Marin DSX 1 Overview - A Flat Bar Gravel Bike for Mountain Bikers!

I bought the new Marin DSX 1 Flat Bar Gravel Bike which is a mountain bikers gravel bike. Get Your DSX1 here: https://bikesonline-usa.sjv.io/5bQN7D Links to those sweet upgrades (for inspiration): Kenda Flintridge Pro 700x45: https://amzn.to/3bnNqFm Kenda Alluvium Pro 700x45: https://amzn.to/3siygIp Ritchey WCS Trail Handlebar: https://amzn.to/3kelK9Z PNW Rainier 27.2 Dropper Post: https://amzn.to/3ukpUls Bottom Bracket: https://amzn.to/3sjLSmN Shimano GRX Crankset: https://amzn.to/3kbyONB Wolf Tooth Thru Axle: https://amzn.to/3qMVPc1 Fidlock Water Bottle: https://amzn.to/3uypBDQ Wolf Tooth B-Rad Mini Bag: https://amzn.to/2NNKKsE Blackburn Airstik SL Mini Pump: https://amzn.to/2NR2MKI Fooker Flat Pedals: https://amzn.to/3qK4w79 Smith Forefront 2 Helmet: https://amzn.to/3uqVQ7Y Links are affiliate links meaning I earn a small commission off any purchase you make. It costs you nothing extra, but helps support this channel! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This is my new flat bar gravel bike, and I must admit that term is kind of ridiculous. This is really just a vintage inspired rigid mountain bike. There isn't anything revolutionary or cutting edge about this segment, but I bought one anyways and I'm really enjoying the world of gravel grinding. So why did I buy this bike? I wanted an affordable lightweight bike for cardio rides, and challenging myself on local trails. I often ride from my house to downtown to keep my ripped physique and it wasn't very efficient on a 36 pound hardtail. Also a lot of my local trail rides don't warrant a full suspension bike or even a hardtail sometimes, so for local rides where I want to push myself...this bike will be perfect. It also reminds me of my old project bike Teal Steel...Nostalgia I went with the Marin DSX 1 which retails for $940 and in the eyes of a mountain biker that is an absolute bargain. It's an aluminum frame paired to a carbon fork with 700 x 45mm tires and clearance for a 29 x 2.1" knobby tires. It has Tektro hydraulic disc brakes and a Shimano 1 x 11 Deore drivetrain with an 11-51 tooth cassette. Thru axles front and rear, and it even has internal routing for a dropper post. A nice hint that this bike was designed with mountain bikers in mind. I've had this bike for about a month, and I've already started the upgrades. With the relatively low purchase price, even my cheap ass feels comfortable spending a little more to dial this thing in how I like. I removed the tan WTB Riddler tires as they weren't tubeless compatible. I was able to convert them tubeless, but after some research found that could end in disaster. So I bought these Kenda tubeless ready gravel tires. The flintridge for the front, and the alluvium out back. Do gravel bikers mix and match tires like that? I even put in some Rimpact tire inserts, but with doing trail rides on this I just consider them an insurance policy for my rims. The handlebars that came on the bike were 680mm wide, and it just felt awkward to me, so I got this pair of Ritchy bars that are 760mm wide. I added this PNW 110mm travel dropper post which was one of the longest posts I could find in a 27.2 seat tube diameter. These internal cable covers are near impossible to get back in the frame, so they remain like this. It's gross I know. The bike came with 175mm cranks on a square taper bottom bracket, but I decided to change that to a shimano hollowtech bottom bracket with 170mm GRX cranks. Kept the chainring at a 40 tooth. I did one trail ride with the 175 cranks, and had a good handful of pedal strikes. 5mm isn't much at all, but figured I'd try. The final touch to this bike is the stem which I plasti dipped to this galactic looking color. I've always wanted to plasti dip a bike, so decided to test it out on something small. Came out more grey than black, but still kind of a cool personal touch. I love Marins "Made for fun" slogan because that's exactly what this bike is. Pure and simple fun. Mine is a size large and weighs in at 25.18 pounds which is only about 3 pounds heavier than my old road bike. Pretty impressive considering how much more capable this bike is. I haven't logged a ton of miles on this bike yet, but the rides I have done so far have been incredibly fun. Urban rides are fast and efficient while trail rides have a new sense of adventure. I love riding a local trail I've ridden thousands of times and being scared of features I would normall yawn at with my full suspension. Really keeps those skills sharp. So far this bike has been really fun and interesting to me, and it's cool to ride a modern bike with so many similarities to the mountain bikes of the 80's. I don't plan on making a ton of content on this bike, but let me know if there is a specific video you want to see on this bike. Want to see how it handles off road? Want a more in depth review in the future? Shoot me your ideas in the comments, and I'll try to make those videos happen!