I bought the 27.5 version of this bike six months ago (before the 2025 refresh) after not touching a bike since high school, and have gone from barely being able to climb a hill to hitting six-foot-tall wooden jumps in that time. I found out about Matt Jones's channel after the fact from looking for videos of people doing cool stuff on this bike, and it gave me a big confidence boost knowing that the bike could survive massive bike park jumps. I've taken it on trails, pump tracks, skate parks, and anywhere else I can get away with, and it's been rock-solid the whole time. Thanks for the videos, Matt, you ended up completely changing my life from halfway around the globe.
@@MattJonesI bought the marin bobcat train 4 and it works great and is better than the marin san quintin 1 and cheaper. Also there are no marin dealers in Australia that you can go instore and try them on
There is no better feeling than shredding a hardtail down an insane line, then watching the jaws drop of every 10K+ bike owner as your rubbing their back tyre 🤣 love the video 🤘🏻
I took my San Quentin 3 here a couple of weeks ago. Im still a beginner but absolutely loved it. If i can become half as good as you, then ill be happy. Keep up the good work. 🤟
I got a Marin San Quentin because of Matt Jones - and I love it! I would reaaaally go for the SQ2 though, if you can afford it. The dropper post etc. really makes it more fun to ride than the SQ1. I had a SQ1 and went to a SQ2 afterwards.
This makes me feel a bit better for still ramming my 09 Hardtail down most blacks it can handle. And to see the difference from Matt’s normal type of riding to this makes me feel a bit better 😅
56 years old and just bought myself my first mountain bike, it is all your fault Matt Jones 😁p.s. I live in mid wales, not far from Dyfi or Revolution bike park, might be a while before I make it there though!
Don't get me wrong I am all for the more budget friendly bikes being able to handle crazy stuff. I mean I am 275# and ride a Giant Stance 2 (entry level FS) and other then needing to change the rear wheel it has been fine. I don't bomb huge jumps and drops but it takes a bit of a beating from me cause I don't baby it haha. A lot of what a bike can do comes down to skill of the rider and Matt you are a hell of a rider!! Sam Pligs is proof of it as well he rides the craziest crap on bikes that would crumble under me or someone with less skill haha. Regardless great video and Marins look like good bikes to get anyone out there to experience this awesome sport!
I love my hardtail, I ride it more than my dual sus because I just love it… you don’t need to spend shedloads to start, and it does help you improve quicker.
we all started on a hardtail, its not the bike you ride its the ride your bike takes you on always said that you don't need to spend silly money to have fun . Also shows how good the build quality of it.
Let's all say a prayer for Matt's knees and ankles for proving you can ride a hardtail on the mountain of death. Yes, you can ride the SQ1 on the hill, just don't case a jump or drop. The shall rock just makes it insane. Mad props to Matt for proving the point
FairPlay play I used to ride neally everything on a hard tail including 35 foot jumps But now at 48 and a fair few injuries full suspension is my only hope 😂🤙
Inspector Jones has a reason to be on the case today. But seriously, I'm a big fan of the San Quentin from afar. It's still a bit beyond my budget because I don't have a budget, but it's rad.
Cheap aggressive HTs are still the best way to get people in mtb riding...so much bang for the buck and they can learn to work on their bikes in the process without having to think too much about costs
The big difference between a hardtail a full sus is after a full day of riding over rough stuff you will feel more knackered and battered coming off the hardtail. I know this cause I ride both over the rough stuff. It requires more input from your legs (lack of rear suspension) your legs have to be the suspension, your upper body is needed too for more balance (leaning left and right, due to the bike being move around more by the trail) also all the trail buzz is sent through the rear stays of the frame. The bike doesn't squat like a full suspension bike (front and rear). You get front end dive of the fork (this shifts you weigh fowards on to the bars threw your hands and arms), so you end up running more air pressure in the fork to compensate for this which send more buzz threw the bars to your hands and arms which after a fews hours starts to cause numbness in your hands, overtime all this trail buzz will fatigue your body pretty quickly and start to hurt your hands, wrists and legs. I bet alot of people have experienced this issue when out riding. Best leave the hardtails for the pump, jump and smooth XC stuff in my opinion. Also Matt not everyone has your skills mate, you can pretty much ride anything anywhere!.
Im only a minute into the video, but its clearly an unfair competition. Matts a pro, no matter what he rides, he is going to win. Its all good tho, its not a real competition, its just some blokes out having a bit of fun, innit.
I still ride a HT, old fixed up schwinn, banshee enigma and dj pk ripper, but my trails are smooth. More pump track meets xc, It's just fun and easy to pop off things. Really don't need full squish for where and what I ride.
I love my san quentin 1 apart from that chain slap. The chain comes of constantly. Ive upgraded the forks and the groupset is next on my list. But as an entry level aggressive hardtail, that bike is so so worth the money. Go and buy one people.... but upgrade those gears.
Financially, we live in completely different worlds 😅😅 when I saw "cheap" in the title. I thought it would be a mountain bike from Halfords, a £350 Carrera. Expensive for me😂
Up until right now I figured I'd have to rent a full sus bike if I hit Whistler, Snoqualmie, or Steven Pass (again). That said, I'm still not going to take a San Quentin up any of those mountains!
It would be really good on these videos to hear your opinion on how this compares to an upgraded version. For example you'd normally put a 1.5k ohlins fork on, how are those better? Is it bottoming out, do they provide better tracking, or is it just adjustability?
One thing I will say is buy from a shop that will set it up and tune it properly! Other than that, absolutely start on a hardtail, and on flats. Learn how to jump and the progression will be loads better than going straight to full sus
I bought the sq3, and I love it. Upgraded the fork to a bomber z1. And 220 mm rear rotor on the back. Ride everything in the park. It's so quiet, chainless. Dominates in the teck.
More akin to Pilgrims cheap bike challenge than actually instilling confidence in the HT. Nonetheless, well done. Made me laugh. Now get back on the full squish so you stop bouncing all over that trail
I bought the 27.5 version of this bike six months ago (before the 2025 refresh) after not touching a bike since high school, and have gone from barely being able to climb a hill to hitting six-foot-tall wooden jumps in that time. I found out about Matt Jones's channel after the fact from looking for videos of people doing cool stuff on this bike, and it gave me a big confidence boost knowing that the bike could survive massive bike park jumps. I've taken it on trails, pump tracks, skate parks, and anywhere else I can get away with, and it's been rock-solid the whole time. Thanks for the videos, Matt, you ended up completely changing my life from halfway around the globe.
That’s so rad!! I loved reading your comment. Thanks so much and keep sending it
@@MattJonesI bought the marin bobcat train 4 and it works great and is better than the marin san quintin 1 and cheaper. Also there are no marin dealers in Australia that you can go instore and try them on
@Skyknight256 you might be able to check them at the bicyclesonline warehouse? Though not sure where abouts you are in Aus lol.
"Hard tail for the win" 10 seconds later, "I'm so out of control" hehehe, master class of advertising lol...
😂
If a professional rider “is out of control”, your beginner or average joe is gonna die😂
i love riding hardtails they make the easy trails feel fun and bring a new sense to mountian biking for me
There is no better feeling than shredding a hardtail down an insane line, then watching the jaws drop of every 10K+ bike owner as your rubbing their back tyre 🤣 love the video 🤘🏻
Matt, that inflation comeback was absolutely rapid fire hilarious, BWAhahahahahaa!
Yesss, hardtail content! This is what I enjoy the most on your channel 🤘
I took my San Quentin 3 here a couple of weeks ago. Im still a beginner but absolutely loved it. If i can become half as good as you, then ill be happy. Keep up the good work. 🤟
I got a Marin San Quentin because of Matt Jones - and I love it!
I would reaaaally go for the SQ2 though, if you can afford it. The dropper post etc. really makes it more fun to ride than the SQ1.
I had a SQ1 and went to a SQ2 afterwards.
This makes me feel a bit better for still ramming my 09 Hardtail down most blacks it can handle. And to see the difference from Matt’s normal type of riding to this makes me feel a bit better 😅
56 years old and just bought myself my first mountain bike, it is all your fault Matt Jones 😁p.s. I live in mid wales, not far from Dyfi or Revolution bike park, might be a while before I make it there though!
A video detailing cautions and techniques to be able to go that big on a hardtail would be greatly appreciated
Im going to subscribe since ive been watching ur videos for a few months now^^
Don't get me wrong I am all for the more budget friendly bikes being able to handle crazy stuff. I mean I am 275# and ride a Giant Stance 2 (entry level FS) and other then needing to change the rear wheel it has been fine. I don't bomb huge jumps and drops but it takes a bit of a beating from me cause I don't baby it haha. A lot of what a bike can do comes down to skill of the rider and Matt you are a hell of a rider!! Sam Pligs is proof of it as well he rides the craziest crap on bikes that would crumble under me or someone with less skill haha. Regardless great video and Marins look like good bikes to get anyone out there to experience this awesome sport!
Marin best be paying up for this fine piece of advertising
I love my hardtail, I ride it more than my dual sus because I just love it… you don’t need to spend shedloads to start, and it does help you improve quicker.
These are the videos I like to see Matt
Finally!! Content that respects the hardtail
Yeah
we all started on a hardtail, its not the bike you ride its the ride your bike takes you on always said that you don't need to spend silly money to have fun . Also shows how good the build quality of it.
I like these videos very much even though my only biking is me going to work and back. 😊 Thank you!
I remember being kinda compeditive in Downhill races on a hardtail back in the day :D Use your legs for suspension!
Let's all say a prayer for Matt's knees and ankles for proving you can ride a hardtail on the mountain of death. Yes, you can ride the SQ1 on the hill, just don't case a jump or drop. The shall rock just makes it insane. Mad props to Matt for proving the point
lol stop i do this shit all day on a hardtail people are just pussies these days
RM Growler here. Loads of fun as soon as I upgraded it away from the spring forks.
Matt jones this video has mad me realise how much I love my hard tale but how much I need a full suspension bike!
Broooooo! You sent those runs deep and fast! Oakley on a Hardtail! Full credit!
Think we need to see you build a frame up pro level and a series of how far you can actually take it!
Matt screaming and laughing at himself is what riding hard tails are about! 😂
Yessss
Highlight of my week 🎉
That was absolutely fantastic riding💪🏾💯
Love it 🎉🎉🎉🎉 proving Marin can do anything
i reckon its got what it takes
mat jones you inspired me to start riding mtb your my idol and ive been going now for almost a year all your videos are sick bro keep it up man!
Thanks so much that’s an awesome message. Keep smashing it
@@MattJonesTom is my idol
I remember when I was young my mates dad had a Marin b17, white and red. Such quality bikes
I literally just made a comment about the B17. I still have mine in the garage.
*Pedal* *Pedal* *Pedal* This bike rolls so fast! *Pedal* *Pedal* *Pedal*
Haha true. I meant in the take off transitions it generates so much pump. All that pedalling confused my point
FairPlay play I used to ride neally everything on a hard tail including 35 foot jumps
But now at 48 and a fair few injuries full suspension is my only hope 😂🤙
Thank you for showing me why I shouldn't be buying this bike.
AGRO HARD TAIL FOR THE WINNNN
Inspector Jones has a reason to be on the case today.
But seriously, I'm a big fan of the San Quentin from afar. It's still a bit beyond my budget because I don't have a budget, but it's rad.
Sick bro, I take my Marin rift zone 1 to snowmass,Trestle and keystone. You don’t need a 10k bike to have fun at the bike park. I ❤Marin
Cheap aggressive HTs are still the best way to get people in mtb riding...so much bang for the buck and they can learn to work on their bikes in the process without having to think too much about costs
The big difference between a hardtail a full sus is after a full day of riding over rough stuff you will feel more knackered and battered coming off the hardtail. I know this cause I ride both over the rough stuff. It requires more input from your legs (lack of rear suspension) your legs have to be the suspension, your upper body is needed too for more balance (leaning left and right, due to the bike being move around more by the trail) also all the trail buzz is sent through the rear stays of the frame.
The bike doesn't squat like a full suspension bike (front and rear). You get front end dive of the fork (this shifts you weigh fowards on to the bars threw your hands and arms), so you end up running more air pressure in the fork to compensate for this which send more buzz threw the bars to your hands and arms which after a fews hours starts to cause numbness in your hands, overtime all this trail buzz will fatigue your body pretty quickly and start to hurt your hands, wrists and legs. I bet alot of people have experienced this issue when out riding. Best leave the hardtails for the pump, jump and smooth XC stuff in my opinion. Also Matt not everyone has your skills mate, you can pretty much ride anything anywhere!.
Thank you Matt
What a vid, this is exactly what I needed on a Monday morning, also is that metal kicker the same one that used to be at red bull hardline?
Im only a minute into the video, but its clearly an unfair competition. Matts a pro, no matter what he rides, he is going to win. Its all good tho, its not a real competition, its just some blokes out having a bit of fun, innit.
I still ride a HT, old fixed up schwinn, banshee enigma and dj pk ripper, but my trails are smooth. More pump track meets xc, It's just fun and easy to pop off things. Really don't need full squish for where and what I ride.
Just fighting for his life on that last trail 😂 so sick, I love hard-core hardtails
insane mate, you are a monster!
I love my san quentin 1 apart from that chain slap. The chain comes of constantly. Ive upgraded the forks and the groupset is next on my list. But as an entry level aggressive hardtail, that bike is so so worth the money. Go and buy one people.... but upgrade those gears.
get a clutched deraileur makes a huge difference.
“Hard tail for the win” drops chain and punctures on first run! 😅😅😅
Send Jamie down on it 😂
Oakley on a hardtail!! So sick 👊🏽👊🏽
Hes just making fun of the all the 8000 dollar bikes the entire time 💀
Very good bike have it myself 👍
Fantastic and hopefully you ever hold the speed I gonzahless
U FOKIN WOT MATE? That's bloody bonkers lad!!!1
You're mad, Matt; ankles of titanium; absolute freak!
Actually shocked that survived!
Marin just released the downhill bike, and Mat has to promote the hardtail🤣🤣
Thanks Matt
great vidoe thanlks matt
Hit Thumbs Up for Mini Bike’s with Jono next on the Oakley line!
Financially, we live in completely different worlds 😅😅 when I saw "cheap" in the title. I thought it would be a mountain bike from Halfords, a £350 Carrera. Expensive for me😂
Hard tails are fun for a lot of things, but there’s no denying that a enduro or downhill rig is much more enjoyable for this type of riding 😅
ur to good matt
Yeah i get also from point to point with a civic but i prefer the type r
Up until right now I figured I'd have to rent a full sus bike if I hit Whistler, Snoqualmie, or Steven Pass (again). That said, I'm still not going to take a San Quentin up any of those mountains!
It would be really good on these videos to hear your opinion on how this compares to an upgraded version. For example you'd normally put a 1.5k ohlins fork on, how are those better? Is it bottoming out, do they provide better tracking, or is it just adjustability?
Matt you should look at rs chrono as i know u love your cars
i’m waiting for matt to bring the hard tail to hardline
I love my Hardtail, Ragley BluePigRace with 160 Lyrik Ultimate's....Proper Weapon..Ha!!
Real legends
We know what needs to happen at hardline next year.😂😂
One thing I will say is buy from a shop that will set it up and tune it properly! Other than that, absolutely start on a hardtail, and on flats. Learn how to jump and the progression will be loads better than going straight to full sus
you can wakesurf on a sheet of plywood also.. just sayin haha
Where is Ben ?
Tried full sus for a year, went back to hard tail. It was simply more fun.
That bike is 1400 bucks. That's "cheap" now ??
Nice man
time to do it again with a Marin San Quentin 20 or 24
AWESOME
The Holly hard tail spirit
Hold my beer, let me get my appolo slant 😂
TBH you know you would always have a suspension bike, but HT are good
This made me want my dh bike back 😂
Hmmm id say yes next we need ben to hit it
I bought the sq3, and I love it. Upgraded the fork to a bomber z1.
And 220 mm rear rotor on the back. Ride everything in the park. It's so quiet, chainless. Dominates in the teck.
I also feel like my back tire always flats on my hardtail when I do jumps
More akin to Pilgrims cheap bike challenge than actually instilling confidence in the HT.
Nonetheless, well done. Made me laugh. Now get back on the full squish so you stop bouncing all over that trail
Yo Mat I was there a couple of mouths ago but I wish I saw you
Think we all know what we want to see for Hardline next year…
Front forks puttin in a shift
My ankels hurt watching this. hahaha
This looks Iike one of those videos "just because you can doesn't mean you should" lol
So fun. Aaah, ouch, oooh!
Looked a fun day but i think i like my fillings where they are with the price of a dentist these days.
So Matt if you wanted to upgrade on part on the bike what would that be?
Wait what I'm less then a minute in..... is that a Suntour XCM?
I love hardtail videos
Doesn't the marin senquentin one cost a grand?
Why do people think the rider in front of you can hear you ,cuz they can't...Ha!!
How does this geometry feel compared to the 2022 model? Thanks!
not going to lie, that does not sound like you were enjoying it one bit 🤣🤣