Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS review | Enduro Bike of the Year contender

Marin has overhauled its Alpine Trail enduro bike for 2024, moving from the linkage-driven single-pivot design to a four-bar linkage suspension platform. Rear wheel travel has been bumped up to 160mm and is paired with a 170mm travel fork.

Geometry can be adjusted with the flip of a chip and the bike now features internal downtube storage.

It’s available in three different builds, with the SRAM GX Eagle AXS Transmission-equipped bike I tested at the top of the range.

While the previous-generation bike was already a speed-loving freak on the trail, this latest iteration takes things up a notch.

Pointed down steep natural gnar or high-speed bikepark tracks, the new Alpine Trail XR is in its element, and ready to fluff your ego at the same time.

It’s not as well-rounded as some of the best enduro bikes and, with a slight tweak to the spec, it could be even better, but its impressive descending performance stands out.

Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS frame and suspension details

The new Alpine Trail XR frame is built from Marin's Series Four aluminium and features its new MultiTrac 2 LT (long travel) suspension platform.

This sees the seat stay pivot moved down to the chainstay, switching the Alpine Trail from a single pivot swingarm with linkage-actuated shock design to a four-bar, Horst Link platform.

Marin says this reduces anti-rise (the effect the rear brake has on the suspension performance) improving chassis control when on the anchors.

It also means Marin can offer adjustable chainstay lengths and bottom bracket height into the mix, but more on that later.

Rear wheel travel has been bumped up from 150mm to 160mm, bringing the Alpine Trail XR in line with other enduro bikes on the market. However, it’s still one of the shorter travel bikes within our Enduro Bike of the Year test.

It's specced with a mixed/mullet wheel size set-up (29in front, 27.5in rear) as standard.

New in-frame storage in the downtube, which Marin dubs the Bear Box, contains a nylon bag with a weather-proof zip.

Bolted cable ports help ensure the internally routed cables remain rattle-free. Rubberised frame protection across the driveside chainstay, seatstay bottom bracket and downtube protects the bike.

A small rubber flap bridges the space between the front and rear triangles behind the main pivot, keeping mud out of the gap.

Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS geometry details

If you include the option to fit a 29in rear wheel, Marin says the Alpine Trail XR offers 12 possible geometry configurations.

Changing the orientation of the chips on the seatstay pivot enables the bike to accommodate a 29in rear wheel.

Changing the orientation of the flip chip on the chainstay pivot tweaks chainstay length and bottom bracket height.

• Long:
  • Chainstay length: 442mm
  • Bottom bracket height: 345mm
• Short:
  • Chainstay length: 435mm
  • Bottom bracket height: 352mm

The head angle can be altered by +/- 0.75 degrees from the standard 63-degree neutral setting using the supplied angled headset cup inserts.

With the slackest headset cup fitted, I measured the head angle to be a very downhill-focused 62.1 degrees, while the bottom bracket sat at just 333mm off the floor.

An extremely steep seat tube angle to improve climbing performance. With my saddle height set to my preferred pedalling position, I measured the seat angle at 79.6 degrees.

Reach for the medium frame I tested is 454mm. That's not exactly massive, but bear in mind the slack front results in an 825mm front centre in the slackest setting – that's nearly as long as a downhill bike.

Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS specification

Marin offers the new Alpine Trail XR in three different builds with prices ranging from £3,095 to the £5,250 bike I tested.

The top-end build comes with SRAM’s latest GX Eagle AXS Transmission wireless gearing.

SRAM also supplies its Code Bronze Stealth brakes with 200mm rotors at both ends.

Marin has specced wisely on both the fork and shock, with an Ultimate level RockShox ZEB fork and RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate coil shock.

Marin has specced a pair of Maxxis Assegai 3C MaxxGrip EXO+ tyres on the Alpine Trail XR.

That's a fine pairing, but the 3C MaxxGrip compound for the rear wheel has a noticeable effect on rolling speed.

Much of the finishing kit, including the bars, stem, wheels, saddle and seat post comes from Marin.

All in, the medium Alpine Trail XR I tested weighs 17.37kg without pedals.

Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS ride impressions

I tested the Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS on a wide range of terrain, including flowy jump lines and steep natural single track through to high-speed super rough bike park tracks.

This enabled me to get a good gauge on where the bike performed well but also highlight any potential limitations.

Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS setup

As the bike uses a coil shock, suspension setup took a little longer compared to an air-sprung bike.

The medium frame comes with a 350lb spring as standard. I weigh 68kg so, to get my preferred 30 per cent sag, I needed to switch to a 300lb spring.

I spent a couple of rides fiddling with the external adjusters, eventually winding off all the compression and rebound damping, leaving two clicks of hydraulic bottom out on the shock.

Up front, I ran 54.5psi in the fork with one volume spacer. I tinkered with a higher pressure and no spacers but my final setting felt more balanced, creating a bike I could push hard in challenging terrain.

After a few rides with the 3C MaxxGrip Assegai rear tyre in place, I switched to a faster-rolling 3C MaxxTerra version in the lighter EXO casing.

While not as tough, this held up during testing, giving the Alpine Trail XR a sprightlier feel on flatter sections.

I split my testing time between the neutral and slackest head angle positions. I stuck with the longer chainstay and lower bottom bracket setting throughout.

Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS climbing performance

The Alpine Trail XR's super steep seat tube angle perches you above the bottom bracket in an upright seated position.

Coupled with the decently tall front end, your weight feels concentrated through the saddle – not your hands and arms – when climbing.

The upright position feels initially strange on flatter trails but the raked-out front end and longer chainstays improve overall stability on steep climbs, with no front wheel lift.

The supple rear shock means rear wheel traction is never an issue, but it remains calm while pedalling, too, with no need to flick the low-speed compression lever.

While that might all sound rosy so far, the Alpine Trail XR is a solid beast of a bike when working against gravity.

Swapping that rear tyre for something easier-going helped, but don’t expect to be flying uphill with the wind in your hair.

Instead, patience is key on the climbs. The Alpine Trail XR is the heaviest of the eight bikes in our Enduro Bike of the Year. This makes it harder work than most, but the seated position means you’re, at least, sitting comfortably while you suffer.

Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS descending performance

The Alpine Trail XR isn't the sprightliest or most nimble bike on flat trails.

The bike's composed and glued-to-the-trail feel, coupled with super stable geometry requires a little more muscle to throw it about, switch up lines or dance from obstacle to obstacle, especially at slower speeds.

Exiting slow-speed turns highlights how slow the pickup on the freehub is, taking a beat to engage before you can put the power down.

I swapped the wheels for a pair of Nukeproof Horizon Pros, which have a faster pickup.

The improvement in freehub engagement speed made a difference, but the ride quality was also improved, with a more dynamic feel on mellower trails. It wasn’t a night-and-day leap in performance, but an improvement nonetheless.

Getting down and dirty

Once the trails steepen or speeds increase, the Alpine Trail XR shows its true colours.

This bike is an unapologetic downhill machine and feels incredible when pushed hard.

The centred ride position and hand-to-feet position Marin has created here make this one of the most confident enduro descenders on the market.

Throw the well-balanced suspension into the mix and you’ll soon find yourself pushing your boundaries on every trail you point it down – the Alpine Trail XR will not hold you back.

On steep, technical trails, the confident stance, stretched-out front end and low bottom bracket make for a formidable machine when slapping through turns.

No line is off-limits on this bike. I could find traction on technical cambers, open up drops into turns and link corners together with more confidence than any other bike on test.

High speeds equal maximum fun

When riding bikepark trails, adding a little more ramp-up via the shock’s hydraulic bottom-out adjuster helped the bike deal with big impacts better.

While 160mm of rear wheel travel might not sound like a lot for a contemporary enduro bike, the Alpine Trail XR uses it well.

The suspension platform provides all the traction you could want, but enough support and progression for higher loads and heavier hits.

Slacken the front end – which is an easy back-of-the-car job – and the Alpine Trail XR cries out to go faster.

Even with the ludicrously slack 62.1-degree head angle, I had no issues weighting the front wheel through turns and slinging the bike from berm to berm at speed.

It easily holds its pace and momentum, tightly tracking the trail while giving enough back to pump and push through contours.

Throw it into a rock garden, drop your heels and you can let the bike get to work – keep the front wheel on your chosen line and hold on.

Though it's not a huge issue, the wheels feel a little numb in these situations – it's almost as if they absorb too much energy from both rider and trail.

Fancier wheels added a touch more playfulness to proceedings without dulling any of the bike's brutish, go-faster confidence I quickly grew to love.

These are niggles, though – as soon as this bike is pointed down a fast trail or steep track, almost everything is forgiven.

How does the Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS compare?

Although the Marin is £1,000 more expensive than the Trek Slash 8 Gen 6, they have much in common.

The Trek is slightly lighter at 17.01kg, though the Slash boasts 170mm of travel at the rear.

Thanks to some impressive pedalling characteristics, faster rolling tyres and a light shock tune, the Slash feels lighter on the trails.

That means it’s easier going on the climbs than the Marin, but both provide a comfortable seated climbing position.

Heading downhill, the Trek’s rear end does a better job ironing out square edge hits, but the Marin isn’t far behind.

The high-pivot Slash feels lively and more dynamic on mellow tracks than the Marin, but venture onto anything steeper or faster and the Marin certainly has the edge.

If you’re looking for all-out downhill performance, the Marin, especially the mid-priced model, is the safest bet. It can be pushed harder with more confidence than the Slash 8 Gen 6 which, in this particular spec, isn’t quite as capable.

Marin Alpine Trail XR AXS bottom line

The Marin might not be the sprightliest or best all-rounder, but with gravity on its side, this thing is like a flamboyant party animal reluctant to leave the dance floor. You’ll need to be playing the right songs for this to happen, though.

No line is off limits on the right trails or tracks – the confidence this bike provides is seriously impressive.

Swapping the wheels helped to create a more engaging feel on flatter tracks which we all have to ride from time to time.

Otherwise, if you’re in the market for a full-on enduro bruiser, the Alpine Trail XR is worth considering.