Marin Alpine Trail E2 E-Mountain Bike Review

The 2025 Alpine Trail E2 has undergone a complete redesign, bringing significant changes to its frame and performance. Marin’s message is clear, ‘more range, more travel, more capability!’ This year’s model comes courtesy of BikesOnline, delivered directly to consumers with minimal assembly required. Once again, we were impressed by the care taken during assembly and packaging. The Marin Alpine Trail E2 was out of the box and onto the workstand in no time.

Initial Impressions

A complete redesign of the Marin Alpine Trail E2 saw many changes to the frame and a simple no-nonsense message, delivering on the ‘more range, more travel, more capable’ motto. BikesOnline continues to impress us with the level of care in assembly and then packaging it all up for the consumer. The bike was delivered directly to our workshop, requiring minimal assembly, meaning I was able to get out the door and on the trails around 30min after delivery. 

The Marin Alpine Trail E2 is a big and hefty bike built for charging, so go easy getting this 28kg rig out of the box! The E2 is stacked with features; a huge battery and pre-installed Cushcore tubeless inserts front and rear. This could be the first bike tested that has come with them preinstalled from new, what a treat!

The suspension platform has changed considerably, with an increase of 10mm of travel at both ends. The 170mm/160mm travel is one of the longer and bigger hitting e-bikes available. The MultiTrac 2 LT suspension platform layout moves the rear pivot from the seat stay to a Horst link on the chainstay. Thisallows more control over braking forces and results in reduced anti-rise, as well as better mid-stroke support and bottom-out resistance: all the important stuff for the demands of a hard-charging e-bike.

There are neatly executed geometry adjustments of the frame too, the headtube has adjustable cups that are supplied and can steepen or slacken the head angle by 0.75 degrees either way of the 63-degree head angle. Chainstay length and BB height can be changed too, the long and low setting at 443mm chainstay and 347mm bottom bracket height and the short and high setting at 435mm and 352mm.

The huge straight downtube fully encloses a Bosch 750Wh battery that slides in and locks on a Bosch rail with minimal fuss. It can be accessed by removing the sump guard with just one handy bolt. The sump guard consists of 30% fibreglass-infused nylon and promises to deflect off things encountered on the trail, allowing any moisture that has entered the frame can drain out freely. We welcome the overbuilt construction of this sump guard/slide plate and are pretty sure it will get a workout given the low-slung and forward position of the downtube, time will tell how it stands up!

As already mentioned, the partial assembly from BikesOnline made the set-up process a breeze, but I always like to check things over before throwing ourselves into the fray on a test bike. Good news: and the build quality is great. Having the sometimes vexing task of Cushcore installation being taken care of was a weight off my shoulders. I had very little to do other than aligning the stem and bars, a minor brake caliper alignment and plugging the Alpine Trail on charge.

Suspension can be a little trickier when a bike is equipped with a coil shock, our size large came with a 500lb spring out of the box which according to Marin’s suspension reference guide was suited for an 86–91kg rider. At 75kg, my ‘dad bod’ was never going to achieve quite enough sag, but I do prefer a stiff setup and balanced the fork with that of the rear shock landing on 95psi up front in the Fox 38 with 2 tokens. 

On The Trail

The Alpine Trail is a brawler. Its aggressive low-slung geometry makes the new layout very stable and has allowed a more central seating position for the rider. A near vertical seat tube angle of 78.8 degrees and a tall 125mm head tube on my size large test bike make the position a commanding place to be out on the trail. There are three sizes available for the new Alpine Trail with reaches of 460mm in size medium, 490mm for size large (tested) and a whopping 520mm reach for the extra large. 

Many riders find themselves falling in-between one of the sizes and thankfully, due to the generous stand-over height, they can choose the reach that’s best for their preferred riding style; short and playful or long and stable. Combining this with the added benefits of multiple frame adjustments to the head angle and chainstay length means riders can fine-tune the size they choose with minimal effort and without the need for purchasing additional parts, top points for the Alpine Trail. 

Touch points are comfortable and a familiar affair, I am very picky with bars and grips favoring a comfortable damped feel to fend off fatigue. I was very impressed with Marin’s own 35mm 20mm rise alloy trail bar paired with the Marin Grizzly lock-on grip, simple with neat logos and a quality ride feel on the trail, not the familiar harsh alloy feel, nice! 

The dropper and saddle performed without issue, a smooth action expected from the large diameter 34.9mm dropper that is now expected on e-bikes that also assists in reducing flex and bushing/seal wear thanks to its thinker tubes. 

Braking is taken care of by TRP DH-R EVO brakes with thick 2.3mm 203mm rotors front and rear, they provide consistent braking in the steeps. Despite this, pulling up a large and capable rig such as the Alpine Trail may prompt owners to invest in a 220mm rotor for additional stopping power. 

The Vee Tire Co Attack HPL tyres are tasked with pushing that power to the trail. They feature durable E-Compound rubber and robust casings. We got on pretty well with the HPL’s but they certainly favour strength and durability over chemical grip and trail feel, noticeable when the conditions get steep and slick. Otherwise, they were completely hassle-free.

Shifting is a smooth and reliable pairing of Shimano XT 12-speed derailleur and SLX Shifter and cassette, it shifts under load very well and allows riders to keep on the power and haul up steep climbs without complaint. The Bosch Performance CX motor is brilliant and intuitive, and matches rider input well. Smooth changes are what are needed to reduce drive train wear, broken chains and forward momentum when it gets steep and both the drivetrain and drive unit deliver on this.

I have been fortunate to be on board the Alpine Train for some time now and ride it in a broad mix of terrain, as the components and geometry suggest, it feels most at home at speed on the rough stuff. Its weight is only noticeable when rapidly washing off speed or correcting a mistake, it’s balanced and unfazed when pushing hard. 

The one thing that does catch the Alpine Trail out is the lower speed technical features sometimes encountered on the steeps. Specifically its breakover angle due to the forward location of the downtube which does like to make contact if the rider doesn’t commit and drop in – if you just roll over the edge it may make contact. I also encountered contact pressing into rutted turns and driving the underside into the inside of the corner. I switched the long and low position to the shorter 435mm chainstay and higher bottom bracket with better results, partially due to the raised bottom bracket, but the reduced wheelbase also helped increase the breakover angle, all with no special tools.

Cornering is certainly aided by the 27.5” rear wheel and even in the shorted chainstay length the Alpine Trail E2 tracks nicely, deciding on a wider faster line suits its style better than squaring off a turn and trying to muscle your way through…but it can be done with some creative moves. Where the Alpine Trail comes alive is getting off the brakes, when I let it charge through the rough it is super stable, mostly unfazed and has only a small amount of pedal kickback for those who prefer flat pedals.

I have been frequenting some incredibly rough and rowdy trails of late and apart from the headset coming loose and a few little rattling noises (which is just part of the settling-in period for any long travel bike and something a first follow-up service would address easily) we have had a ride free from issues or complications.

Our Take

Looking for a long-travel, self-shuttling rig with a huge range? Something that has a reliable and intuitive power delivery with a carefully selected choice of components? Well the Alpine Trail E2 has been a fuss-free rig that has performed well on a variety of terrains but excels at higher speeds and on big hits thanks to its long and stable geometry, premium suspension and strong tyres and inserts.

I have enjoyed the improvements Marin has made to the Alpine Trail platform, now suiting more rider styles thanks to its myriad of frame adjustments and low standover, this will be a staple platform for Marin for years to come.