I review the Marin Alpine Trail E2. This is a 160/150mm travel E mountain bike. This bike is an XL so will be interesting to see how I cope with the long bike. Testing was done at Woodhill Mountain bike Park.
Love your videos Lance and nice review. I must be a bit like Graham and like something a bit different. I have also bought a Marin Alpine Trail E2 but a medium (You are welcome to ride it if you are down in Hawkes Bay). I am 59 and very new to mountain biking, but i am loving it. E-mtbs are just awesome.
It is a cool bike. I am sure you will love it. Must admit haven't ridden or been to the Hawkes Bay in a very long time. Would love to do a road trip at some stage.
Had the E2 for about a year now and it’s a beast! It’s like a monster truck of bikes. It’s my 4th E’b and my favourite, suspension’s excellent and steady as a rock through the rough- it smooths out trails so much you just wanna go faster. Slack front gives you confidence, short rear helps with the pop. Jumps really well for an E’b and as you said you don’t see many at the Bike park
Kia Ora Lance. Sold my 2018 Levo and bought the E1 version of this bike in late 2021. The suspension eats up the rough stuff no problem and it jumps as smooth as butter. I was nearly going to fork out the extra 2.5K for the E2 but glad I didn't as the 60 nm E7000 motor in Trail and turbo mode is plenty strong to power me up steep and tricky terrain. First bike I've ridden and owned with a coil rear and couldn't imagine going back to non-coil. Keep up the good work, bro 😎 (PS -- I'm 178cm and usually buy size L but opted for size M b/c the reach is 465. Glad I did as it's poppy and playful while also being stable as a rock DH. I can see how the XL would handle like a tank for you).
Marin's new Suspension platform works fantastic whether its ebike or A steam bike. and they are built very strong, very good fun geo. IMO They are in the top 3 Ebikes
I live in San Francisco, just south of Marin County where Mt. Tamalpais and the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame are both located. I've been living in SF since 2010 and EVERYBODY here pronounces it the same way you do: Mah-ren, NOT Mare-inn.
Great video, very impressive riding. I am just about to pull the trigger and get this bike while there are a couple of them available in the UK. I am 6.2. Should I get the XL, or will it be too stretched?
I am about 5.10 or 176cm. The XL was clearly a bit big but still rode it fine. I think at 6.2 you would be fine. Always nice if you can try the bike first but I appreciate not always possible. If you watch the channel you will see two of the guys have this bike and both love them.
Thank you for another great review. I wanted to buy that bike myself but supply issues in America made that impossible. Was the bike poppy? What did the slack front and short chainstay length feel like?
I would love to try the bike in a medium. I think it would have been so much more playful for me. I think a smaller bike would have been alot easier to pop over things.
Was gonna buy one of these but just couldn't find a medium anywhere. We rented E1s in Bentonville AR for a day and had a great day, though I'm pretty sure the forks were blown.
Cool bike! Alpine trail are very good 👍 design. Short in the back, low stand over, long, slack, jumps and climbs well! Chunky welds are strong 💪 😂. Very good value and cooler and tougher than more expensive stuff. Good bike to lend to people👊
I have ridden mostly air the last 15 years but recently have spent more time with coil shocks. I think the coil is great for these long travel e-bikes where weight is less of a concern. The downside to coil is they are less adjustable.
Heya Lance, great video, ballsy to do even the middle drop at night I reckon! I may have missed it as I keept on getting inturupted while watching video, but what is the Battery size on this bike?
@@bestdayevermtb2 excellent thanks! still some EP8 powered bikes coming out with 500wh batteries believe it or not! (Cannondale i'm looking at you :p )
You should delay your trip to Whistler till the next year after, They are replacing Fitz to an 8 pack chair next summer, will be awful for lines even with the new creekside gondola
This thing is a weapon and loves the punishment. I love this e-bike and it just ploughs through everything. Good fun in the jumps too and is stable as a rock. This thing eats G5s for breakfast. I wont even ride my Giant Reign anymore
How good is the battery life? I mainly want an e-bike because down here in my part of the world (Southern California) To get to the good local trails in the hills you gotta typically do a several mile climb which I don’t ride mountain bikes strictly for the work out. So any help getting to the top easier and quicker without giving meysf a heart attack I love ha. Curious how many km/miles you can go before the battery is about to die. But that bike sure looks sharp!!
Range is such a difficult question to answer as it varies so wildly. You could get 25-30km with a 100kg rider using turbo. A 70kg rider using echo on flat trails might get 70-80km out of a 630Wh battery. The great thing about e-bikes is you feel like you are a super fit rider and who doesn't like that feeling.
Hey Lance. I’m on the hunt for this bike at the moment. Judging from what I’ve seen, read and been told by a couple of mtb mechanics- the Marin E2 is a great price for the great components etc. especially the motor. I currently have a 2020 Specialized Enduro Expert. With 170 travel front and back as well as a token in the forks and rear suspension. Mainly because I an 95kgs and 169cm tall. But to be honest, I’m not an elite rider and don’t send every feature in the park either. How did you find the smaller amount of travel on this e-bike ? Did it bottom out? I have never ridden a coil bike either.
The travel is not an issue and bottoming out was not a problem. Coil gives a plush feel but the downside is less adjustable. If you are short they also assume you are light so smaller bikes often come with lighter weight coils. This of course can be changed. I am not sure if this is your first e bike but a lot of the normal mountain bike rules do not apply. On a normal mountain bike plush long travel bikes often don't pedal or climb well. On an e bike this is not really a concern as a 25kg long travel beast will still fly up the hill with a giant grin on your face.
My buddy rides the E2 in a size Med. He is 5'11 and 165lbs and he kept hitting his pedals on EVERYTHING! Pedal strikes galore regardless of the terrain. So he got a set of 155mm 5dev cranks and got the long spindles installed in his crank bros pedals, widening the q factor and providing a wider base for better balance. He loves it, says it's perfect now. No pedal strike issues and he says it's easier to weight the pedals and he feels more stable overall
I'm jsut getting back into riding after a 30 year break. I dont expect to be doing much jumping or racing just paved or groomed trails mostly. I've got a Rift Zone XR on order arriving next month. However I've now been looking at ebikes a bit as I understand them better. This one has me curious for sure.
@@bestdayevermtb2 Just got back from my local bike shop. There were two 2022 E2 XL's in stock with Marin. told him to order it which he did. We went back to look and there was zero stock. We confirmed my order went through so someone else bought the other one at the same time. They are showing September for the 2023 E2.
How does it compared to a Trek Rail? Meaning Geo, ridding EP8 vs CX4? Is this Marin more agro (endurish kind a way), than the Rail? Thanks a lot! Nice review
Glad you like the review. Must admit it has been a while since I have reviewed a Rail but hoping to do one soon. My friend had the Rail and swapped for the Marin and does prefer it. The Marin does have more of a slack downhill bike feel to it especially with the coil. The EP8 is less powerful than the Bosch but this is not a major issue.
I just test rode one. I have a Trek Rail. Riding the EXE was like getting a taste of an ebike without any power. I turned up all the settings to full power and it felt like eco mode for the rail at best. I decided against getting one it wasn't worth the weight difference if its basically powerless.
@@bestdayevermtb2 I like the lighting. It’s my first year I will be riding at night for winter and I’m looking for a good light. I read some reviews that they go bad within 1-2 years. What’s your take on that?
I don't know about that to be honest. Always difficult as nobody ever leaves a review saying the light works well and has lasted 10 years. You always hear about bad experiences.
@@bestdayevermtb2 You’re absolutely right. The only way to find out is to go through the experience personally. We tend to experience things through people bad experiences.
Personally, I'm a huge fan of the aluminum welds, especially when done as immaculately as the Marins. I'm sure they're done robotically, but they are still a work of art in my opinion. I just ordered one of these beasts, and I can't wait to start ripping it up on my backyard trails and beyond! How tall are you if you don't mind me asking?
Your first pronunciation of Marin is correct, they pronounce it a bunch of times in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rufnDhcNJUU.html
Wouldn't touch Shimano with a barge pole, I'm been waiting since February for my replacement motor... A lot of excuses.... Covid, shipping, manufacturing.. Blaa Blaa Blaa.. Stuck in limbo for 9 months..
That really sucks when that happens. Hopefully gets resolved soon. I know of quite a few people with ep8 motors and no issues that I am aware of. I do like the Bosch motor.
and to add about the carbon vs alloy, Modern alloy bikes generally suck. I've been through several Alloy frames this year they just crack at welds or bending etc Been alot of debate recently about alloy vs carbon but usually the carbon hate comes from the guys who cant afford it, its repairable to quite a degree where as a Alloy is trashed
I have broken quite a few bikes over the years. Quite a few alloy ones always at the welds. I smashed into a post and damaged a carbon frame once. Had the bike fixed and still have it. Carbon is a lot stronger but doesn't handle direct impacts as well.
The price of a carbon bike vs alloy is irrelevant when forking out 10k. I've had both and prefer the stiffness of carbon but have never damaged an alloy frame either. The reason I don't ride carbon is that it can't be recycled, at all. If your frame breaks it gets thrown away and dumped. For the sake of some stiffness I'd rather not leave a mess
@@robhughes645 It is certainly true that carbon frames cannot be recycled and we all need to think about things like this going forward. I do wonder though how many old bike frames actually get recycled. I imagine they simply end up as landfill. I could be wrong. Would be surprised if someone strip's a bike down at the dump and recycles the frame. If someone knows I would be interested.
@@robhughes645 but the life of a carbon frame is generally longer than an alloy and carbon can be repaired. More percentage of frames ending up in the bin is alloy. Alloy is flat out not as strong as carbon, carbon just obviously cant take those side impacts well. Some brands that do alloy overbuild or sacrifice stiffness the bike to stop it from cracking etc .. A few brands like commencal only make alloy but they dont even make strong frames they are super flexy and often crack, they are the yeti of the alloy world.
i need 8000 AUD to be jack, I got a Mercedes A 170 class for 8500 aud, NEAR NEW. 2015, I'm 1.86m & MERC feet me perfect, no too big or small!! have fun with BIKE MAFIA, I WILL HAVE FUN WITH MERC!! CHEERS
