Alpine Trail E 2026

The 2026 Alpine Trail E is Marin's ground-up overhaul of its enduro eMTB, and it lands on the formula the category has converged on: a Bosch Gen 5 Performance Line CX motor (120Nm, 750W, 600% support with Extended Boost), an 800Wh battery, and 170/160mm of MultiTrac 2 (Horst-link) travel. The headline is the all-new Series 4 aluminium frame, which Marin says sheds 1,345g over the old bike (445g from the frame alone, plus a 100g-lighter Gen 5 motor and a 400g-lighter-but-bigger 800Wh battery). It's the classic 'loses weight, gains power' story — the previous bike was a 27.8kg bruiser on an 85Nm Gen 4 motor; this one drops to a claimed 26.45kg (EXR, size L) while jumping to 120Nm. Still not light, but the power-to-weight maths finally make sense.

Three builds span a wide price spread, all on Schwalbe Magic Mary Gravity Radial rubber. The E1 (£4,499) is the value entry — X-Fusion Vengeance HLR fork, Shimano CUES and TRP brakes, with the budget spent where it matters most. The E2 (£5,699) is the sweet spot, stepping up to a RockShox Zeb Select+/Vivid Air chassis, SRAM Eagle 70/90 Transmission and Maven Bronze brakes. The EXR (£6,899) is the flagship: Zeb Ultimate and Vivid Air Ultimate suspension, wireless SRAM GX Eagle AXS Transmission, Maven Silver brakes, DT Swiss wheels and a PNW cockpit.

Geometry is properly enduro and unusually adjustable. It runs as a mullet (29F/27.5R) or full 29in — rider's choice — with a 63.5° head angle and 78.5° seat angle, reaches from 435mm (a welcome new size S) to 520mm (XL), and 150mm cranks across the board to suit the low BB. Swap the headset cup for ±0.75°, and the Horst-pivot flip chip moves BB height 6mm (352→345mm) and chainstay length 8mm (442→450mm) — notably, the old model's 'long' chainstay is this bike's 'short'. Add a removable 800Wh battery (or the lighter 600Wh, or the PowerMore 250 extender), 37mm more ground clearance and a 5-year warranty, and it's a complete, modern, no-asterisks enduro eMTB at sharp money.