The Auckland Cycle Works Marra.
£7000 frame and shock only
Auckland Cycle Works Marra steel frame, with a Cane Creek Kitsuma G2 or Rockshox Vivid Air Ultimate RC2T.
Reviews:
Ben Haworth, Singletrack magazine. 06/11/2025
https://singletrackworld.com/2025/11/auckland-cycle-works-marra-v2-4-review/
“An extremely interesting bike that also happens to be extremely good. … Does it do anything above and beyond any existing offerings from the mainstream bike world? Yes, I think it does.”
“the KOLARP suspension was extremely adept at dealing with bumps and impacts”
“The Marra is a superb climber”
“It’s when braking that the Marra is most immediately different from more traditional designs. … the lack of stuttering or skipping about from the rear tyre contact patch is very impressive. The rear suspension doesn’t pack down, it stays neutral and still does suspensiony stuff. It means you can brake less and brake later.”
“So yeah, all in all I think the Auckland Cycle Works is a pretty exceptional mountain bike.”
Handmade in England
Building with Reynolds 853 chromoly steel gives us a proven build process and an incredibly resilient and high performance ride.
We worked with Reynolds to choose a mix of custom-drawn Reynolds 853, because it’s a steel tubeset that will take a pounding and gives us the compliance we wanted.
And we only work with the best fabricators, to ensure every frame is accurate, strong and beautiful.
Definition: “Marra” - your most trusted buddy.
We named this bike Marra for obvious reasons. For Enduro and DH racing, you need your bike to be a Marra.
We know we’ve achieved something very special with this bike. We will share details about the theory, about why and how this radically different bike works so well, but not just yet. It’s a complicated story to tell, and we’re not in a rush.
We could share the anti-squat and anti-rise graphs and leverage curves… but Marra is different. So our curves are very different. Yet the ride is surprisingly normal and predictable - this is confirmed by the review in Singletrackworld.com 6th Nov 2025
Notes on custom geometry:
We recommend a 63.5 degree head angle and a 77 degree seat tube angle.
The incredible ride stability means that Marra delivers the stability of a slacker head angle, but the 63.5 degree head angle means Marra stays nimble and fun on flatter trails.
Reach and stack - tell us your preferred numbers. We’ll work with you to get the perfect fit.
Cable routing: We build each bike to suit your brake setup (front right, or front left?), electronic or cable gears, and electronic or cable dropper. Choose for brake hose and cables to be internally routed through the front triangle, or fully external to make your race mechanic happy!
How to buy a Marra
Auckland Cycle Works and Inspiral Cycles are owned and run by the same people from the same premises in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, in England.
Auckland Cycle Works is just focused on the the research & development and on building the best bikes possible. Inspiral Cycles is Bishop’s local bike shop, with the workshop and the skills and the knowledge, and a nice website too.
The skills and knowledge gained at Inspiral Cycles, from working on thousands of different bikes, is an invaluable resource and a big part of what makes Auckland Cycle Works bikes such a mature product.
Click here to go straight to the Auckland Cycle Works Marra on Inspiral Cycles webpage.
