3 things I LOVE and HATE about my MARIN ALPINE TRAIL E1 electric mountain bike!

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3 things I LOVE and HATE about my MARIN ALPINE TRAIL E1 electric mountain bike!

Рет қаралды 10,970

Күн бұрын

So, I've had the Marin Alpine Trail E1 for a few weeks now and have managed to do a couple of hundred kilometres of riding on it on a mix of trail centre and natural, DH style tracks.
In this short time I've managed to pick out what I think are the stand out good, and bad points about the bike. If you're looking to buy this bike you should definitely check out my thoughts.
0:00 - Introduction
1:00 - Price
1:25 - Specification
3:05 - Geometry
4:38 - Battery
5:51 - Brakes
6:28 - Weight
7:34 - Summary
A few quick stats:
£4,465
Rock Shock 35 Gold RL 29", Motion Control Damper, 160mm Travel
Rock Shock Super Deluxe Coil R
Shimano STEPS E7000 motor 60Nm
504Wh battery
Shimano MT420, 4-Piston Hydraulic Disc Brakes
Shimano Deore groupset with 10-speed 11-46t cassette
Weight ~24kgs
Bottom line is, even though there are some negatives, overall Marin have managed to produce a truly fantastic bike that will take on any trail you can throw at it. Sure, the small battery and heavy weight mean you won't be able to ride as far as something with a 630Wh battery but there is enough range in there to churn out a decent ride.
The stand out feature is the geometry which is truly confidence inspiring and has progressed my riding on leaps and bounds - the clips in this video on my local trails don't look much but the way the Marin takes them apart is far and away above any bike I've previously owned.
Would love to hear your thoughts on this bike and what other bikes you think stack up as its competition when you take into account price, specification and geometry.
If you've enjoyed this video please take a minute to like, comment and subscribe.

Пікірлер: 34

@robertbransby 3 жыл бұрын

Nice to hear a real life review, I'm hoping my E2 is due to arrive in the next few weeks and I can't wait.

@boutiquebikes6331 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Robert, it really is a great bike. Can't help but think the E2 has even better value at the price point it's at to be honest, but either model is great out of the box. It's the geometry which is a stand out point for me though - 63 degrees sounds really slack but it manages to ride well on all sorts of trails. It will be worth the wait when yours arrives though - enjoy!

@robertbransby 3 жыл бұрын

@@boutiquebikes6331 thanks mate, we looked around for ages and as you say, the Marin stood out above everything for geometry, spec and price.

@pete4130 2 жыл бұрын

I've got the E1 a few weeks. Only riding MTB just over a year and have had a Merida OneForty, Giant Reign and still have my Scott Ransom 920. Things I do like: 1 - Price. Nothing else came close (for me) to it for spec. Everything is pretty solid on it. 2 - Geometry. Been riding BMX for over 20 years so I appreciate the short back end. The bike is easy to pop and hop, despite its weight, which you don't notice when riding. It feels super grippy and planted. The slack head angle matched with the mullet set up and short back end feels great. The reach is longer than my Scott Ransom but I feel more in the E1 rather than feeling on the Ransom. The low standover also makes doing tables way easier to get the knee across the top tube. 3 - Range. Despite it being the 504wh battery, it works really well with the E7000 system. I ride with a friend who has a Focus Sam2 with a 640wh and EPS8 system and I consistently have about 5-10km more range than him. Granted I probably use the motor more efficiently than him. I've done 1500m climbs over 36km distance and still had about 16km left in ECO, probably more due to the short steep hills back to my house. 4 - Tubeless ready. Rims were already taped up really well so just add valves and sealant and job done. The things I don't like would be: 1- The stock spring. It's far too light. I have a medium and swapped it out to a 450lb, probably swap it to a 500lb and see how that feels. 2 - The dropper needs to be unweighted before it can be activated. Makes it less intuitive when you need to use it. 3 - Not having a lockout on the coil. Not a huge issue. 4 - Chain slap noise on bigger hits 5 - Fork sag under its own weight when wheeling/moving the bike can feel like the headset is loose. It's fine when riding. 6 - The fork bump stops on the frame. They seem like an afterthought. 6 - Battery size.....we always want a bigger battery. The brakes on the first ride felt pretty spongy, but I did some cheat bleeds/top ups and got air from the system and they feel much better now, less tiring on the arms on the descents. Here's my first ride on it, straight out of the box kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gbeBg9aEq8q9dHk.html And hitting a jump on some new trails for the first time. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/d-Byf8uSss_Fm6s.html

@boutiquebikes6331 2 жыл бұрын

Some great points there. I agree on the spring - stock one is a little too light really, although I've not felt any harsh bottom outs. I do think if manufacturers are going to specify a coil spring, they need to give you the option of picking a spring to suit your weight and riding style. That said, a new Rockshox spring doesn't exactly break the bank I guess.

@pete4130 2 жыл бұрын

I also rolled back firmware today, and switched region to USA so my top assisted speed for the climbs is 32kmh instead of 25kmh. I found 25kmh a bit restrictive pedalling into pump tracks and jump lines.

@pete4130 2 жыл бұрын

@@boutiquebikes6331 Yeah, stock is way too light. First ride I bottomed is out on the first jump I did. The 450 bottoms out easy too. It's linear. I'd be tempted to put a decent air spring on it. I prefer ramp up over suppleness. The best option I've looked into is the Springdex 390-430lb progressive spring but thats nearly $200 so I can live without it.

@Mad_Dad_MTB Жыл бұрын

I just picked up an new e2 for £4900 first ebike & couldn't say no at that price only had 1 ride on it but it's a weapon love it👌🏻

@mmodtomic7119 2 жыл бұрын

Stopped by my local Marin dealer (where I purchased 2 Marin Rift Zones last year) to ask about E1 availability. The owner kinda warned me off the Marin. Says he's had trouble with buyers coming back with broken off fork lockouts. I'm still interested because yeah, at this price your gonna have to look past some issues.

@YerDad632 Жыл бұрын

I’ve sold more than a few of them at my shop with zero issues. Another example of anecdotal evidence vs the real world.

@tonykasunic1 2 жыл бұрын

Great video review, thank you!!!!

@boutiquebikes6331 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks - glad you enjoyed it! 👍🏼

@constantactionstudio5857 2 жыл бұрын

well that's it! I'm buying the same bike

@buggermonkey94 Жыл бұрын

Bang some uber bikes race matrix pads on it transforms the brakes

@mjojrjr6231 10 ай бұрын

What is the size of your bike? and is 24kg includes the battery?

@johnmarkmier144 2 жыл бұрын

How long the battery before it goes offf?

@stuballs40 2 жыл бұрын

Hi there, what size frame are you riding and what height are you? Im 5.6 and thinking a medium for me

@boutiquebikes6331 2 жыл бұрын

I'm on a medium and I'm 5'8". Fits spot on - I'd say at 5'6" a medium would be a great fit for you.

@boutiquebikes6331 2 жыл бұрын

I'm on a medium and I'm 5'8". Fits spot on - I'd say at 5'6" a medium would be a great fit for you.

@stuballs40 2 жыл бұрын

Great review. Thanks mate

@dododale-ni7bf Жыл бұрын

it is a good to deal, i got this one for 4400 AUD, & it is an excellent bike, so much fun!!

@hanscoronado6804 2 жыл бұрын

Where is your location?

@boutiquebikes6331 2 жыл бұрын

North Wales, UK 👍🏼

@e-bike-bys-vykken7422 2 жыл бұрын

get some shimano xtr brakes

@prudenciogomezalmodovar8825 2 жыл бұрын

Marín, not Marin.

@jmo2752 2 жыл бұрын

Hee hee - that's a British thing... I used to pronounce it MAR-in too until I moved to California and realised it's Ma-RIN.

@JoshuaDomoslai 11 күн бұрын

@@jmo2752 Im from California and always have called it Mar-in lol. oh well

@_AdventureClub_ Жыл бұрын

Motor too weak.

@S14AA Жыл бұрын

Is it 85nM ?

@mtsecological3796 Жыл бұрын

Nerp. Pedaling in super rowdy western NC terrain here. Getting 25-30 and 5-6000 vert days and enough drops to be exhausted (4x as many as regular bike which has THE weakest motor - me). This is w/o swapping the battery out. Its about batt management. 85Nm is sweet, and still pedals easy in eco mode. Sure a bigger battery may mean bigger days - not worth the extra $1-2K for that, esp when ya have all the swank components ya wanna add and sell the takeoffs. This thing is a beast.