Nukeproof Scout 290 vs Trek Marlin 5

Oh, this is where you enjoy the hardtail. It is. Just Just throw it around. no problem

I ended up with a Trek Marlin 5. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but once I got to riding some real trails and improving my skills, I got a better idea of what I wanted to upgrade.

After returning back to biking for fitness found my 15year old Kona stinky a bit lacking on long xc rides.

I'm using my Marlin 5 every day for exercising, it makes my daily routine much easier and enjoyable. I have also used it to go biking on some trails, so much fun!

I will add a dropper, good pedals, cut the bars down to 760 and think about replacing the cheap fork. Gears do not appear to be set up correctly from unboxing and brakes still bedding in.

I replaced it with a Rockshox Recon and it's night and day, a different bike now. **I would rather have a rigid fork than a cheap coil fork.

The new geometry, fork suspension and especially the new tyre compounds make riding a completely new experience. This bike is seriously confidence-inspiring and stable at speed. I'm just waiting for One Up dropper posts to come back in stock, to make it a really competent trail bike.

I could have purchased a much, much nicer full suspension for the money I have put down, though that's just my own experience and will not be like yours necessarily. If there's a Marlin 6 available go for it (since it has an air fork), otherwise I'd highly recommend a Vitus Nucleus.

I accepted the proposed solution. Suddenly the medium sized Big Al frame became unavailable in the colour I opted for and they suggested a different colour. Then that was also suddenly unavailable. So this happened twice! Both times they where unable to follow through and support their own suggestion

I got a M frame and it has the 8x2 gears. Also the hydraulic disc brakes are super efficient.