Marin Alpine Trail E1/2 thread

[Deep.5]

I have a tire question- ripped the sidewall on the rear tire and looking for a replacement.
It looks like maxxis DHR 27.5 2.8 tires don’t come in DD casing that i was hoping to get, only lighter casings.
Can anyone recommend a tough tire that will work for the 38mm internal width rim on the E2?
Doesn’t have to be maxxis.

 

[pete-E1]

I switched from the stock 2.8 to a schwalbe big betty 2.4 orange stripe (2nd softest compound) in the double down (2nd toughest casing) and its so much better than the stock 2.8 that comes with the bike.
I dont think i will go back to maxxis again. Schwalbe big betty or magic mary in the future for me.

 

[Deep.5]

I switched from the stock 2.8 to a schwalbe big betty 2.4 orange stripe (2nd softest compound) in the double down (2nd toughest casing) and its so much better than the stock 2.8 that comes with the bike.
I dont think i will go back to maxxis again. Schwalbe big betty or magic mary in the future for me.

Did you put that tire on the stock rim that came with the bike?
From what I read online maybe a narrower tire like a 2.4 isn’t a good fit for a wide rim like the stock one.

 

[pete-E1]

Same rim. Rin width and tyre width doesn't make much difference. Ghe 2.8s are really bad once they lose a small bit of thread. Floating over everything and no grip for me. I wouldnt go over 2.6.
I also run cushcore so i dont worry about the sidewall losing shape.
I eas riding jumps the other day for about 20 minutes, with less than 10psi in the rear with the cushcore and it was still rideable. I'd lost about 20psi in a week so got the pump out just in case.

 

[Deep.5]

Same rim. Rin width and tyre width doesn't make much difference. Ghe 2.8s are really bad once they lose a small bit of thread. Floating over everything and no grip for me. I wouldnt go over 2.6.
I also run cushcore so i dont worry about the sidewall losing shape.
I eas riding jumps the other day for about 20 minutes, with less than 10psi in the rear with the cushcore and it was still rideable. I'd lost about 20psi in a week so got the pump out just in case.

What do you think about this tire ?

Schwalbe Magic Mary BikePark Tire - Wire Bead - 27.5 x 2.4​

Schwalbe Magic Mary BikePark Tire - Wire Bead - 27.5 x 2.4 | REI Co-op

Built for gravity, Schwalbe Magic Mary BikePark 27.5 in. tire works just as hard in the bike park as it does on downhill training day, thanks to robust construction and a limits-pushing tread design.

www.rei.com

 

[pete-E1]

The wire bead isnt designed for tubeless and meant for park riding, with tubes and shuttling. Its a cheaper heavier alternative.
It depends if you are happy to run tubes or not with a heavier tire.

My stock maxxis 2.8 was sliding all over the place after 3 months. I got the schwalbe big betty about 1 year ago and its still going good. It did rain for 6 months here with no riding. Even so, its still out performing the maxxis.
I've got just over 1000km on my bike, so at least 600-700 are on the Schwalbe Big Betty. IT's still got really good grip after that time, compared to the 2.8 Maxxis which was useless after about 2 months.

A friend with his Focus Sam2 has 2 Schwalbe Magic Mary 2.6's purple stripe (softest compound) on his bike, with 100 or 1200km, about 15 months old, regular casing (no DH or double down) and his tyres are still performing really well after all that time/distance.

Another tyre option are the Michelin's. They do a good range of tyre similar to the Schwalbe's I believe. I haven't ridden them though.

I still run the stock Assegai on the front as its doing the job fine but unless i'm really stuck for a new tyre, I won't be buying Maxxis again unless I have to.

 

[Deep.5]

Great.
Thanks for all the advice.
The different models of tires are a bit confusing with different stickiness and casings.
I’ll try Schwalbe magic big betty
After tearing the side wall I’m ready to try a heavier casing.

 

[pete-E1]

Great.
Thanks for all the advice.
The different models of tires are a bit confusing with different stickiness and casings.
I’ll try Schwalbe magic big betty
After tearing the side wall I’m ready to try a heavier casing.

My friend with the Focus has the Magic Mary 2.6's purple (softest, grippiest compound) and regular casing, with over 1000km on them and they are still good. In saying that, he did go mullet so probably put a new 27.5 on the rear 200-300km ago. I actually have his old bike/wheel here fixing it up and his old 29er Magic Mary is still good.

I got the Big Betty Orange stripe (2nd softest...so technically less grippy and more hard wearing) in the double down casing.
Some of the trails I ride are steep chunky rocks and I smash through them at speed. I have noticed tiny nicks on the sidewall where the sealant has worked but no rips or tears. My rear is losing more air now over the course of a week but it probably needs new sealant installed.

I do run cushcore which in the past has been a really pain to install on some wheels/tyres and I expected the Schwalbe Big Betty, with the double down casing, especially in a 2.4 to be really really really hard to to install. To my surprise, it was the easiest install I've done with cushcore.
I never used to be a believer in Cushcore inserts but after riding them for a while, they are truly worth it.
Initially I had one in the rear and eventually put a spare one in the front wheel and the difference in grip, dampening and feel was instantly noticeable. The bike was far more compliant, nicer to ride, grippier on the front. It also really helps with tyre shape of the sidewall regardless of pressure.

My friend with the Focus Sam2, cracked and dented his stock Novotec/Focus rims on a small rockroll (notoriously weak rims) which pushed the rim in about 50mm. Completely lost all air and managed to do one of the steepest, hardest trails at about 90% of normal speed just with the cushcore inside the tyre.

 

[pete-E1]

This is the Magic Mary with about 700-800km on it and my Big Betty with about 700-800km on it.

The Magic Mary is worn a bit more being the softer compound. My Big betty still looks pretty aggressive after the distance I've put on it and I haven't felt its been losing traction when riding.

The old stock 2.8 after 2 months was literally floating across the ground and not giving me any bite at all. It felt like I was on ice.

 

[pete-E1]

Got a decent ride in today, hit some trails I don't normally ride regularly to try avoid as much climbing as possible as I was with a friend on a regular bike.

 

[Pezzar]

Great.
Thanks for all the advice.
The different models of tires are a bit confusing with different stickiness and casings.
I’ll try Schwalbe magic big betty
After tearing the side wall I’m ready to try a heavier casing.

Said it before but I really can't fault the Vee tyre combo I've got on the E2. Lots of grip, wear appears to be normal for an ebike, roll well, stuff walls and cheap as chips
So good I'm on my second pair

 

[Pezzar]

Hello all. Been talking to a chap who runs a bike shop repairing EP8 motors, he told me to ditch the E13 cranks as they are causing the crankshaft to snap, he says you should only be using Shimano cranks on the EP8.
Anyone else heard this?

 

[Majikow]

There seems to be some kind of grease noticeably leaking / building up on this suspension bolt. Just started happening around 500 miles. Anyone seen something like this? Bike still seems to be running fine (minus a broken apple nipple on the rear rim), but don’t remember seeing this issue for the last 3-4 months I’ve had the bike and doesn’t seem to be happening on any of the other bolts.

 

[Deep.5]

View attachment 103688View attachment 103689
There seems to be some kind of grease noticeably leaking / building up on this suspension bolt. Just started happening around 500 miles. Anyone seen something like this? Bike still seems to be running fine (minus a broken apple nipple on the rear rim), but don’t remember seeing this issue for the last 3-4 months I’ve had the bike and doesn’t seem to be happening on any of the other bolts.

My e2 doesn’t have this but my Santa Cruz tallboy does. Is this an indication of a problem or need for service?

 

[pete-E1]

I'd take the bolt off, clean it, feel how the bearing is, re-grease it and see what happens. have you washed it with a hose/low pressure water/high pressure water?
Water might have gotten in and picked up some grease/dirt and being worked out of the bearing.

 

[pete-E1]

Managed to get some NYE trains in at the local jumps.

 

[jsfuller]

Has anyone had problems with the seatstay pivots? Mine are loose at both ends. The bearings seem fine but the hardware/spacers seem to be worn out/loose and unable to be tightened. The rear end has lots of sideways movement Going to contact the dealer and see what they say. I have a mate with an E2 with similar problems. The bolts and hardware seem to be low quality and the frame not aligned well.

 

[pete-E1]

Ive had issues early on with the hardware bolts (torx) rounding out from tightening. I wouldn't be surprised about low quality hardware.

I've put a hard 1000km on my bike and dont have any movement i can notice.

I had a creaking shock but located it to the bottom shock bolt. Cleaned it, greased it and the creaking went away. While i had the rocker off i did notice some creaking in the seatstays and the dropout end pivots but not present when the bike is put together.

It sounds like you have worn bushings and need to be replaced.

 

[Deep.5]

Got a rear flat the other day and it’s tricky getting the axle threaded back onto the frame.
Seems like the holes don’t line up as precisely as my other bikes.

 

[Majikow]

I'd take the bolt off, clean it, feel how the bearing is, re-grease it and see what happens. have you washed it with a hose/low pressure water/high pressure water?
Water might have gotten in and picked up some grease/dirt and being worked out of the bearing.

Yeah I did clean it with a hose recently. That’s probably the what it is now that I think of it. It’s probably a water / grease mix.

 

[Deep.5]

Got a 27.5 2.4 big Betty super DH ultra soft and it was easy to install in the e2.
I’ve only ridden once on it so hard to tell but it feels very puncture resistant

 

[pete-E1]

Got a 27.5 2.4 big Betty super DH ultra soft and it was easy to install in the e2.
I’ve only ridden once on it so hard to tell but it feels very puncture resistant

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I have the double down version and had no issues. The grip is fantastic.

 

[mxh]

A few weeks in on my E2 now and liking it so far. One question though - I've got a large, and despite being right at the bottom of the recommended height (5''10) I still need the seat post sitting about 50mm above it's maximum insertion to get the seat to the right pedaling height.

Ideally I'd like to get the seat as low as possible when fully dropped, so could do with a longer dropper. The specs show that the Large comes with a 150mm dropper and the XL with a 170mm - has anyone tried putting a longer dropper in the large frame? Any problems with getting it in right down to the collar? Or alternatively, anyone know the maximum insertion length of the frame so that I can compare with dropper lengths?

 

[pete-E1]

Ive put a 190mm in a medium frame and it works fully slammed down. I got the Ks rage dropper or something. Works great and cheap.

 

[mxh]

Ive put a 190mm in a medium frame and it works fully slammed down. I got the Ks rage dropper or something. Works great and cheap.

That's good to know. Did the KS dropper come with it's own remote or did it work with the existing remote and cable?

 

[pete-E1]

That's good to know. Did the KS dropper come with it's own remote or did it work with the existing remote and cable?

Just the dropper but it worked fine with the remote.
I have an E1 so the E2 may have a different dropper/remote?

The ks i rage is a slightly different set up to hold the cable at the dropper. It uses the cylinder end of a brake cable to attach to the dropper. The stock one uses a small grub screw so you will probably need a new inner cable.

I also noticed my outer housing was chewed up and damaged where it turns at the bottom bracket/motor area and decided to replace that.....which was a bit of a nightmare as i managed to pull both the inner and outer housing from the frame (the inner cable wouldnt push through the damaged outer cable) and it was tricky to route the new outer housing through the frame, above the motor and up the seat tube. I had to drop the motor a little but that was all my own fault.

The dropper remote has a little grub screw to clamp the cable on that end.

So once you can easily pull the old inner cable out, youll need to feed the new inner cable down through the seat post end, so you'll have to pull the outer housing up the seatpost first to feed it in, then pull it back down again.

Basically the stock system you can feed the inner from the remote end and the ks i rage needs to be fed from the seatpost end of things.

 

[pete-E1]

I changed for the same reasons. I love the low standover but had to run the post high out of the frame for proper leg extension when climbing on asphalt roads. My post was about 40mm out of the frame with the stock dropper and I could live with that, so the extra 40mm with the 190mm dropper gave me lots of scope to run it slammed and maintain the same saddle height, or run it 20mm or 30mm out and have correct leg extension.

 

[Deep.5]

I broke a tooth on the chainring.
Does anyone know of a steel chainring compatible with the ep8 motor and shimano drivetrain?
I don’t care that it will be slightly heavier but it should be more durable. If there is one that will work…..
I found a shimano produced chainring and the e13 chairing which comes stock but both are aluminum.

 

[pete-E1]

Burgtec Thick-Thin Steel E-Bike Chain Ring - 104 BCD - Round - Black -

The perfect, steel, E-Bike thick-thin chainring for maximum chain retention and durability. Fits all e-bikes except Shimano with 104mm BCD spider.

www.mtbdirect.com.au

I broke a tooth on the chainring.
Does anyone know of a steel chainring compatible with the ep8 motor and shimano drivetrain?
I don’t care that it will be slightly heavier but it should be more durable. If there is one that will work…..
I found a shimano produced chainring and the e13 chairing which comes stock but both are aluminum.

 

[pete-E1]

Got out after some rain. Conditions were super greasy and slippery. Everything felt slow.

Got bitten by a huge ant, attacked by leeches, nearly rode over a red bellied black snake and one of the guys took a small crash and ended up with a rusty piece of old 2mm wire stuck in his calf about 50mm.