Marin DSX 2 review: I fell in love with this gravel-MTB hybrid, but I'd make a couple of upgrades

Marin’s DSX 2 combines a mountain bike drivetrain with gravel brakes in a sleek hybrid form, providing rack mounts, a light overall weight and a carbon fork.

Is this an ideal combo for the commuter or touring cyclist, or the worst of both worlds?

The bike includes rack mounts and a host of features, so is it ultra-versatile or does it fall between two stools?

I tested the DSX 2 on my daily commute (about five miles) and while taking my two-year-old to playgroup, along with family bike rides and bombing around to get the milk.

It proved to be a well-pitched hybrid of MTB and gravel bike design, providing a relatively quick and sporty ride and engaging handling, although braking performance was disappointing.

At £1,229 / $1,299 / €1,399, the DSX2 is priced competitively.

Marin DSX 2 frame

The DSX 2 is a striking-looking bike, with a flattened seat tube for extra tyre clearance and bulbous tapered head tube blending with the fork crown.

I like the semi-internal cable routing (front triangle only) and the seat tube bridge with debossed '86' (the year Marin was founded).

The head tube is tapered aggressively, providing large bearings for the full carbon fork to rotate around.

The DSX 2 features the latest standard in road bike wheels, with disc brakes revolving around a 12x142mm Boost rear end and a 15x100mm non-Boost fork.

This provides bags of stiffness for use with disc brakes and if the bike is loaded up with racks of luggage attached to the provided mounts, or fitted with a trailer. It's great to see.

Marin DSX 2 geometry

The Marin DSX is available in S, M, L and XL sizes. I found myself between sizes and plumped for the medium. Reach is 405mm (a large is 420mm), which is similar to other flat-bar bikes such as Saracen's Levarg FB.

At 69.5 degrees, the head angle is two degrees slacker than a Giant ToughRoad and lends the bike high-speed stability and easily manageable steering, which never felt twitchy.

The seat tube angle is steep at 74 degrees. This was useful for me at 5ft 10in tall on a size medium; with a lot of seatpost on show, it didn't increase the reach too much. The seat placement with the zero-layback post felt comfortable when seated because my weight was central on the bike.

The low bottom-bracket height (a generous 80mm drop below the axle line) meant cornering stability was excellent and the front wheel felt planted. The short 425mm chainstays meant the bike stayed snappy and responsive despite the low BB height and slack head angle.

Marin DSX 2 specification

The spec is really strong for the price point. A carbon fork is great to see on a bike of this price and includes a plethora of rack mounts.

It’s worth noting here that the Giant ToughRoad SLR 1 has a carbon fork. However, it has carbon legs only, which are bonded to a steel steerer tube, so a full carbon fork with a carbon steerer tube is impressive spec to see on the Marin.

The Shimano Deore mountain bike groupset is reassuring on a bike that could see the rigours of commuting and off-road riding. It's a proven performer even on the most hardcore mountain bikes.

The clutch derailleur and wide-ratio cassette, along with the rapid-fire shifter, should be capable of taking a real hammering.

The wheels are basic, but details such as asymmetric rims should be welcome for anyone hoping to load this bike with heavy panniers: asymmetric rims decrease the wheel dish and build up stronger wheels.

The 45c WTB Riddler gravel tyres have a good reputation and can be set up tubeless, which is a nice addition.

A tubeless setup can be a good way to take your off-roading to the next level, benefitting from increased puncture protection and compliance.

The brakes are basic, and marry flat-bar MTB-style levers with flat-mount, road-style calipers.

A host of Marin own-brand components make up the remainder of the groupset.

Marin DSX 2 ride impressions

The DSX 2 feels more sprightly and alive than either the Giant ToughRoad SLR 1 or the Giant Escape 1, which are the two gravel bikes I spend most time on.

The compact wheelbase and slim tyres see to this, and combined with the low stack height, bring a feeling of agility.

It doesn’t sprint like a road bike or even a more race-focused gravel bike, but that’s hardly the point of this machine.

The slack head angle and relaxed fork rake mean the steering is calm, especially when turning sharply, which is great when venturing away from paved roads onto more twisty, technical trails.

The handlebar grips are very large in diameter, which caused some loss of feel because my hands were stretched around their girth.

While they have excellent buzz-killing properties, they seem like overkill because the carbon fork already provides excellent damping from trail vibrations on its own.

They’re also slip-on and not the more secure lock-on type grips with bolted collars; these would be an obvious first upgrade, particularly if you're planning to ride the bike in wet weather.

The seat is small and slim, but surprisingly comfortable, considering the bike's price point.

I never found it created any pressure points, and its slim profile makes it easy to slide off the back of the saddle when descending.

The mountain bike drivetrain is a little clunky. This surprised me, because Shimano’s Deore derailleur and KMC’s X12 chains are known to be smooth performers, so I’m going to point the finger at the budget SunRace 12-speed cassette.

It’s a solid performer for the money, but not as smooth as a Deore cassette in the shifting stakes.

Such a wide-ratio cassette with a clutch derailleur is always going to feel more agricultural than a close-ratio road-inspired setup, but the pay-off is the simplicity of a 1x drivetrain without the inconvenience or weight of a front derailleur.

Despite this, the enormous range of the 11-51t block means there are ample gears, and you would have to find some extreme hills to run out in either direction.

I experimented with stem spacers to increase the stack height, which helped the bike feel more like a mountain bike or hybrid bike, rather than a flat-bar gravel machine.

This was particularly helpful on the commute, where wet leaves and ice meant bike handling was often the priority rather than a fast pace.

Also, when loaded up with panniers and a Kids Ride Shotgun seat, the taller front end felt planted.

It's an easy setup change to consider if this is the kind of riding you'll be doing on the DSX 2.

Using the DSX 2 for touring or commuting with panniers is a treat.

The relatively wide bar and active handling are a boon once the bike is loaded up with panniers, and/or small children.

Fitting the racks was easy, and after jumping on the bike with the panniers fully loaded, it was confidence-inspiring and stable to ride.

The 45c WTB Riddler tyres found grip even on the wet leaves of my Bristol commute, making my cornering an absolute breeze.

They are wider than many gravel tyres and their extra volume boosts comfort.

Being able to fit full mudguards was great in these conditions because no one wants to turn up to the office covered in leaf mulch and road grime.

While the disc brakes provided predictable stopping power in wet and dry conditions, they required a lot of pull at the handlebar to yield performance.

The Tektro HDR285s are road-derived, with an MTB-style lever but a flat-mount road-style caliper. They simply don’t offer the same modulation or power as more expensive brakes.

They possess a slightly wooden feel compared to stoppers such as the Shimano MT400s found on the Giant ToughRoad SLR1, or higher-spec Deore M6100s with their Servo Wave brake levers.

The wheels are light enough for rapid performance but also stiff enough, and I am hopeful that the clever asymmetric rims should mean the wheels are strong enough for many fully laden touring miles.

Marin DSX 2 bottom line

A trouble-free test period had me falling in love with the DSX 2. Its speedy performance flatters your fitness and its agile handling is engaging.

I was disappointed by the braking performance because they lacked power and needed to be pulled hard, and the slip-on grips should be upgraded soon after purchase.

Gripes aside, this bike provides a sportier ride than most comparable hybrid-type bikes, while being more practical than a full drop-handlebar gravel machine.

It offers great value for money, comfortable yet sprightly geometry and well thought-out spec choices. I’ll be sad to send this one back to Marin.

If you like the DSX 2 but want something more 'mountain bikey', you could look at the Saracen Levarg FB, which has smaller wheels, fatter tyres and MTB-derived disc brakes.