With a raft of mounts, more tyre clearance and geometry inspired by mountain bikes, the new Marin Headlands V2 looks set to be one of 2026's most exciting and affordable new gravel bikes.
The original Headlands combined a lightweight carbon construction with heavily MTB-influenced geometry.
The Headlands' combination of impressive handling and great value made it a very popular option for trail-seeking gravel riders, and the inclusion of rack and mudguard fittings made it popular with bikepackers, too.
The new Headlands V2 will certainly keep both parties happy; the raft of updates and design changes seem set to enhance the experience, making the V2 look like one of this year’s most capable and versatile gravel designs.
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What’s new?
The new frame keeps the same 1x drivetrain-specific design. It means that, while increasing the tyre clearance to 50mm, Marin has been able to retain short 420mm chainstays.
The front end retains the slackened 70.5-degree head angle, which is combined with a long front centre, deeply sloping top tube and steep (73.5-degree) seat angle.
The Headlands is designed to be run with a very short stem (60mm on the first four sizes, 70mm on the two largest). From these numbers, it's apparent the Headlands still wears its mountain bike inspiration boldly.
The rear dropout is now UDH-compatible, bringing the frame bang up to date. There are further practical additions, such as the ‘Bear Box’ down tube storage, as seen on the Alpine Trail XR mountain bike, and internal cable routing that enters at the fork crown and down tube rather than being fully internally routed.
A full raft of mounts on the frame complete the details, with triple fork mounts, top tube mounts and bottle bosses, along with traditional rack mounts and mounts for full mudguards (fenders).
Marin Headlands V2 range details
The Headlands V2 range consists of three models, starting with the Headlands 1, which combines the unidirectional carbon frame with a Shimano GRX610 1x12 drivetrain and GRX610 hydraulic brakes.
The Headlands 1 is priced at £2,499 / CAD$3,499 / €2,849.
Next is the Headlands 2 with Shimano’s GRX RX820 1x12 drivetrain, an integrated dropper lever, GRX RX820 hydraulic brakes and a long-travel dropper post.
The Headlands 2 is priced at £2,899 / CAD$3,999 / €3,295.
The range is topped by the Headlands 3, which comes with SRAM’s latest Rival XPLR AXS 1x13 drivetrain, SRAM Rival XPLR hydraulic brakes, Novatec G24 carbon gravel wheels and a long-travel dropper post.
The Headlands 3 is priced at £3,799 / CAD$5,399 / €4,499.
If you'd rather build your own, the Headlands V2 is available as a frameset-only option for £1,699 / CAD$2,499 / €1,999.
