Marin Gestalt 2

Whether you need something to act as drop bar commuter, gravel adventurer or just a hugely versatile road machine, Marin's Gestalt 2 is likely to win you over with confident handling, even if the frame and fork can be a little unforgiving at times.

The Gestalt 2 is the middle bike in Marin's 'Beyond Road' range, hitting that all-important £1,000 Cycle To Work scheme price limit on the head, making it an attractive prospect as a standalone do-it-all machine or to supplement a mountain or road bike. Note, this is the 2017 model; it's relatively unchanged for 2018, though it is £150 more.

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The bike comes with 700C wheels shod in 30mm rubber, though there's decent enough clearance to go a bit fatter if you want. The butted aluminium frame is disc brake only and the fork has carbon legs but a straight 1 1/8in aluminium steerer. If you want a tapered steerer and thru-axles, you'll have to spring for the more expensive Gestalt 3. There's a full complement of mounts for racks and guards though, while the smooth welds and satin paint finish make the bike look like a higher dollar machine than it really is.

As befits a bike that straddles the divide between road and mountain biking, the kit is picked from both camps. The drivetrain is a rather clever mix. SRAM's 10-speed X7 mountain bike mech, with a clutch to help prevent the chain falling off, is paired to a no-name aluminium chainset with an external bottom bracket and single 42T ring with a narrow-wide tooth profile to keep things secure at that end. The cassette is a neat, wide-range 11-42T item from Sunrace and the shifting is via SRAM's Apex Double Tap levers.

It took a bit of tweaking to get the setup shifting as I wanted, with special attention to the B-tension screw on the mech being the secret to smooth gear changes, and once sorted it proved reliable.

Getting the gearing right for both on and off-road use is always going to be extremely tricky, but the ratios were about as good as you could expect. On the road it felt a touch gappy and I'd sometimes be hunting between ratios to get the right cadence. It's also fairly easy to spin out the 42T front ring once you start descending. Off-road, that's all much less of an issue, with the lowest ratio making some really rather steep climbs possible, provided you don't mind getting out of the saddle and stomping a knee-grinding cadence.

Less impressive are the TRP Spyre-C cable-operated disc brakes. Even with 160mm rotors, performance is best described as gutless and the lack of initial bite was rather unnerving at times. With a hefty enough pull, they would haul you up fairly well, and while most rim brakes would give a more positive feel, at least the discs were consistently average no matter the conditions.

Much more of a highlight was the performance of the lightly dotted tread of the Schwalbe G-One tyres, rolling quickly on hardpack with a decent amount of grip in the dirt. At 30mm wide, they offered decent cushioning, though I'd suggest sizing up as much as possible if you intend to do a lot of off-road riding. I reckon you could squeeze a 35mm in there without any clearance issues, and maybe even bigger.

The wheelset is functional and unflashy, with tough double wall rims laced to cup and cone bearing hubs. The rear one needed a bit of adjustment love as it came loose fairly early on in the test, but after getting tightened back up it was fine from them on. Neither rims nor tyres are tubeless compatible, but it'd be easy enough to replace the rubber and convert the rims with a kit, something that would make a lot of sense to give greater comfort and security off-road.

Marin's experience in the world of mountain biking comes through in the geometry. At 172cm tall, I rode the 54cm frame and the reach of 373mm was spot on, with the fairly small stem and slightly flared 420mm bar. The head angle of 72.25 degrees and seat angle of 73 degrees vary with sizing, but they felt felt just right to me, striking a good balance between feeling lively on the road but not too nervous when you take it off the tarmac. In fact, I was pretty impressed with how steep and technical the terrain got before the Gestalt felt out of its depth.

In fact, the main criticism of the Gestalt 2 that I can offer is that it's a pretty unforgiving ride if you're in sustained rough and washboard gravel roads. The skinny 27.2mm seatpost and Marin's own 'Shock Absorbing Microfibre' bar tape do their best, but the pretty stiff frame and fork plus fairly narrow rubber still give you a kicking, which makes itself known on a long day out off-road riding, though it's fine if you stick to road or smoother trails.

Being realistic, it's roads and cyclepaths where the Gestalt will see the majority of use and it's a great bike for city centre riding or back road carving, with a little off-road detouring thrown in.

> Buyer's Guide: 17 of the best bikes for less than £1,000

Viewed through the lens of a versatile do-anything machine rather than a hardcore gravel racer, the Gestalt 2 is a great bike at a good price, with handling that'll be instantly familiar to mountain bikers, and confidence-inspiring for road cyclists who want to get off the beaten track once in a while.

Verdict

A versatile and confidence-inspiring do-anything machine that's decent value too