【在庫セール！！】帰り道にサラッと林道を楽しむフラットバーグラベル「MARIN DSX-FS」が在庫セールでお買い得！！

【Inventory Sale!!】The "MARIN DSX-FS," a flat bar gravel bike perfect for enjoying forest roads on your way home, is now on sale!

March 1, 2024

Eirin Imadegawa Kyodai-mae Annex

- Table of Contents -

"About Models, Prices, and Sizes"
"Reasons to Recommend"
"About Parts Configuration"
"Test Ride Impressions"
"DSX-FS Summary"

The "DSX-FS," perfect for the daily bike of MARIN BIKES MTB riders, is back in stock at a great price!

Restocked! 2023.MARIN DSX-FS (Msize 168cm-178cm)

Reasons to recommend DSX-FS

The "DSX-FS" is a flatbar gravel bike equipped with a front suspension specifically for gravel bikes.

It features an "SR Suntour GVX LOR (60mm travel)" air suspension.

While the travel amount is a bit on the smaller side for MTB riders, it's a welcome feature for gravel bikes that excel on rough, hard terrain.

For MTB suspension forks, a travel of 100mm or more is necessary for aggressive rough terrain, but for a flatbar gravel bike, 60mm of travel is perfectly sufficient.

Just having a suspension helps prevent the front wheel from bouncing, contributing to better handlebar control.

The lockout function also contributes to expanding its versatility, as it doesn't sacrifice speed on paved roads.

Also, common to the DSX series, the center of the seat tube has a significant indentation. This is likely to allow for a shorter chainstay length even with wider tires.

The chainstay length of 425mm is among the shortest in the gravel category, contributing to responsive pedaling!

At the bottom bracket, the BB DROP is 82mm, a slightly deeper design, which means a very low center of gravity, designed for stability on rough terrain such as forest roads.

A gravel bike with enhanced off-road performance thanks to the front suspension and deeper BB position.

And by making the rear triangle compact, this model is designed to swiftly traverse hard unpaved roads!

However, this can be a disadvantage for users who only ride on paved roads. Therefore, this model has specialized performance tailored to a specific target audience!

●Other recommended points

The DSX-FS features a frame compatible with internal dropper seatposts and rear rack mounts.

However, attaching a center stand is difficult...

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About DSX-FS parts configuration

Features a mixed groupset of Shimano SLX and DEORE. I imagine this mixed groupset will gradually transition to Shimano CUES in the future, sensing the changing times.

The front gear features a 1x drive with a narrow-wide chainring. A welcome feature is the hollow spindle used in the crank.

The sprocket uses a 10-51T (12-speed) setup. Such a wide gear range is unnecessary for daily use. It's strictly for climbing on unpaved roads.

Flat mount Shimano hydraulic disc brakes are used (MT201/UR300).

WTB tires, highly rated for off-road use, are adopted.

The small center knobs allow for fast rolling on paved roads, while the large side knobs provide increased grip on rough terrain and during corners.

The Riddler (700x45c, tubeless ready compatible), which performs well both on and off-road, is used!

The parts configuration is well-balanced, with costs appropriately allocated to areas where performance is crucial.

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Test ride impressions of the DSX-FS

Just looking at the specs in the catalog, it gives a strong impression of a model that struggles with climbing and long distances but can easily go off-road.

The front suspension and low-center-of-gravity frame would typically make paved roads feel difficult to ride.

However, compared to a hybrid bike (city model), I felt it performed well even on paved roads.

This is likely due to the effect of the very short wheelbase (chainstay length), resulting in a solid acceleration feel.

While it may not be recommended for those who want to ride long distances like a road bike, it's an interesting bicycle when you consider that you can ride it on forest roads and gravel paths just like your everyday hybrid bike!

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