical trails on a capable mountain bike are no longer legitimate? What this boils down to essentially is how and why we define these bikes.
The bike is defined by its purpose
…and the purpose is defined by the user, in essence.
We can often get sucked into over categorising things and getting stuck within boundaries that need not be so concrete. Think of Aaron Gwin winning the 2014 Pietermaritzburg Downhill World Cup on a Specialized Enduro, the situation called for a different tool and he had to go against the grain of what a “downhill” bike is to have the ‘right’ bike for that track.
If you live for the descents and the kind of terrain you enjoy riding suits a bike like the Orbea Oiz or Cannondale Scalpel, why can that not be your “trail bike”?
These categories that we have are useful for getting a general understanding of the intent of the bike’s design and how it may handle but one who enjoys trail riding should be open to a modern marathon bike potentially being a great tool for their job. And vice versa for the XC or marathon focussed rider who wants a bike with a little more stability on the descents or relaxed seating position on the climbs. There may be a light and efficient “trail” bike that fits their XC / marathon needs!
So are our modern marathon bikes the new trail bikes?
My answer is no they are not. But, they can be damn good trail bikes if you want them to be! If you’re firmly in the marathon or trail camp and haven’t tried a bike from the other side, I would encourage you to to take one for a spin and see what you might like. Who knows, your ideal marathon bike might just be a trail bike, or vice versa!
