2023 Marin San Quentin 3 Long Term Review 

Appreciate the Hardtail Gang shoutout more than you know! 🥰🥰🥰

Back in the 1990's I rode everything on a hardtail because my full suspension bike was so freaking expensive I didn't want to hurt it... Oh nostalgia. Everything has come full circle nowadays 😂

Good stuff Josh, thanks for spreading more HT Love 🤘🏻 Will be taking the Hello Dave out this afternoon for sure. If/when you guys make it up to Bellingham, you need to bring one of your hardtails, you will love riding Galbraith with them!

I rode a Marin Nail Trail when I lived in east TN and loved it! Just moved to Seattle and thinking about grabbing one of these as an all-round hardtail for the PNW trails. Thanks for the review!

This video is sick! Felt like I was on the ride with you🤙🏼🤙🏼

Agree with you that the bike shines in techy terrain. Ive been riding mine a few months now and love it. Ended up going with maxxis rekon front and back. Pretty good florida tire, they roll fast and are much lighter. Bike is insane, having a blast on it and jumping a bit better with the super low seatpost

I have a '23 san quentin 2, small frame and I have been contemplating a mini mullet lately so this video helped alot, thanks again for the vids!

Great review! I also have a SQ3 and agree with everything you said about it. Great bike, harsh ride, the stack is a little low, BB a little low also, and the tires are just really really slow and grippy. I put a 160mm fork on it for a bit and it felt pretty good but not really necessary. I think what I really need more than anything els is to get some faster rolling tires. -update- so I put some faster rolling tires on the bike, got rid of the Maxxis Assegai’s and it just brought it to life! Now I prefer it more than my full suspension bike! Those Assegai’s just sucked the life out of the bike.

11:09 a easy way to solve that is to have a chin cam setup, I use Gnartec Ultimate mount. To not have distortion / '' go pro effect'' as some call it, I use PeauPro87 3.37mm (19mm) f/2.8 GoPro Hero 7 Black.

I am totally with you on the assegai's. First time I rode with 2 assegai's I felt like I was pedaling through deep soft sand

1st! Another good review,well done

nice bike & review

I went from Assegai front, Dissector rear to XR4 front and SE4 on my Nukeproof scout. The XR4 doesn’t have the same level of grip as the Assegai but it rolls so much better. In saying that I will sometimes change back to the Assegai on the front when the trails are very wet

5:19 Shinano Cassette wins, I've had both Shimano Deore M5100 11-51T and SunRace 11-50T Shimano shifts much smoother, quieter. SunRace developed so bad play in the rivets that I could not shift, this happen to two cassettes. awful. Some claim they experienced the same with Shimano. But some say SunRace is junk. I bent all teeth and cogs on it too, kept doing so, I did that on my old bike but that bike was flexy and was abusing the drivetrain, I had 11-46T on that bike, but I currently ride a Geometron G1, which is stiff enough, no weird drivetrain issues, and it had same issue there. But as I mentioned SunRace 11-50T developed huge play. I've not had enough time on Shimano Deore M5100 11-51T to do a long term review. but shifting performance was great, even under power. But not a fan of plastic spacers, don't drop and step on it, it's gonna snap, nor fidget with it, it will snap. Last mentioned I tried, I snapped it with tho fingers, but I did it intentionally to test it, has Alu spacers on hand.

Awesome review thank you! If im not mistaken you said you ride an XL?. and have ridden both generations of the SQ. I have a 22 SQ2 XL, im 6" , 210 with a 33" inseam. I think the bike feels right, but im probably right on the beginning edge of XL and sometimes I worry if its too big.( i do overthink it lol) I DO wish I would have waited and looked for the new generation as the seat tube on mine feels a tad too high. My question is, would I be able to frame swap from my 22 model to this new model and everything work? also, whats your thoughts on the XL fit between the two models? Does the new one "feel" any larger or smaller than the old version? Me being on the edge of an XL id hate to get the new one and end up feeling like its even bigger. or if i downsized to a large and ended up too small. I appreciate any advice!

I’ve got a rear aggressor and DHF up front on my Chameleon MX, My wife is killing me on any trail that’s not going down😂. Two dissectors came in the mail today. What are these bike companies putting these on our rides for? Thanks for shimano drivetrain info, I will get it and save$$. Good on you man! The San Quentin shined as a charger and you would ride it as a mullet cus it’s so much fun. Well not how there marketing reads I’m sure , but I think you just made a lot of shoppers want that bike. P.S. Marin , give them a coupon for a rear wheel dissector 😆

I live in KY on the eastern side w/ the TN. border and other that flowy bike park type trails we also have jeep and four wheeler trails with some techy big rocks and dirt/mud. It's a great place to find features and good riding places but I've been on the fence. I rode BMX when I was younger but did more skateboarding that bike stuff. I had a Diamond back and a Harro zippo, I could jump and ride steep banks and wheelie/manual and all that stuff and I'm looking for a well rounded bike like the S.Q 3-4. I'm also seriously considering the Canyon stoic 3-4 depending on price. I know I will do upgrades so going with the good frame cheaper components route is probably smarter for me since I want to get my bike legs back and get back out there. Those two bikes and those spec'd close to them in the 1000-1500$ range are what I'm looking at......I think the way you like your bikes is similar to my taste- I want to be able to play but not suffer to much on climbing or downhill. I will eventually build up a bike from a frame but just want good quality to get out there ASAP and then have it as a back up if that makes sense. Am I on the right track at all ?

Thanks for the great info. I just got a SQ2 after a month wait for a medium and love it, one warning though: the SQ2 comes with VeeTireCo Flow Snap and on first day of riding after just 3 miles on streets and dirt/grass near my home, the rear tire suddenly made a loud gunshot like sound and went flat. Was easy to tell where tire had failed from quick look as strings of rubber were hanging off from one spot, luckily I only had to walk about a mile home and when bike shop guy took tire off could see an 8” section of the bead was now rubber ribbons 😱 lol. Anyway, shop guy was helpful and gave me a new Maxxis Rekon in same 27.5x2.6 size so came out ahead there at least. He didn’t have one for the front so I’ve ordered one as don’t feel confident riding around after what happened to rear. Your SQ3 had different tires and mine was probably a rare manufacturing defect but this too long comment is just to warn anyone who has VeeTireCo Flow Snap that you should prob change tire!

i just want to build my own bike and now im searching for the right frame. I checked the Timberjack bit it probably will be available in Europe End of year or in Spring, im thinking about Roscoe, Commencials Meta HT, Chameleon and now i stumbled over the marin. I want to build a playful bike to drive around with my kid and initially wanted to build something inbetween trial and trail. The marin seems good for that.

Nice ride and info! Two questions. How do you think the Stoic 4 would stand up to your customized Marin on the same trail? Faster, funnier, flower..., or not? What exactly components have you swichts out to, (except the 29"wheel), so you know if you want to do a copy of your bike? Are no bike tech so need a full list on every part :-) , and check prices. The trail/enviroment looks like the ones I usally ride in Sweden.

Hardtail Gang! Chee hoo!

Hey there, great reviews. I think we have a similar background w/ BMX and now MTN bikers. I'm really struggling to decide between the SC chameleon and this San Quentin. I need a hardtail for our local bike park and JIBing here in St. George UT, but also want my 15 yo son to be able to use it on average trails. The Santa cruz has awesome deals right now, I'm 6 ft and my son is 5'9". Still cant decide between a Medium or Large. Also do you think the Marin would be better at park type stuff if you put a angle set to make it steaper and sized down to a med/large?

I'm currently riding my trusty Marin Nail Trail 7 (size M) and looking to swap the frame to the San Quentin 3 2023 and mullet it - awesome videos man!🙂 Josh, could you shar what size of the SQ3 frame do you have and what is your height? I'm 178 cm and the problem is, I've heard sizing of SQ3 is kind of crooked :)

@Riding With Josh and Wendy, you had to get a new fork when you made it a mullet, but did you ride the original setup for long before you did so? if so how was the Bomber z2 fork, I want an aggressive hardtail with fox, but everything under 3000 is rocks shox or something else, is the bomber z2 a good fork? i know there is a pretty large price gap between the bomber and the fox fork you put on there, but how did they compare?

I'm looking to replace a youth sized 26" hardtail that's about to die from 20 years of rust and looking for a zippy replacement. I'm 5'7" but I love the little ripper attitude, as I hate 29"s I did appreciate that they eat trails better but feel "function only" and zero fun, unless I'm pushing boundaries of rough and downhill. My big "should I-"s are if I should stick to getting a new 26", or try my first full 27.5" like the San Quentin? They won't feel that much bigger yeah? And should I size down to a small for the bmx feel, I already found a used listing for an already mulleted '23 for $1,100 I feel like I should just grab it and try it but it's medium

So I'm fairly new to mountain biking and currently have a cheap XC hardtail and I went to a downhill bike park and obviously I stayed on the green flowy trail. It was really fun and the bike hold its own surprisingly well. I might be upgrading next year and I was looking at this price range, so 2000 euros or thereabout. I'm looking for a good all rounder so I'm hesitating between a hardtail such as this one or a full suspension enduro, or all-mountain, bike. Do you have any insight in that matter? The review was great and I'm sure it's a fairly capable bike in the right hands. What I'm not sure about is if it's appropriate for a beginner rider.

Hey mate, im looking at getting onto one of these in the 29er howd you feel about it being a little heavier than most?

I'm lookin at one of these or a Devinci Kobain 29er. I want a hardtail that feels like a Park BMX but rolls of trash (roots, sharp rocks) easily, climbs, is light enough to carry, low maintenance mechanically, and doesnt break the bank too hard. I dont know much about MTB even though I live on the island of mountains (vancouver island) where its basically black or double black to choose from, somehow my GT aggressor comp (my first MTB ever) has survived a year and I'm ready to move on from it. I've ridden BMX in skateparks only for around 25 years and would love somthing closer to a Dirt Jumper with gears and 29 inch wheels. Somthing I can bunnyhop up a curb and manual on, It seems impossible on the GT, not sure if its just the 29 wheels that are responsible, but maybe also the frame geometry and the fact its a cross country, totally the wrong bike for where I live.

So im a BMX rider looking for a more aggressive hardtail MTB. I would primarily be riding dirt jumps and enduro type trails every so often. Would you recommend this or the RSD Middle child? Appreciate the videos man!

Josh make more material on these mullet setup... i am about to make the same mod with my san quentin only thing is i have ohlins 36 with 160 and i dont know if i should lower the travel in it because its pretty costly..

Been looking at this bike, but I am a bit overweight. And I'm afraid I may destroy it quickly. My intent is to use it as a commuter to work, (about 6 miles one way). Then when I start dropping weight to start hitting trails. I'm 6'4" and 335LBS. Do you think this bike will hold up to my weight? Or suggestions on something that would. And keeping it under $2k. The commute is mostly flat. Some highway and mostly street. With a little dirt/gravel.

Torn between this and Specialized Chisel. Marin has better stock components but the Chisel has better frame imo. I do a lot of rocky mountain trail riding with more climbing than I think would be comfortable on the Marin. But obviously the Marin would be great down hill. I just think the Marin frame is not as versatile and I am drawn to the light weight of the Chisel frame and the potential to race with it. Hmmm

I know you luv 27.5 but have you tried the RSD 291 ?

Have the previous San Quinten 3. Riding this thing last Couple of years in Tucson. Is there any reason I could not Mullet the 2021 version? What is the travel you went with on your Fox 34?

Hey Josh, are you still running 140mm on that fork?

Im thinking about making my sq3 mullet too. Hows the ride doe thats what im worried

how tall are you and what size is the frame? and with that slammed stem do you every find the front end is too low?

Just curious,you mentioned that bike frame is XL,how tall are you Josh? I'm 6,2"

super newb question. So I own the SQ2 and would like to upgrade its fork, is it a straight tube or tapered tube?

how about making it full-on 29er?

How tall are you? What's the size of the bike? I also want to own one. I'm 180cm Thankss

Wanna buy ht i have roscoe 7 2”23 i like this marlin instead of riftzone

I’m 177 cm should I go M or L?

Josh are you racing the AMC and will it be on a hardtail ?

They don't have any left.

There aren’t authorized anymore

only sq 3 warth the price or the frame only sq 1 sq 2 very overpized !