Last year, Marin surprised us with a new long distance touring bike called the Marin Four Corners. This year it’s back and they’ve gone all 1990s on the colours! The rasta paint job is a throwback to 1991 when the Marin Bear Valley mountain bike was around. Apparently, the mountain biking / reggae concoction was a thing back then.

The geometry of the Marin Four Corners is in-line with most modern touring bikes. The wheelbase is rather long, there are 450mm chainstays up the back and the steering speed is on par with touring bikes like the Trek 520 (64mm trail). The frame and fork will happily squeeze in 29×2.00″ tyres for riders keen to take the road less travelled.

While the Four Corners frames have received just a minor update for 2017 (in the form of addition braze-ons), there are a few small details in the specification that will improve the overall ride of these bikes.

The 2017 Marin Four Corners Elite

The 2017 Marin Four Corners Elite is constructed using Columbus Thron, a higher-grade steel tubeset than the base model. Using this tubing adds to the cost of manufacturing, but ensures an increase in frame strength while reducing the frame weight a tad (magic, I know). The frame now has provision for a third bidon cage, and the fork will now permit a lowrider front rack.

In term of gearing, the Four Corners Elite is a 1x drivetrain with SRAM Rival parts and a 38t front chainring (down from 40t in 2016). The climbing gear is 25 gear inches, and despite being a 1x drivetrain, the highest gear (106″) will still allow you to pedal at 50km/h (31mph). The wheelset has been changed to incorporate wider rims (25mm internal) that provide a better tyre shape for the 45-50C (1.70-2.00″) tyres recommended for this bike.

The 2017 Marin Four Corners Elite should weigh in at about 11.50kg (25lbs) and will cost US $2250.

The 2017 Marin Four Corners

The 2017 Marin Four Corners has received a minor update on the specification. It now features the new Shimano Sora R3000 shifters that borrow the design of the higher level groupsets, by internally routing the shift cables below the bar tape.

The drivetrain comes with a 9-speed road triple crankset (50-39-30) and 11-32t cassette, providing a gear range of 26-124 gear inches. Despite the frame being a close competitor to other ‘long distance’ touring bikes, the gearing is actually closer to many ‘light’ touring bikes. It’d be great to see a 19-20″ low gear (which I personally use and recommend) on the 2018 model. That said, there’s a bunch of ways to achieve a lower gear, plus Shimano just released a low-cost 11-34t cassette that will yield a 24″ low gear on the Four Corners.

The 2017 Marin Four Corners should weigh in at about 12.5kg (27lbs) and will cost US $1099.

Want To Compare This Touring Bike With Dozens of Others?

Check out The Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide which compares touring bike steering, sizing, gear ratios, specification, pricing and more. The Bikepacking Bike Buyer’s Guide does the same thing, however, with a focus on lighter bikes and models with more off-road capability. Both of these guides are updated annually with the latest models at no extra cost!

Helpful Resources

All About Touring Bike Brakes
Frame Materials for Bicycle Touring
How to Select Touring Bike Gearing
Understand Bicycle Frame Geometry
What’s the Difference between Cyclocross and Touring Bikes?

Touring & Bikepacking Bike Overview

2016 Advocate Lorax
2018 All City Gorilla Monsoon
2016 Basso Ulisse
2016 Bianchi Volpe and Lupo 2016
2016 Bombtrack Beyond
2017 Bombtrack Beyond
2018 Bombtrack Beyond
2018 Bombtrack Arise Tour
2019 Bombtrack Beyond
2016 Brodie Elan Vital
2016 Cannondale Touring
2019 Cannondale Topstone
2020 Cannondale Topstone
2016 Cinelli Hobootleg Geo
2018 Co-Op ADV 4.2
2017 Curve Grovel V2
2017 Diamondback Haanjo EXP Carbon
2016 Fuji Touring
2017 Fuji Touring
2018 Fuji Touring
2018 Fuji Touring Disc
2016 Genesis Tour de Fer
2016 Giant ToughRoad
2017 Giant ToughRoad
2018 Giant ToughRoad and ToughRoad GX
2016 Jamis Aurora and Aurora Elite
2019 Jones Plus SWB
2020 KOGA WorldTraveller-S
2016 Kona Big Rove
2016 Kona Roadhouse and Sutra LTD
2016 Kona Sutra
2017 Kona Sutra
2018 Kona Sutra
2018 Kona Sutra LTD
2019 Kona Sutra and Sutra LTD
2020 Kona Sutra and Sutra LTD
2020 Kona Unit X
2016 Marin Four Corners
2017 Marin Four Corners
2018 Marin Four Corners
2016 Masi Giramondo
2018 Masi Giramondo
2016 Niner RLT9
2016 Rawland Ulv and Ravn
2016 Salsa Deadwood
2017 Salsa Fargo
2018 Salsa Fargo Ti Frameset
2018 Salsa Journeyman
2016 Salsa Marrakesh
2017 Salsa Marrakesh
2018 Salsa Marrakesh
2020 Salsa Marrakesh
2017 Salsa Vaya
2019 Salsa Warbird
2016 Specialized AWOL
2017 Specialized AWOL
2017 Specialized Diverge
2018 Specialized Diverge
2019 Specialized Diverge
2017 Specialized Sequoia
2018 Specialized Sequoia
2019 Specialized Sequoia
2018 Surly Bridge Club
2017 Surly Troll
2016 Traitor Wander
2019 Trek 520
2016 Trek 920, 720, 520 & CrossRip
2017 Trek CrossRip
2018 Trek 920
2018 Trek 1120