4-20-07 // Online Exclusive: Clash of the Titans

Dave Hemming takes the Quad-Link for a spin at Carolina Adventuer World

In early April, East met West and cars met bikes (with some ATVs thrown in for fun) when Marin traveled to South Carolina to introduce its latest trail bike, the redesigned Mount Vision.

Marin teamed up with carmaker Saturn and Polaris ATVs on the launch, which was held at the newly created Carolina Adventure World. CAW boasts 100 miles of trails spread across 2,600 acres, and although it currently only allows ATVs, the park opened its doors to Marin and plans on offering mountain bike trails in the future.

The 5-inch travel Mount Vision uses an updated version of Marin’s Quad-link suspension, which is another take on the popular virtual-pivot point designs out there. With swoopy lines and balanced geometry, the 28-pound bike fits happily in the trail category and was well matched to CAW’s rolling trails littered with small bumps and roots (for a full review of the bike, see Bike’s June issue, on sale in early May).

Representatives from Polaris were on hand to show off the some quads of their own, and Saturn brought a few of its new Outlook crossover vehicle to ferry bikes and riders to the trails. Though the combination of bikes, cars and ATVs seemed an unlikely match, Dave Hemming, Marin’s public relations manager, said teaming up with Saturn and Polaris helped put mountain biking in front of a larger audience of automobile and ATV enthusiasts.

Saturn's Outlook crossover vehicle makes for great shuttling comfort