Dylan Tremblay’s newest video starts like a bad idea.
“What am I doing? Wandering through the woods with a backpack and some bike parts.”
He’s headed to a steep, jump-filled pocket of forest built by Mark Matthews, the Vancouver Island builder-rider known for huge hits and an even bigger work ethic.
“This whole forest is littered with massive jumps left behind by Mark Matthews, the legend, the man.”
Tremblay does not treat the place like a film set. He treats it like someone’s backyard masterpiece.
“Got to be respectful of Mark’s runways lips.”
A build for a rider he never met
The plan is simple: haul an old-school downhill bike into Matthews’ “Mega Drop” zone, bolt it together on the dirt and bring it back to life.
But the reason for doing it is heavier than the playful tone suggests.
“I’m doing this in memory of a rider who passed away. I don’t know his name, but we’ll call him Mike. We’re going to build a bike for Mike.”
The parts, he says, were dropped off at a local shop.
Tremblay frames the whole build as a second chance for a bike that still wants to be a bike.
“So, I just want this bike to live on, ride again, and I’ll be happy. He’ll be happy. His mom will be happy. We’re all going to be happy.”
The weird, wonderful details
As the Marin comes together on the forest floor, Tremblay nerds out on the era-specific quirks: the “ever popular Hayes hydraulic brake,” the “Mavic D 321 rims,” an old Marzocchi and a dropout design he clearly does not miss.
Then he looks up and calls into the trees like he’s summoning a local legend.
“Mark Matthews, where are you? Mark Matthews, come ride this bike.”
“What are you doing here?”
And then the best part happens: Matthews actually shows up. Yes it’s cheesy. But who cares. If you can watch this without a smile on your face, someone definitely urinated in your Corn Flakes this morning.
“Hey, is that Dylan? What are you doing here?”
Matthews takes one look at the rebuilt Marin and starts time travelling.
“Dude, this thing I remember being a grom and some of these parts on here. I dreamed of having the Race Face North Shore cranks.”
Tremblay offers him the keys to the throwback.
“What do you think? You want to try it out? Take for a little spin?”
Matthews is in.
“Yeah. Should we rip down one of the trails here? I’m really keen to try this, dude.”
A downhill bike that feels like XC
Watching Matthews ride the old Marin is the…
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