After reviewing the Marin Gestalt X11, it's now the turn of the base model Gestalt to go through our test process. The cheapest bike in the range keeps the same svelte good looks of its pricier brother but with a very reasonable £750 price tag. We take a look at what you get for your money before heading out and getting it dirty. 

• Marin Gestalt X11 review
• Marin Four Corners review
• The best gravel bikes you can buy for under a grand

The Marin Gestalt is an 'all-road' bike or as Marin like to say, a 'Beyond Road' bike, meaning it's good to ride on the road and it'll happily take you off-road onto gravel paths without a blink of an eye or a twitch of a wheel. Our reviewer had this to say of the Gestalt X11, "If you want a gravel bike that doesn’t shy away from challenging and technical terrain but is right at home on the daily commute and long adventure ride, the new Gestalt X11 is a really solid choice."  We're guessing that the regular Gestalt will do much of the same and save us £1,250 at the same time. 

Marin says the Gestalt uses their Series 2 frame utilising 6016 alloy, this means you get a lightweight frame, internal routing, QR axels and rack and fender eyelets. We've been previously impressed by the lightweight nature of Marin's mountain bikes so have high hopes for this gravel bike too. By comparison, the Gestalt X11 uses the brands Series 3 6061 alloy Beyond Road frame, giving the bike flat mount discs and 142x12mm Thru-Axles front and rear. 

There are two bottle mount options inside the frame and. as we mentioned, rack and fender mounts where you need them. 

Our alloy Gestalt gets an alloy fork too and and a sealed bearing square taper bottom bracket which is a cheaper and heavier choice. This can be replaced with a threaded BB but you'd need to replace your crankset too. 

With regards to the kit specced on the Gestalt, you get a mix of components, there's Shimano Claris 2x8spd shifters and mechs with a SunRace 8-Speed 11-34T cassette and an FSA Tempo 50/34T crankset. Then there are Promax Render R Road Mechanical Disc brakes to sort out stopping duties. 

The wheels are a Marin own brand affair, with Marin 19mm inner width rims and Marin hubs. The tyres used are Schwalbe G-One Speed which are 700x 30c, these are a more road orientated that we might expect on a gravel bike though. The Gestalts that you will be able to buy will be specced with WTB Exposure Comp 700Cx32 tyres, we have Schwalbe's fitted as the WTB's weren't available at the time of shipping to us.

Marin says there is room in the frame and fork for up to 700x35c tyres, so there is plenty of room to fit something wider and knobblier if more off-road forays take your fancy. 

The finishing kit on the Gestalt is all own brand kit too, there's a Marin saddle, a Marin 60mm stem on our 50cm test bike and 400mm wide bars with a 12º flared drop.  

The geometry of the Gestalt is pretty similar to the Gestalt X and X11 bikes but our bike gets a slightly steeper head angle (71°), a slightly slacker seat tube angle (74.5°). Our Gestalt also gets longer seat tubes, higher standovers, longer effective top tubes, a slightly higher bottom bracket and shorter reach figures. Both bikes get the same short chainstay (415mm) and the same figures for head tube lengths. 

We are looking forward to seeing how the Gestalt performs, it looks like a good 'cycle to work scheme' bike that could be capable of some fun at the weekend too. Check back soon for a full review.  

• www.marinbikes.com

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