Trek Dual Sport vs Marlin Series! What’s The Difference?

Hello everyone and welcome back to the channel. My name is your lollipop and today I'm going to do a full comparison video between the Trek Dual Sport and Marlin bikes. I feel like a lot of people might look at these bikes and get confused. which one should they buy since they are comparable in price and also look a bit similar. I actually saw the 2021

dual

sport

3 at my local bike shop recently, so I'll show some pictures and videos of that right now if you're interested, but the really funny thing is that I thought these bikes were the new 2021 Marlin 5 in orange when I saw them at first, but then I got closer and realized they were

dual

sport

bikes because of their narrower handlebars and some other parts. but anyway, in my videos I usually tried to delve into various components of each bike comparing things like drivetrains and suspension forks in detail, but doing that for all eight bikes and this video would become too complicated and as I've already compared all Marlin

series

bikes with each other.

I wanted to make a simpler video that can help you quickly and easily understand

what

the main

difference

s are between these bikes and

what

they are for. That said, I'll also include a table at the end. from this video going over all the major

difference

s between the dual sport and the

marlin

five as an example of the changes between the two lineups now before we get started I want to make some notes about the bikes I'm covering so on the same page just I'm going to focus on the men's versions of all of these bikes and only the ones offered in the United States.

I will note that there are women's versions of almost all of these bikes, but the only differences they have are more comfortable women's seating and a few different colors. There are also international versions of some of these bikes, but generally the only differences they have are the color options available, with the exception of the Marlin 4, which actually has a few different components and a completely different frame, but I've covered those. differences in my video of more than four verses of Marlin 5, so check it out if you want to see that now I am going to give a little overview of the dual sport and Marlin lineups to help you understand in general what they are supposed to be used for the Dual sport line is one of Treks hybrid bike lines, meaning they have wider tires than road bikes and narrower tires and mountain bikes, so there is a middle ground between the two and are intended to work just as well. on both pavement and gravel and can therefore be used as your only bike for worry-free riding on roads and light trails.

I would personally say that this bike is intended for riders who want to ride 50% on the road and 50% on the trails. That said, these bikes aren't designed to go over anything harder than intermediate rails, as their tires, suspension forks, and other components aren't as well suited for those big bumps on rougher terrain. I think they can be great travel bikes as you will worry. It's not so much about the tire getting punctured if it hits a thorn, rock or anything like that, as they are wider and have more tread than road bike tires, but they won't be as good as mountain tires either. in terms of smoother running and prevention. punctures, dual sport bikes can also be great exercise bikes, if you want a heavier duty commuter or exercise rider than a regular road bike as they will be able to handle some trails, they also have dual trap compatibility allowing you to place A separate device on your bike that connects to your phone and tracks your physical progress on the bike.

Marlin bikes, on the other hand, are not far off from dual sport bikes, but they are basically entry-level mountain bikes for hiking, they have more width. mountain bike tires and better suspension forks for trails and are therefore more geared towards trail use, although they can also be a fairly rugged commuter bike and can serve that purpose. I would say these bikes would be best for someone who wants to ride a bike. trails more frequently or maybe you want to ride more difficult trails and have a safer, more comfortable ride. The Marlin Four and Five are the entry-level bikes, so they would probably be used 40% on the road and 60% on the trail, while the Marlin Six has a more trail-oriented drivetrain, so could be split into 35% road and 65% trail, while the Seven is more expensive and has many components better geared for trail use, so it's more of a 25% road and 75% bike. of trails.

That said, the Mullen four and five can totally be used solely on the road if you choose to use them for that purpose, as they have a three-by-seven transmission that gives you 20 different gears to choose from when you're on the road. my personal experience with my

marlin

five i use it to get around the trails i ride every day and it seems to be fine for that purpose, it has enough gears to get over the road climb and its fast enough, sure i have a hybrid and bike road too and those bikes seem faster on the road due to their thinner tires and lighter weight, but if the Marlin is the only bike you have, I feel like it can comfortably function as a daily commuter, so that's the gist general of what each of these bikes should be used for now.

I'm going to do a real comparison between the dual sport and the marlin five, both from 2021, since these bikes are exactly the same price of five hundred and fifty dollars and it can be difficult to find their differences easily, but if you are not interested in that, you will The main thing to remember about these bikes is that the Dual Sport will be faster on the road than the Marlin bikes and is perfect for someone who just wants a commute or a workout. A bike that's more comfortable, stable, and less likely to get punctures than a road bike, the Marlin bike is more for the rider who wants a really tough commuter bike that can withstand being thrown off curbs and has a lot less chance of getting punctures or for the beginner mountain biker hoping to improve their skills and ride lots of trails around their city, but let's look at the components of both dual sport and five plus to show you what I mean.

I won't cover all the components, but I want to highlight the main differences, so first of all, let's talk about the frames. Both frames have internal cable routing, but all dual sport bikes use the same gold alpha aluminum frame, while all marlin bikes use a tracked silver alpha aluminum frame. Gold aluminum is lighter. by weight, stronger and softer than the silver version, the dual sport frame also features the aforementioned duo trap S compatibility and the geometry on these frames is different, plus the dual sport frame is more comfort oriented, while the Marlin It is more geared towards sport and cross country trail use, although both should be quite comfortable on the road, the suspension forks are also quite different between these bikes, with the dual sport using either the SR sunt or any X coil fork which has 63 millimeters of travel, while the Marlin uses the SR.

Center a travel of less than 100 millimeters for a suspension fork. The shorter 63 millimeter travel on the dual sport model will be completely fine for light trails and some bumps, although I wouldn't recommend it for bumpy or bumpy terrain as the forks aren't made for that purpose and the wheels are definitely a main difference with the dual sport model. Hybrid bike tires measure 700 by 40 C, which means the tires are about 1.5 7 inches wide, while Marlin bikes use tires that are 2 inches wide at the rear and 2.2 inches wide. Wide in the front for better traction and comfort on trails and on the road, Marlin tires will also be more resistant to punctures and other damage.

The handlebars and stem are also different with Marlin bikes, which use wider handlebars for better bike control on the trails and generally a shorter stem that allows for better turning. In tight corners, the Dual Sport has a longer stem which offers more stability at higher speeds when you're going faster on the road and narrower handlebars which may be easier if you're riding in tighter areas, but generally the handlebars are narrower. Narrow ones will accompany a longer one. Next we have the brakes in the case of these two motorcycles, the dual sport uses mechanical disc brakes while the Marlin 5 uses hydraulic disc brakes, the hydraulic brakes have better braking power than the mechanical ones and work better in all weather conditions.

They require little maintenance after installation, but that being said, mechanical disc brakes should be completely fine for the type of typing the dual sport is designed for, as my personal hybrid bike also has mechanical disc brakes and doesn't. I have had issues in terms of braking power and the final component I will talk about is the transmission. Now both bikes have a 3 by 7 drivetrain using Shimano Attorney and Shimano Altus parts, but the Cosette dual sport is different as it has 14 teeth on the smaller one. sprocket and 34 teeth on the largest sprocket compared to the Marlin 5s Cosette 12 to 32 teeth, the cranks are also different and although both bikes have three chainrings at the front, the dual sport uses forty-eight to thirty and eight to twenty-eight and two from high to low, while the Marlin uses a forty-two to thirty-four to twenty-four, the dealer sport has more teeth on the chainrings to account for the greater number of teeth on the cassette , but the Marlin has better gear ratios overall.

There is also a slight difference between these bikes and dual sport bikes will always be lighter than Marlins as they have a lighter frame and wheels due to the overall narrower width. I would say the main difference between these bikes is the frame and wheel. but to sum it all up again, look at the dual sport line if you want a good touring or fitness bike that is more durable and comfortable than a road bike, but look at the Marlin

series

if you want a beginner mountain bike for riding around walking trails. or a very sturdy commuter bike that you would have to worry about less overall and that's it for this video.

I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope this has helped you understand which bike serves what purpose and if so please like the video. and subscribe to find out and leave a comment if you have any suggestions or anything to add, but with that, thank you so much for watching and keep riding your bike.