Marin launch the new Alpine Trail E, giving a motor and new geometry to their popular trail bike. The new e-MTB gets either a Shimano STEPS EP8 or a STEPS E7000 motor, some budget-friendly spec choices and a coil rear shock on both bikes for some hard riding. 

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The new 2021 keeps the Alpine Trail name, albeit with an E suffix, with a brand new alloy frame is built to accommodate the motor and features some progressive geometry copied from the brand's Alpine Trail 'acoustic' bike. The e-bike gets half a degree slacker headtube angle at 63°, 5mm longer chainstays at 435mm. The e-bike keeps the steep 78° seat tube angle which is great to see. In terms of travel, the electric version is also 150mm at the rear and 160mm up front. 

The bike is mullet only too with a 29 x 2.5” front wheels and tyre and 27.5 x 2.8” pairing at the rear. We agree with Marin, a mullet set up works pretty well on e-bikes, the larger diameter front wheel rolls over most any trail obstacle and offering good cornering traction whilst the smaller rear wheel allows the rider to move the bike around more easily. 

The Shimano motor and battery are integrated into the frame, there are two specifications of bikes the Alpine Trail E1 and the Alpine Trail E2, the latter being the higher spec model which gets the new STEPS EP8 motor and. 630Wh battery. The E1 is equipped with the older E7000 motor and a smaller 504Wh battery. ​

Alpine Trail E2:

• Fox 38 Performance Elite/Float DHX2 Performance Elite suspension
• Shimano STEPS EP8 system, 630Wh internal battery
• Shimano XT/SLX 12-speed drivetrain, 10-51t cassette
• Shimano SLX 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes w/203mm rotors
• Maxxis Assegai/Minion DHR tires
• E*Thirteen e-spec crankset
• Deity handlebar & stem
• £5,695

Alpine Trail E1:

• RockShox 35 Gold/Super Deluxe Coil R suspension
• Shimano STEPS E7000 system, 504Wh internal battery
• Shimano Deore 10-speed drivetrain, 11-46t cassette
• Shimano MT420 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes w/203mm rotors
• Maxxis Assegai/Minion DHR tires
• £4,295
   
• More details here - www.marinbikes.com

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