New Lightweight wheels that cost as much as a WorldTour bike, Giro fever continues and a '70s saddle makes a comeback

Preparations for the Tour de France are stepping up all over the peloton and for BORA - hansgrohe, they head to the 2024Critrium du Dauphin with an incredibly strong team, headlined by a trio of potential general classification challengers, Primoz Roglic, Jai Hindley and Aleksandr Vlasov.For the...

Last week Marin launched an all-new aluminum Alpine Trail E enduro ebike powered by the torquey Bosch CX with a big 750Wh battery. And its a beast. With all the big mountain travel and much of the adjustability of their recent meat-powered enduro bike, this pedal-assist enduro eMTB is a super capable ride. Ideal for mountain e-bikers looking to tackle the most technical trails, but with a powerful boost to get back up the hill fast for lap after lap good times2024 Marin Alpine Trail E Bosch 160mm alloy enduro ebike(Photo Mountain Bike Connection Winter/Rupert Fowler)Marin calls this new Alpine Trail E Bosch ebike the biggest, baddest beast of their MTB lineup. A big step up from the previous eMTB generation of the Alpine Trail family, this new aluminum enduro ebike features: 10mm more travel front & rear, an improved long-travel suspension design, more capable geometry, more rider style adjustability, a more powerful motor, and longer pedal-assist range. Whats new?(Photo BCA/Rupert Fowler)The logical starting point is the switch to a Bosch ebike powertrain. Marin now powers the revamped Alpine Trail E with the popular 85Nm Bosch Performance CX motor. Inside its massive hydroformed downtube is a big 750Wh PowerTube battery, offering almost 50% more juice than the previous generation. (Photo BCA/Rupert Fowler)And it all is controlled by a tidy Bluetooth wireless lefthand thumb switch with a simple multi-color LED battery & mode indicator just behind your headset.4-bar upgrade(Photo BCA/Rupert Fowler)Next up, a new suspension design. The new Marin Alpine Trail E Bosch now gets 160mm of rear wheel travel paired to 170mm forks. Thats just 10mm more than the previous Shimano-powered eMTBs. But now its with a proper 4-bar suspension layout that promises more active suspension and a sense of even more travel (vs. the previous faux-bar design). Marin moves the rear end pivot onto the chainstay, calling it MultiTrac 2 LT. Its the same as on the newly updated regular Alpine Trail enduro bike, and was created to reduce anti-rise, allowing for better chassis control while braking, more mid-stroke support, and better feel at bottom out. Marin describes it as a gamechanger for their longer travel bikes. Adjustable enduro ebike geometry too!(Photo Mountain Bike Connection Winter/Mirror Media)Like the enduro bike, Marin makes their enduro ebike adjustable, as well.(Photo BCA/Rupert Fowler)The new MultiTrac 2 LT layout had the added benefit of neatly integrating a chainstay flip-chip to let riders easily swap chainstay length & bottom bracket height depending on their preferred riding style. Pick a High bottom bracket/Short chainstay length for more agility or a Low/Long position for more stability. BB height and chainstay length both change by 7mm a relatively small tweak to adapt the ebike to your preference, without doing anything too drastic.It also gets an adjustable headset. That means the new ebike starts with a Zero-offset headset. Or you can drop in the angle-adjust upper headset cup and change the head angle by +/-0.6. Dont worry, no internal cables through the headset, so this is a quick and easy change.(click to zoom)From its low position baseline, the new Marin Alpine Trail E Bosch aims to be a bit more modern geometry-wise compared to its same-travel predecessor. But the old bike was already quite long & slack, so no huge changes. Now with just 3 sizes available M-XL (but no more S) these sizes gets wider Reach range, generally shifting rider weight forward, while still fitting most riders. Seattube are a bit steeper to match, as well.Its headtube angle starts the same in Low mode at 63, or half a degree steeper from the High mode starting point at 63.5, hinting at a bit more agility. But with the adjustable upper cup, head angles go as slack as 62.4 or as steep as 64.Tech detailsThe new aluminum Marin Alpine Trail E Bosch now features a new 34.9mm dropper post diameter, UDH for future-proof drivetrains, and conventional internal cable routing through ports in the sides of the downtube with rubber membrane seals to keep the elements out.Marin gives the Alpine Trail E lots of heavy-duty frame protection. Theres wrap-around rubber chainstay guard and seatstay protectors to ward off chain rattle. And also the big 30% fiberglass-infused-nylon downtube and motor casing protection.Riding Impressions(Photo BCA/Mirror Media)I ride a lot of steep rocky trails, so I really like the ability to set the ebike up with the Higher bottom bracket / Shorter chainstay position, while still being able to pick how steep I want the head angle. Frankly, I feel like 63.5 in my preferred 0-offset is plenty slack, while still being able to muscle this heavy ebike around tight turns. But, its nice to know that I could make it slacker if ended up riding more on faster, straighter trails.(Photo BCA/Mirror Media)I had not ridden the previous Alpine Trail E, so cant attest to its relative improvements. But I did get to smash this version down a mix of steep rocky trails, tight & slick technical tracks, and high-speed open singletrack. And the new Marin Alpine Trail E Bosch just smashes down the hills, and was happy to help spin me back up to the top to do it again and again. (Photo BCA/Mirror Media)Now, its undeniable that this is a heavy ebike. Beefy alloy frame + big Bosch motor & mega battery + e-enduro capable components all adds up. The large E2 that I tested weighed 27.8kg (61.3lb) without pedals. It takes quite a bit of muscle to push that around on tight trails. But the geometry seemed well-matched to the weight. And the Alpine Trail E liked to stay planted on the trail. A side benefit to smaller, lighter riders though, is youll have no trouble getting an active suspension feel.One tiny, but super-appreciated detail. Sure, its nice that the ebike comes specd with sticky Vee tires that I know. But also that Marin actually specs these ebikes with Cush Core Pro tire inserts and their own sealant, straight off the bikeshop floor.2024 Marin Alpine Trail E Bosch Pricing, options & availabilityMarin only has two models of the new Alpine Trail E Bosch ebike. Both share the same 160mm travel Series 4 Aluminum frame, Bosch Performance CX motor, and 750Wh internal battery. And they both also get a mixed 29/27.5 mullet wheel size setup. Plus, 170mm forks, powerful 4-piston brakes, and big 203mm rotors to bring these beasts to a stop.2024 Marin Alpine Trail E1 BoschThe Alpine Trail E1 Bosch is more of the entry point at $5700 /6300 with a Marzocchi Z1 fork & CR Coil shock, a Shimano CUES 10-speed LinkGlide drivetrain, and TRP Slate EVO brakes.2024 Marin Alpine Trail E2 BoschThe ebike I tested was the $6600 / 7250 Marin Alpine Trail E2 Bosch with a Fox 38 Performance Elite fork, DHX2 Performance Elite coil shock, an XT 12-speed drivetrain, and powerful TRP DH-R EVO brakes.(Photo BCA/Mirror Media)Both are available now through your local Marin dealer bikeshop. The old Shimano versions of the Alpine Trail E carry over without the newfound adjustability, but now with lower pricing.MarinBikes.comThe post First Rides: Marin Alpine Trail E Bosch Enduro eBike, Smashing Downhill & Zipping Back Up! appeared first on Bikerumor.

Brand new wheels designed for the two faces of gravel: speed and exploration. Theyre well designed, but also very expensive

Although the Giro d'Italia is fresh in the rear view mirror and the Tour de France is quickly approaching, for Javier Guillen, the Vuelta a Espana is always front and centre of the mind. The race organiser also has eluded to some exciting plans for the race's future."We want La Vuelta to continue gr...

Lennert van Eetvelt began his year on a high, winning Trofeo Serra Tramuntana and then the queen stage and overall classification at the UAE Tour. A dream start, followed by a nightmare. He hasn't raced for almost three months, and has now gotten hit by a car as he trained for a return to the peloto...

On the 1st of June we have got another Belgian one-day race. On this day, the classics riders and sprinters will have their eyes on the Heistse Pijl. We preview the race ahead.The 195-kilometer race is one that is mostly flat, but the one climb that the riders will face is placed in a location wher...

The Brussels Cycling Classic takes place on the 2nd of June this year and it is one of the many high-level Belgian classics over this period of time. Classics specialists will both have the opportunity to succeed in this race. We preview he race ahead.The race is long with 214.5 kilometers on the m...

Having made a very successful start to his career at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the sky seems to be the limit for Matteo Jorgenson. The American himself though, isn't sure a future as a Grand Tour classification rider is on the cards for him."Personally, I am honestly not convinced yet, but it is a...

Bjarne Riis was the first ever Danish rider to win the Tour de France, back in 1996, and over the past two years he has seen his nation rise to the very top of the Grand Tour world with Jonas Vingegaard. The defending champion's compatriot has no doubt that Vingegaard will be at the Tour, but does w...