New value

New trail-focused electric mountain bike has 140mm of travel and easy internal cable routing

This competition is now closed

By Finlay Anderson

Published: April 17, 2023 at 7:00 am

The Marin Rift Zone E is a new trail-focused electric mountain bike based on the Californian brand's popular Rift Zone trail bike.

The new eMTB has 140mm of travel, 29in wheels and is designed for maximum fun on a wide variety of trails.

Three bikes are available at launch, starting at £4,355/$4,499/€4,999 for the Rift Zone E. The top-spec Rift Zone E2 will set you back £5,895/$6,299/€6,899.

Technical editor Alex Evans has been testing the new bike for the past few months – you can read his full verdict in our in-depth review of the new Marin Rift Zone E2.

The Rift Zone E's frame is made from Marin's Series 4 hydroformed aluminium tubing. This is the brand's top-spec alloy construction.

The bike features 140mm of suspension travel and internal cable routing.

Unlike many new mountain bikes, the cables route into the frame through ports at the side of the head tube, rather than through the headset. This should simplify servicing.

The new Marin Rift Zone E also uses SRAM's Universal Derailleur Hanger, future-proofing the bike and making it easy to find replacement hangers.

Protecting the aluminium frame is a chunky rubber chainstay cover, as well as bump stops located on the underside of the down tube.

These prevent contact between the frame and fork crown.

The Rift Zone E ships set up tubeless as standard and, unusually, also includes CushCore tyre inserts as stock on the Rift Zone E1 and E2 models.

Tubeless tyre inserts protect your rim from impacts and can help support your tyre, potentially improving control in certain terrain.

All models are powered by Shimano's STEPS electric bike motors and have easily removable, integrated batteries.

The Marin Rift Zone E is aimed squarely at trail riding and has the geometry to match.

A 65-degree head angle is paired with a 77-degree effective seat angle for a modern riding position on the climbs and descents.

In size large, the Rift Zone E gets a confidence-inspiring 485mm reach and a short 425mm seat tube for maximum bum-to-seat clearance and manoeuvrability.

440mm chainstays and a 348.5mm bottom bracket height are shared across all sizes.

Contributor

Finlay Anderson is a contributor at BikeRadar with more than five years of experience in the mountain bike industry. After getting hooked on enduro racing and moving to Scotland's Tweed Valley, Finlay found his passion producing visual and written content for some of the bike industry's leading media outlets and brands. He has worked as an editor and photographer for Enduro MTB Magazine, written for MBR magazine and bagged the front cover of MBUK Issue 412. Finlay spent two years following the Enduro World Series, capturing exciting stories from the world's fastest racers. When he's not working, Finlay loves sessioning turns at home and getting lost deep in the Scottish Borders on his gravel bike. As a keen rider, Finlay knows the importance of no-nonsense kit that stands up to the depths of Scottish winter.

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