We’re well versed in electric bikes and we've all seen adventurous looking bikes laden with bikepacking kit, but e-assisted adventuring could well be the next big thing (possibly).
Marin recently launched its Pine Mountain E, a trail bike with a definite hint of adventure about it. Now, the brand has teamed up with Apidura to create a, thus-far, one-off frame bag specifically for the bike.
The Pine Mountain E, based on the do-it-all Pine Mountain, is a steel adventure-cum-trail bike with geometry that suggests it should be ideal for spins round your local woods. A Shimano STEPS motor gives you that big-mile range.
Shape wise, the Pine Mountain E's frame is long, with a 475mm reach (on a size large), 66-degree head and 75-degree seat angles, and fairly lengthy 450mm chainstays. If anything, this bike should be nice and stable, laden or not.
Up front, there’s a 120mm fork (the new RockShox 35 on the pricier Pine Mountain E2 model), while the bike also rolls on plus-sized Vee Rubber tyres — 27.5 × 2.8in.
The Pine Mountain E is driven by a Shimano SLX/XT 12-speed groupset, with a Sunrace cassette, and Shimano’s four-pot M520 brakes bring it all to a halt.
The frame is packed with adventure-ready details, not least the 11 bolt bosses inside and outside of the main triangle. The standard Pine Mountain has even more, with Marin envisioning that its bolt placement could help form a bolted standard for bikepacking accessories.
Further to the number of bosses are the handlebars, which have an extra cross-bar across the riser section, onto which a bar roll could easily be slung.
Apidura's prototype custom frame bag
The Pine Mountain E could well be a great addition to a fleet of bikes, but it’s the Apidura prototype bag that finishes this particular package off.
Apidura has a widening range of high-quality bike-packing bags, from frame bags to saddlebags. This one has been designed specifically for this bike, with the most obvious feature being its cut-out around the battery.
Hidden within the ripstop nylon bag though are a couple of smart touches.
By the seat tube there’s a compartment designed specifically to carry a spare battery — after all, if your ride is long enough to need luggage, there’s a fair chance the standard 500Wh battery won’t be enough.
Held neatly at the front of the pack is an integrated drinks reservoir, with the hydration tube popping out of the front of the pack and looping round to a clip on the bike’s exposed gear cable outer.
Attaching the bag looks like it could be a hassle, however inside is a plate with thumb bolts to attach it to the frame’s bolt bosses. Both zips and magnetic tabs are used to close and secure the bag.
At present, this is just a concept or prototype bag. Demand is likely to be relatively limited, so it’s unlikely to come to market. However, this demonstrates the possibilities that are there for integrating frame bags into a wide range of bikes, and may hint at a potential future for longer distance adventuring (though, we’d recommend you also pack your bike’s charger…).
More details on the Marin Pine Mountain E are available on Marin’s website, while Apidura has plenty of packs already available on its site.
