Has anyone here ordered a custom thing from Marino? Curious about actual production time and total cost.
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saw one of these in person last weekend and it looked dope:
might be a bit more than you are looking for boinger wize tho.
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Wasnāt the @BicyclePears bike a Marino?
Oh yeah. I assume pricing and wait times are different for a run than a single frame.
this is very true. i believe he prioritizes the small batch runs over the single orders.
example: friend is making stupid coaster brake mtb frames. he ordered five and got a lead time for a few months. asked what the lead time would be if he doubled his order. lead time cut in half.
as far as price goes, it doesnt seem like thereās much of a savings for buying a shit load of frames. the frame price is the frame price, and thats already absurdly cheap for handmade frames.
there are no rules at marino.
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Well might as well get the ball rolling then. Taking this chat away from the MTB thread.
what is up with the suspension design on these small builders? Are there designs that are not patented? Are they making up their own? I think that would be my biggest sticking pointā¦ like that pipe dream frame is cool AF but also 2g for a single pivot frame?
once you start adding linkages you then need some more fancy machining (I was looking at the links on my xprezo and I imagine it would cost a pretty penny to replace them if I broke them or wanted mods).
FSR was patented until recently - though I feel like itās easier to fuck up fsr than single pivot if you donāt have a bunch of modeling resources and knowhow
anything with dual links (like dw, vpp, or whatever) is patented or would require a unique design - enough of a time suck to benefit from larger runs.
@viggen seems to be a big fan of the steel single pivot shred machine, maybe they can weigh in
I will say that the type of linkage isnāt the only factor in deciding if a full squish will pedal or ride well - i thought my 2014 rocky mountain altitude rode like a much shorter travel bike than the numbers suggested, and my 2012 giant reign had more pedal bob and rode less plush than my single pivot xprezo.
edit: as an aside, if I didnāt like the color of my process so much and was okay with replacing it, Iād be looking at a ripley AF or a Banshee Prime - havenāt ridden them but look like a bunch of fun (with the banshee being maybe a little more easy to find with current supply chain problems)
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I feel like if you arenāt going for a single pivot, then youāre better off getting a production FS frame than custom. My understanding is that most brands require a number of prototype mules of a suspension layout in a given size before they get it right. I wouldnāt really want v.1.
Single pivots are probably simple enough to work around, though.
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Yeah definitely seems like all of the british steel FS makers do single pivot designs with maybe one linkage. Itās attractive to me as a buyer because seems easier to service and diagnose issues with. Plus I donāt have a sensitive enough ass to know the differenceā¦ like sure maybe a Forbidden Druid would be rad as fuck to ride but could I tell the difference between it and the Cotic in a blind test? Prob not. Rear shock go squish.
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Iāve been riding with a guy that owns this super rad Waltworks. Now I want a steel squishie bike too.
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Hmu about orange if you decide to go that way 
I really canāt say enough good things about my five evo though. 140/130 is a great balance for east coast riding and single pivot is surprisingly adequate. Definitely has some downsides in the brake jack department but if you donāt use brakes much itās great.
Also my biz partners has a P7 29 and itās fucking rad
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Rear brake judder is really the only downside to single pivot.
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Right on. Your Orange looks so friggin sweet. Iāll hit you up for sure once I have more of an idea of the size of the wallet fire Iām actually looking to set.
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i rode precisely 1 dw-link bike likeā¦8 years ago? and it was so amazing that iāve had my heart set on that for years. ibis ripley.
Ibis doesnāt own the patent on DW link 
Is this what the bike review jargon means by hover bike?
More chunky ish from Massanutten, riding what was the 1997 World Cup course, just far less dirt than was present then.
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Coming in late to this party, but a steel FS bike is something quite magical.
My Starling Swoop is really a āforever bikeā for me, though itās a lot more bike than you are after with the 170/160 platform. Itās a enduro sled and mini-dh rig really.
I notice after long days lapping the bike park or on the bike that Iām a lot less tired compared to riding my older bikes (Maestro link alu Giantās), canāt speak for carbon though.
The bike flexes, works a bit like a spring and does things underneath you that makes it track in a whole other way than other materials. Some of it sure is placebo but that flexy rear end that feels like itās on velcro is for real! I get the want for something a bit different and out there, bonus that you can repair it if you need some day.
Iāve never really experienced a big amount of ābrake jackā or pedal feedback/any big draw back of the single pivot, itās maybe a bit of a learning curve not to grab a fistful of rear brake while deep into the travel. Placing the pivot above and in front of the BB works really well.
By all things logical riding a coil on it āshouldnāt workā well either but it does and thatās not just my words. Modern coils have come a long way from being super mega linear with LSC/HSC/Rebound/bladders/etc.
I own and ride a pretty shreddy steel enduroish 160 HT from Stanton as well, itās NOT the same thing as a FS. Itās fun and challenging in a whole other way but itāll never be able to replace a FS no matter how dialed the geo is.
Marino is legit and if you have the patience waiting for a frame they make great stuff, they have quite the following here in Sweden and Iāve seen plenty of them in the flesh. He makes good stuff!
I know these 3 are more enduro than dcx but itāll give you som info, ideas and such:
Pics for reference:
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I dont have a hose, My MTBs have never been that clean.
All this talk though has me curious about one of these weird bikes when I decide to swap my frame outā¦ I like the idea of a forever MTBā¦ considering I have two endpoints already, getting a steel MUSA MTB would be on brand for me.
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