2022 Trek Marlin 8 Vs 2022 Trek X-Caliber 9: Which is the better bike for you? 

Im planning on upgrading form my Marlin 8 to xcaliber 9 next year do you recommend a better bike for the same price range?

X cal 9 , has already tubeless set up from factory , tapered head tube , much better components , dropper post , better chain , better crank set , better cassette , etc. Definitely a better choice for the price difference

The rack mounts are a deal maker if you bike pack. The X is perfect for that, rather than racing. Nice comparison.

Thank for the comparison, Very Informative and Honest! You earned my Sub. By the way Marlin 8 Gen3 came out last month can you please feature that in your channel before I decide to buy between x-caliber or Marlin 8 gen3, Marlin Gen3 has a nice Matt black color which I like.

Got my 2023 xcaliber 9 this year and man. MAN. that bike is awesome. Also great to know it has a lot of potential to upgrades without too much trouble. Gonna give it more years of life.

@Get Out Arizona, that was such an informative video and I love the effort of helping people in the comment section. That interaction is just sooo good that I read all the comments lol. So, I came across Marlin 8 Gen 3 and X-Caliber 9 when I was researching which bike to buy. I have never bought a bike before, and I am sooo nervous about making the wrong decision. Basically, I am looking for a fast bike that can help me commute to work at least twice a week (my work is around 8 km away), but I also want to have that confidence in my bike to throw it on a wide range of tracks during the weekend. Currently, I am definitely falling towards X-Caliber 9, but do you think there could be a better option than caliber for me, which could be in Marlin's range? Also, It seems like (from the comments) the Marlin 8 in the video is not Gen 3, so I was wondering how much of a difference that make cuz the price difference is still around 600. Mainly I was looking at Evo cycles NZ or Cycle Science NZ to buy from, but I still seriously don't know what bike to go with cuz there are just sooooo many!!!!! Also, someone suggested to me Marin 2022 Rift Zone 1 29 which is double suspension and less expensive than Caliber 9. But again I am just so lost what to do. Thank you sooo much for the video and all the help in the comments section :)

Thanks for making the vid!! I’d say I agree with this comparison IIIIF the Marlin was a GX drivetrain. For that price point it comes with the SX drivetrain which is honestly a disservice to the consumer. They should of at least went NX completely or did something comparable to the XCaliber, SX Drivetrain with GX derailleur. Marlin 8s dirty little secret if you will is the SX drivetrain. Thanks again for the video. 😊

I just bought a new Marlin 8 after being out of biking for quite a few years. I probably should've done a little more research? I had no idea about tapered frames, boosted frames, drop post ready frames, etc. That said I am 51 years old and have no interest in racing or hardcore off road riding. I really just wanted something that I could ride on pavement, light trails and maybe a little crazier stuff very rarely. My local Trek store didn't carry the X-Cailber line so I didn't know anything about it. They only had Marlins and Riscoe's as far as hardtails go. The Roscoe's weren't a good fit for me due to the big tires, and frankly I thought the Marlin 8 was nicer than the Roscoe 6. I thought about the Roscoe 7 for a minute, but... those big tires wouldn't have been good at all on pavement.

I just ordered an X-caliber 9 today. I’m sure it’s not a big deal but what is the big negative to not having a thru axle on the rear and specifically what is a 141 hub(I forget the term here) quick release? Is it that the solid axle bestows a lot better handling?

At the moment i have a Marlin 4 but im looking into the Marlin 8 as its dropped in price and i might possibly get it for 750 at a Bike shop that ive already bought from but i want a bike that isnt stupidly expensive over 1k but something that is cheaper and can be used for regular riding that has quality stock parts on it but i dont know what to do

Nice video guys, had a laugh at the tip-to-tip comment at the start 😎 I'm in Australia and the 2023 Marlin 8 is listed at $1,599 local currency and the 2022 X-Caliber 9 is $2,599. Not sure if they're continuing the X-Caliber 9 in Australia, seems we don't get all the Trek bikes. Struggling to find either to try. I kinda just want a nice bike to both commute and muck around on weekends with my kids and hopefully some trails (no racing though). I've currently got a 2018 Giant Cross City 0 (think the last with full Shimano), but don't really have room for 2 bikes. I recently got my son a Marlin 7 which was fun to ride, just probably not fast enough with the 28T chainring. Have you experienced a mountain bike with maybe a 34T chainring and the 11 at the back? Just wondering if you can get a decent pace with the suspension locked and a bigger chainring. My commute is about 29km (18 miles).

Awesome bike!!! 😎😎😎😎

Hey, I search a vtt for speed and basic road, not really to ride in mountains, so Is it better for me to buy the X Caliber 8 or the Marlin 8 gen 3 ? Obviously today i already have buy the marlin but when i ride is little bit to heavy…. Please advise me Thanks

Hi there guys. I know this is a 1 year old video. 😂 But firts my story. I'm more than a roadie than a mountain biker. But I do ride mtb with the team now and then. I don't know if I'm gonna race or not. I have haf tested the Xcaliber 9 on my LBS. It's something that drew my attention. I feel that this bike will be a good one to go for because of the upgrade options. Buy I just wanted to ask. Can the rear be converted in a thru axle rear end? I've convertion kits out there. Thanks in advance ✌🏽

Excaliber 9 excelente la tengo 11 meses.... solo me gustaría crank de 32 con posibilidades a 34 y36

I recommend buy only frame trek procaliber alum or carbon.

Which one you will advice to own? Marlin 8 gen3 Roscoe 9 X-caliber 8

Why not compare the Marlin 8 to the X-Calibur 8? The X-Calibur is only $200 more, but you get that Alpha Gold frame, tapered headset, dropper post internal cable routing and best of all, a 12 speed Shimano XT drivetrain instead of the 10 speed SRAM Eagle SX series. Kind of a no-brainer. BTW, fender and rack braze-ons are welcome for the folks like myself that just want a good quality commuter bike that also does trails well 😁.

What do you recommend , X-caliber 9 or Procaliber 9.5 ? Thanks

Why is a kickstand mount bad?

Disagree 1000% on the mounts. I’m NOT a racer. I’m looking for a general purpose hike that will do many forms of recreational riding; single track, some mild downhill, some gravel biking, some commuting, and some bike packing. Exactly how do the four mounting lugs detract from the bike??? The VERY reason I wanted the X-Caliber is because it’s essentially a much higher spec Marlin 8. The mounts take nothing away, and yet add practicality to those of us that use a bike as something more than a simple single purpose toy. Please, please, PLEASE Trek! Don’t listen to this nonsense. Keep putting the mounting lugs on bikes for us real world users of your bikes!

Trek guy looks like brad pitt :P

Call me a old fashioned, but I'll stick with tubes in my tires. Just spent five grand on a trek top Fuel that came with a tubeless setup. Three rides in I get a cut on the tire that I can't get to seal. Thankfully I had a tube in my CamelBak, because I'm old fashioned. What a mess!!!! Still running tubeless in the front tire but when that blows out I will be done with it for good. Whatever benefits tubeless has only lasted me three rides. And so you know I am an avid Rider and amateur New York state champion (former) Don't be fooled and just bring a spare tube a pump and keep your tires at around 40 PSI and you'll be fine most of the time. And dropper post on a cross country bike are TOTALLY unnecessary. Through axels are also unnecessary. The bike industry is an upsell business. The standards, like the tapered headsets, are not uniform. This means more parts in different sizes. Buy the Marlin. You really won't feel a big difference.

1. Hard to follow due to all the unfunny banter. 2. It's obvious the patchy beard guy thinks the Marlin 8 is a poor people bike after multiple comments. 3. Multiple spec errors that had to be corrected with captions. 4. Rack and kickstand mounts take nothing away from a bike whether you are planning on racing or not. Can't see myself coming back to your channel for bike content.

Wow two gay jokes within the first 1 minute of the video is telling plenty

Kept saying GX......SX is on it and even the 2023 Marlin 8 GEN 3......SX is dirt...