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Trek Marlin 7 Upgrades: Rider Review (Easy Upgrades You Should Consider)

So let’s call this the Trek Marlin 7 project.

Having moved to Colorado from Ohio a couple of years ago I was looking for an inexpensive way to get into mountain biking since our converted hybrid bikes were too heavy and not geared for moderate trail and cross-country biking. I am 63 years old and consider myself in great physical shape. I enjoy the challenges of a good trail but the highly technical single track trails that we have in Colorado are for you young kids that still have rubber bones.

Trek Marlin 7 Upgrades Review

After a lot of research, I chose the Trek Marlin 7 because I wanted a bike with hydraulic disc brakes and a RockShox front suspension. The idea was to update the bike with better equipment over time. The first change that I made was replacing the pedals with RaceFace Chesters. Now my feet stick like glue on the metal studs. I highly recommended them. Next, I added RaceFace Next Carbon Handlebars because I was told they soak up more vibration than the stock aluminum bars. With that addition, I also installed a pair of Ergon GA3 grips which really do make it more comfortable with less wrist fatigue.

After riding with all of these improvements for a while I decided to change out the stock Bontrager tires with a set of Maxxis Minion 29 X 2.30’s. I am just getting used to the limits of these tires but they are a great improvement in cornering and stability.

The most recent addition was a KS Eten R dropper post. I needed to raise my seat post another 2 inched but it was hard jumping on and off the bike. This thing is slicker than snot!! It allows me the extra height and drops to make it more comfortable getting on and off. I know that’s what this thing was intended for but it works for me. I also drop the post on downhills so it doesn’t feel like I’m going to fly over the handlebars. My goal is to ride this bike for a while and then move up to a full suspension.

I am a big fan of Worldwide Cyclery. The prices are very competitive and standard delivery has always been 3 days to Colorado Springs. The blog and product video reviews are great......You guys make me laugh!! Lastly.......Jeff.....as discussed in one of your recent video reviews, your resemblance to Ellen Degeneres should be a cry for help...let’s get something done about that!!

Best regards,
Dave