Amazing bikes and - more importantly - amazing people! Came to this location after my best friend told me Marin HQ is having a garage sale for all demo and show bikes. We planned on making a day out of it and got there around 10A (about an hour after the event started).
They had a wide variety of road bikes, full suspension & hard tail mountain bikes, step through/commuters, and e-bikes (mountain and road). Additionally, there were parts bin items (pedals, fully built front/rear wheels, new/used tires) and some soft apparel. I don't think I saw anything less than 50% off MSRP.
Being 5' 2" with a short 24.5" inseam, I wasn't expecting to find a bike that fit me, but was pleasantly surprised to try the Headlands One in 49cm. The stand over height is very comfortable and all the components were quality. It was too good of a fit to not sign the waiver and at least try it.
I haven't ridden a drop bar bike my size before, but the mechanic on site (John) that prepped the bike was super chill... being an automation engineer myself and wrenching for a living, we geeked out over tools and he mentioned a couple of sites to check out.
Coming from the mountain bike world, the drop bars were foreign. One lap around the parking lot and I could already tell that I needed to adjust the seat height further down and adjust the height of the handlebars up.
John cut the seat post and adjusted the stem spacers. I took the Headlands One for a spin again. I fell in love: everything was so locked in and felt natural whether I was on pavement or riding along the little dirt/mud trail that bordered the parking lot. I thanked John, asked him for his name (as we'd been talking the entire time without introduction), & let him know he just sold me the bike with all the fitment work that went into it. I wouldn't let go of the bike until I paid for it.
My party was still shopping so I spent some time chatting with Barbara (accountant who rang up all purchases today) about what it's like working for Marin... such a cool lady who rides a Marin Sausalito E-Bike.
One of the gents manning the grill asked if I wanted a hotdog. It's hard to turn down a hot dog... we started chatting about bikes in general and the industry as a whole. He was insightful and realistic about where Marin fit in the biking world & I let him know that the extended family in Italy was talking about how I should get my hands on a Marin if I could find one.
Three additional bike purchases later (my BFF settled on the same bike I did and my spouse purchased two bikes: the above mentioned step-through + an e-bike) and two hotdogs later, it was time to head out. I asked Barbara who was the guy that was grilling since I wanted to thank him for the hotdog. "That's Matt, our CEO" she said with a smile.
With this experience & some of the most down to earth folks in industry, I think Marin Bikes just got three customers for life. I can't recommend enough supporting this brand and if you're lucky, scooping up a steal of a deal at one of their garage sales! read more