The Marin Rift Zone EL is a new lightweight e-bike straight out of California, it comes with the punchy Bosch’s SX motor, 29in wheels and tyres built for dust. It’s Extra Light in name only though, the alloy frame and suspension design combine to push this little ripper above 21kg and it’s ultimately heavier than most of the competition.

Too heavy by half (a kilo) then? Not necessarily, the best lightweight e-bikes encompass a vast range of weights, from 15kg right up to 22kg in some cases. Besides, plenty of riders would say it’s not the weight that matters, it’s what you do with it that counts. Marin has done a job on the Rift Zone EL, it’s a downhill slayer of a bike capable of incredible things for a lightweight eeb and that may well be its redeeming feature.

The Rift Zone EL XR is a mid-powered e-bike, but it’s on the portly side at over 21kg

Marin Rift Zone EL need to know

• Mid-power SL e-bike with Bosch SX motor, 55Nm torque and removable 400Wh battery
• Alloy frame with 29er wheels delivers 140mm travel, matched to a 150mm fork
• Plus MultiTrac suspension and massive sizing options gives it a gravity bias
• Rider-focussed spec choices, with Fox Performance Elite shock and fork on the XR bike
• Three bikes in the range, starting at £4,699 for the EL1, topping out at the XR (£6699)

Do SL e-bikes actually have to be light in weight to work well? We kick this idea around a lot at mbr, bike tester Alan Muldoon reckons not necessarily as long as they feel light once you’re riding them, or in other words if the suspension is tuned just so – see the Specialized Levo SL Alloy for starters.

There’s a lot of truth in the idea that good suspension, optimum stiffness and perfect geometry on a bike are more important than keeping it under 20kg in weight. On the other hand you can’t deny the physics here, weight still matters on a mountain bike becase lighter bikes genuinely are easier to move around, change direction and jump and for most of us that’s the essence of mountain biking.

Which idea is right? The answer is they both are – Muldoon is a properly skilful rider, he’s from a BMX background and has such good technique he could jump a Tesco trolley. Probably has done. I need help from a bike, I want the suspension to be sorted and the bike to be lighter and easier to loft, and I reckon most riders out there need the same.

Which brings me to the new Marin Rift Zone EL, an SL e-bike that at 21kg in size XL is just on the cusp of being too heavy. Don’t worry about it though, there are plenty of redeeming features…

Most brands build their SL e-bikes from light weight carbon, but Marin has gone with an alloy frame

Frame and geometry

The new Rift Zone EL shares plenty with Marin’s full power Rift Zone, itself developed just last year. It’s got the same MultiTrac four-bar suspension design, the same 140mm travel and the same Marin Series 4 alloy frame material and both bikes are 29ers too. On paper the EL is really just a lighter and less powerful Rift Zone then.

The Bosch Smart System is pretty much problem free, the only trouble you’ve got is the inherent rattle in the SX motor… but not on the Rift Zone I rode

It has a mid powered motor instead of an 85Nm Shimano EP801 though, Marin’s used the Bosch Performance Line SX motor for the new EL. The stats are decent with 55Nm torque, 600W and a big 400Wh CompactTube battery in the downtube. It’s a great balance of power, battery capacity and reliability, with other systems like the Specialized 1.2, Fazua and TQ all proving themselves either underpowered, without sufficient battery, unreliable, or a mix of the three.

Undo the two retainer bolts in the downtube and the Marin Rift Zone EL’s battery will slide out the BB area

Carbon is the choice of material for most brand’s lightweight e-bikes because it’s light, but there are some brands using alloy – Mondraker just released the SLY, and Spesh has its Levo SL, meaning the Rift Zone EL is by no means the only option if you’re after a cheaper way into the lightweight world. Although it’s got to be said that Canyon is killing it right now on price with its entry level SL bikes like the Spectrail:ONfly.

I love a removable battery on an e-bike because I can charge the battery ready for the next ride without lugging the bike out of the car. Marin’s gone for one with the Rift Zone EL but I think it’s a mistake here because it makes an already heavy bike weightier still, thanks to the necessary frame reinforcement required.

Check out how far the motor sits in the Rift Zone EL

The battery and the downtube it resides in is pushed really far forward on the Rift Zone EL, and even the motor itself projects further forward of the BB shell area than most e-bikes I’ve ridden. This is important because it probably helps give the bike a really big front and its big reach figures, 520mm on the size XL I rode and a still big 490mm on the Large.

The Rift Zone EL is a big bike then, there’s just one back end across all sizes and it measures up at 440mm, while the 340mm bottom bracket height feels good and low, especially as the bike tends to sit into its travel. There’s no super-aggressive head angle though, at 65, but you can slacken or steepen it either way by 0.5 thanks to a supplied upper headset spacer.

I love the Rift Zone’s plush suspension feel, generated through a basic four-bar design and Fox Performance Elite shock

Suspension

Marin uses a suspension design called MultiTrac for its shorter travel bikes, it reckons you get the sensitivity of a single pivot system this way, and the control of a four-bar design.

The top end XR bike gets Performance Elite level Fox suspension, it’s got the same damper then as the Factory shocks but for less money. Up front is a 36 with 150mm travel, while the rear suspension generates 140mm through a Float X shock.

To be fair to Marin this Forekaster tyre is really quick rolling… but it’s not grippy enough on an e-bike in winter

Components

Perhaps this is a Californian thing, but the tyre choice on the Rift Zone EL is pretty weird. On your front wheel is a MaxxGrip Minion DHF that sucks itself to every kind of terrain going, but rolls pretty slow, while on the back is a Forekaster with some of the shallowest lugs around.

This might work in dry and dusty conditions on the Pacific coast but here in the UK there’s a distinct lack of grip from the back end on steep, slippery stuff. It’s something of a disconnect front to back then, only redeemed by the active rear end that makes up for some of the tyre’s disappointments. The EXO+ sidewall protection is fine, but for a short travel e-bike like this I’d rather have a MaxTerra compound front and rear to give the bike more zip.

Magura brakes have great power, but the pistons sit too close to the rotors and practically always rub in my experience

There’s one more bad component choice I’ve got to get out of the way too before I get to the good stuff, and that’s Magura’s Magura MT7 HTC brakes. The power they generate through 203mm rotors is wild and something I can’t do without on an e-bike, although it’s wasted on the rear as the tyre loses traction long before the brakes run out of grunt. The lever action is positive too if a little on-off. But there’s just not enough tolerance between the pads and it proved impossible to stop one side or the other from touching the rotor.

This is the third bike with Maguras I’ve ridden lately, after Production Privee’s Shan Five and Cube’s AMS Hybrid One44, and they’ve all suffered from the same problem. Honestly, it’s almost a deal breaker now for me on a bike.

Marin etches a line on its bars so you can roll them into the perfect position

The rest of the spec is great, the Marin bar and stem are stiff and shaped right, the own brand grips are actually terrific with good squish and feel, while the PNW dropper post lever is about the best I’ve tried. SRAM’s GX AXS T-type worked great, I’ve got used to grinding the gears now and changing under load without any consequences.

Marin’s bar and grips are bang on, and the SRAM shifter pods have great feel too

Marin Rift Zone EL range

Rift Zone EL1 £4,699

• Series 4 aluminum lightweight E MultiTrac frame w/ 140mm rear travel & adjustable HTA
• Marzocchi Bomber Z1 140mm fork/Bomber Air Inline shock w/ custom tune
• Shimano CUES 10-speed drivetrain
• TRP Slate EVO hydraulic disc brakes w/ 203mm rotors
• MSRP $4799 (US), 5399€ (EU), £4699 (UK), $6499 (CAN)

Rift Zone EL2 £5,699

• Series 4 aluminum lightweight E MultiTrac frame w/ 140mm rear travel & adjustable HTA
• Fox 36 Performance 150mm fork, Float X Performance Elite shock w/ custom tune
• SRAM GX Eagle Lunar 12-speed drivetrain
• SRAM Code Bronze 4-piston brakes w/ 200mm HS2 rotors
• MSRP $5999 (US), 6499€ (EU), £5699 (UK), $7999 (CAN)

The top end XR looks great in the coppery brown colour

Rift Zone EL XR £6599

• Series 4 aluminum lightweight E MultiTrac frame w/ 140mm rear travel & adjustable HTA
• Fox 36 Performance Elite 150mm fork, Float X Performance Elite shock w/ custom tune
• SRAM GX Eagle AXS T-Type 12-speed drivetrain
• Magura MT-7 4-piston brakes w/ 203mm rotors
• MSRP $6999 (US), 7699€ (EU), £6599(UK), $9399(CAN)

Performance

With just 140mm travel and a 150mm fork, and mid-power motor, the Marin Rift Zone EL should be a well balanced trail bike, happy going up and down in equal measure. In truth it’s an enduro bike in all but its travel, which can land you in all kinds of trouble when it runs out.

Out of the saddle climbing isn’t the Rift Zone’s best side, it’s not efficient or quick

Climbing

I’ve spent some time riding the Canyon Neuron:ONfly this year and like the Rift Zone EL it’s a 140mm SL e-bike with a Bosch motor. Well matched on paper then, but at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of climbing prowess. While the Canyon shot up climbs like a terrier, Marin’s active suspension means it sinks into its travel and stubbornly resists your efforts to crank uphill. In the lower gears and on steep ground it bobs up and down with each pedal stroke.

This is actually useful on some climbs where you can almost bounce the bike up more techie climbs, timing the SX motor’s raw power with the increase in grip this brings. It’s kind of effective then, and there’s a ton of grip to be had from the back end of the bike. But it’s certainly not efficient, especially coupled with that slow front tyre, draggy brakes and hefty overall weight. The Rift Zone EL is far from my bike of choice for covering big distances.

Fireroad climbs were similarly draggy, but here I used the climb switch to good effect, it keeps the back end from moving unduly. Naturally, I forgot to open it up for the first descent, but it’s something I could come to remember.

Would a mullet wheel setup help it in these kind of situations? Probably

Descending

The Rift Zone EL has some of the best suspension I’ve ridden on an SL e-bike, pretty much the total opposite of the Canyon Neuron:ONfly then. It’s gloriously sensitive right off the top of its travel and that translates to out and out grip on everything from flat turns to off-camber sections.

That slick rear tyre has no right to grip this well, to the point where I was beginning to regret criticising it and Marin’s spec choice so early on. However, I burped most of the sealant out while slapping it into a corner, probably because the 28psi I had in there was too low. Pumping it up hard is almost as bad, it makes it too pingy and overall it’s not up to the job.

Grip for days on roots and slippy mud

Apart from the occasional and violent loss of tyre pressure then, it’s a silent bike to ride, which was really surprising given that the SX motor is infamous for its freewheeling rattle. There aren’t any noisy cable rattles or chain slapping sounds either, meaning the tight downtube cable routing and chainstay protection is doing its job.

It’s definitely a stable and composed ride too, I had to double check Marin built this bike with just 140mm of travel, and the whole package feels more aggressive than most bikes with this build. I slackened out the head angle by half a degree to let the geometry keep pace with the bike’s character.

Jumping feels almost slow motion, stable and composed but not exactly fluid

The problem I have though is the bike is just too stable, too heavy and too reluctant to leave the ground. As I said earlier, elite level riders will get airborne on this bike just fine, but I found myself unable to make doubles I can reach on most other bikes.

I don’t think this sluggishness is all about the kilos either, afterall the bike’s not overweight by THAT much. Rather, it’s got that very stiff feel of a full power e-bike like the Specialized Turbo Levo, the front end feels unyielding.

The Rift Zone hammers natural descents

The thing I like best about SL e-bikes is just how similar they are to regular bikes… with that little extra suspension aplomb and stability to keep you trucking. But flicking between tight corners or picking a line down a trail can feel arduous on the Rift Zone EL, the bike is more in tune with a full power eeb than a regular pedal bike. I’m never much of a fan of mullet bikes as I’m tall enough not to feel the benefits, but it might actually here on the Rift Zone EL, easing it into corners and helping break traction more easily.