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Back in 2017 I bought a Marin Nail Trail 7 in the UK from a firm called Cycleswitch. The firm went out of business and by all accounts had many poor reviews. I bought a Nail Trail 7 in size XL with 27.5 wheels. I didn't think anything wrong of this at the time. It was half the RRP, a bargain and I'd just got the bike after not riding anything for a few years.
I contacted Marin just after buying the bike (obviously should've done this prior to buying but couldn't resist the bargain) saying that I had an XL frame with 27.5 wheels. Marin explained that 27.5 were only fitted to S&M frames. I sent them a picture of mine fitted with the 27.5 wheels but Marin ceased correspondence with me.
It seemed that other retailers at the time were selling the XL and L frames with 27.5 wheels. I rode the bike for a while but it did seem out of whack and being a noob I didn't question it and just thought that it was newer bike geometry, it felt slower than perhaps it should and I had quite a few pedal strikes.
I put the bike in my shed and only really rode it a handful of times in the past few years. The last few weeks I've had a few low impact rides and really want to get out on my bike more as we should be coming out of lockdown soon.
My question is would Marin have shipped the larger bikes with 27.5 wheels or did the retailers mix and match. Should I/can I put 29 wheels in (I think they would need to be 142x12)
Sorry for the essay!
Just to say I couldn't take my issue up with the retailer because they went bust!
I don't know the answer about what Marin woukd have shipped, but it should be fairly obvious looking at the tyre clearance if it really is a 29" frame & forks. If it is, you can probably fit some 2.8+ tyres to get better ride height and handling, as a cheaper option than buying new wheels.
That said, a quick Google turns up Marin's own website that lists (click the geometry section at the bottom) the bike as 27.5 in small, 27.5/29 in Medium, and 29 for l/XL/XXL : https://www.marinbikes.com/gb/bike-archive/bikes/2017-nail-trail-7
" I sent them a picture of mine fitted with the 27.5 wheels but Marin ceased correspondence with me."
Regardless of price, you bought it legit from a Marin dealer? If thats the case, I think this is pretty poor form of Marin.
Sounds like it defo should have been 29er wheels
Cheers for the reply glenh. When I communicated with Marin a while ago I even sent them weblinks to retailers in UK that were selling L&XL frames with 27.5 wheels. They had sent several emails prior to that and then the communications stopped. Seemed a little strange.
Mine’s the year after but it was always either wheel size on medium, then 27.5 below and 29 above.
Wouldn’t surprise me if someone mixed up wheels with a smaller one, maybe swapping out damaged ones. Some places would list it once (with two “medium” sizes), some as two different bikes (one for each wheel size).
Looks like 2017 was the last year before they went boost.
I've a large 2017 Nail Trail 7.
27.5"
Here's Rutland cycles showing an XL 27.5.
When you say it doesn't ride well, what are you feeling?
Some more large and XL in 27.5
https://singletrackmag.com/classifieds/advert/2017-marin-nail-trail-7-20-xl/
https://forums.mtbr.com/marin/nail-trail-7-2017-a-1050383.html
A 2017 Large with 27.5 wheels here as well. Always felt fine to me...
Cheers for the replies. To be honest the last few rides it has felt better. When I first rode it I had only had a steep short Merlin malt 4 so maybe just getting used to new geometry. Good to know that others have the same bike. My point is Marin categorically state they didn't produce a 2017 NT7 with 27.5 wheels. Will 29er wheels fit in the frame? Confused.
Marin stated that on thier website when I bought mine.
Clearly the webpage is wrong.
Mine wouldn't take 29 wheels - frame or fork.
No chance a 29 would fit, in the back especially. Just ride and enjoy.
Cheers for the replies fellas!
Fwiw, I think it's a really balanced handling bikes. That was hidden under the horrid plasticy & low tread Schwalbe tyres it came with. Get some better tyres on and it transforms. There's a couple of reviews which say similar on handling.
It's noticeably faster than my old 26" steel HT, as rider and according to to Strava. At BPW last summer I was top 25% on Strava apart from Rim Dinger...!
I've ended up putting 4-pot brakes on after the originals died, and again that's upped the abilities again.
Get out and ride it, make sure you counter steer (like any LLS bike imo) and it's great fun.
What are the widest tyres the frame could accommodate?