The newly unveiled bikes and kit getting us excited this month

ALL-CHANGE FOR MARIN’S E-BIKE

Alpine Trail E moves from Shimano to Bosch motor and more

Marin have upped the performance and power of their Alpine Trail E b-bike for 2025. They’ve moved from a Shimano motor to a Bosch Performance Line CX, with 85Nm of max torque and 600W of peak power, and have increased battery capacity to 750Wh.

The frame is new, too. It’s still made from the brand’s ‘Series 4’ aluminium, but uses a four-bar Horst-link suspension design instead of the previous single-pivot swingarm and rocker-actuated shock. There’s more travel on tap, as well– 160mm, up from 150mm. Marin says moving the rear pivot from the seatstay to the chainstay has allowed them to reduce anti-rise (to improve suspension performance while braking) and increase mid-stroke support and bottom-out resistance.

A new flip-chip changes the bottom bracket height by 5mm (347-352mm) and chainstay length by 8mm (435-443mm). It also steepens the head angle slightly, from 63 to 63.15 degrees. Adjustable headset cups can be used to adjust this angle by a further 0.75 degrees, giving a total range of 62.25 to 63.75 degrees. Reach figures span from 454mm on the medium to 515mm on the XL. The seat tube angle is around 78 degrees, regardless of the geometry settings.

Out back, a SRAM universal derailleur hanger makes the bike compatible with the latest wireless Eagle AXS Transmissions – although neither of the two Alpine Trail E models comes with one. One of the few things that hasn’t changed is that the bike still has a mullet wheel set-up (29in front, 650b rear). Pricing remains competitive, too.

KEY STATS

Travel: 160mm fork, 160mm rear via four-bar linkage
Wheels: 29in front, 650b rear
Frame: ‘Series 4’ aluminium
Geometry (M): 62.25 to 63.75-degree head angle, 78-degree seat tube angle, 515mm reach, 443-435mm chainstays
Pricing: £5,515-£6,385 
More info: www.marinbikes.com
Available: Now!