Marin Nicasio+

The Marin Nicasio+ is a gravel adventurer-cum-tourer that is a pleasure to be on thanks a great ride quality and its confidence-inspiring geometry. There are some noticeable compromises from hitting that price, however: it's on the heavy side, and the cable-operated brakes are poor compared to hydraulic systems.

For many the 13.1kg weight is going to be offputting, but as soon as you accept that the Nicasio+ is more adventure bike than gravel racer, it becomes much less of an issue.

> Buy the Nicasio+ from Marin now

On the plus side the Marin is a very comfortable bike to ride thanks to the steel frame and those large volume tyres, and the weight actually makes it feel planted at all times – reassuring when you're riding over loose surfaces or descending.

The weight means the Nicasio+ picks up speed quickly on the downhills, but that doesn't matter as it'll flow nicely through the bends as long as things aren't too tight or technical, and thanks to the neutral geometry it never feels flustered at the handlebar.

In fact, the only slight worry I had with letting the Marin go on the descents was how quickly was I going to be able to stop it. The mechanical Tektro Road calipers aren't the most powerful on their 160mm rotors, and with the weight of the bike the stopping performance is massively below par against any hydraulic system I've ever used.

I'm not saying the brakes are underpowered, or even not capable, it's the lack of punch at the lever and noticeable stretch in the cable that's the issue – it's enough to make you appreciate just how good hydraulic brakes are, especially if you like to brake late and hard like I do. Tweaking my riding style meant I could stop in the distance I could see, but I still just couldn't have as much fun on the descents as I'm used to.

That aside, the Nicasio+ is a comfortable and capable bike. On the flat and up to speed it rolls along nicely, and with the large volume tyres it easily soaks up rough terrain. This reduces muscle fatigue on a long ride, and makes it easy to handle regardless of the terrain.

There is a lot of weight in the wheels though, so acceleration is blunted; it also comes into play on the climbs. I found the Nicasio+ responds best when you climb in the saddle and tap out a solid, steady rhythm. Jumping up as you hit a steep section feels like a waste of effort – it's best avoided unless you really have to.

If you're not looking to challenge the Strava leaderboards though, there is a lot to like. The Marin feels reasonably nimble, regardless of its weight, and the head angle is steeper than a fair few gravel bikes. It has a more 'endurance road bike' feel than many and its handling is direct without being too quick, which helps boost the fun factor.

This size 56 has a 1,009mm wheelbase, so it's not as extended as some either. This means that even on technical sections of gravel track, wooded trail or byway it changes direction confidently, and it feels relatively responsive too.

On the sort of rides where I'd head off without a specific route in mind, and with no specific time deadline either, the Marin made the most sense. I could bung a frame and handlebar bag on and just head off into the distance with no need to hurry.

Spin along making full use of the wide-ranging cassette and enjoy the scenery and the Nicasio+ just rolls over anything in its way. It's a very relaxing ride.

So, if you're willing to accept the budget-induced limitations (more weight and less braking), you'll find this a capable gravel adventure bike, and one that also works on the road as a general tourer or commuter.

Frame and fork

The Nicasio+ has a 4130 chromoly steel frame and fork, which – while not light – is hardwearing and robust. It's ideal for the rough and tumble of gravel riding and loaded bikepacking. The paintwork is just as tough as well, and I got many comments on how nice the colour is.

There are plenty of mounts on the frame, including three bottle cage positions; two in the usual places on the seat and down tubes, plus another underneath the down tube. You get twin mounting points on both fork legs for cargo, plus the necessary for full mudguards and a rear rack.

All cables are routed externally, which keeps maintenance simple, but note it's designed for a 1x groupset as there are no cable stops or guides for a front mech. The bottom bracket shell is threaded, which makes it easy to work on for the home mechanic with basic tools.

The wheels are held in place via traditional dropouts and quick-release skewers. The fork's slots are forward facing, at least, which will help slow the wheel dropping out should the quick release come undone while riding.

While most bikes now use far stiffer (and far more secure) thru-axles, for the type of riding the Marin is designed for I don't see an issue. I find the most tangible benefit over standard dropouts is reduced fork twist under heavy braking, and mostly when stopping from high speed. They are more secure, though: a thru-axle would have to slide all the way out sideways before the wheel could part company from the bike.

There are six sizes, ranging from 50 to 60cm. This 56 has a 565mm top tube, 170mm head tube and 530mm seat tube.

The wheelbase is 1,009mm, as mentioned earlier, and 420mm of that is the chainstays. The bottom bracket drop is 72mm, while the seat angle is 73° and the head sits at 72.5°. Stack and reach figures are 590.6mm and 384.4mm respectively.

Finishing kit

To keep costs down the Nicasio+ has been specced with a microSHIFT Advent drivetrain, which we've reviewed separately before. In a nutshell it offers decent shifting quality across the wide-ranging cassette, even under load, but the shifter buttons won't suit everyone.

No matter how much time I spend riding bikes with this kit I just cannot adapt: the buttons, and in particular the upper one, never sit naturally under my fingers.

Apart from that the shifting works well, although with only nine speeds there are some massive jumps between sprockets. This isn't an issue if you are flexible with your cadence, but I would find myself at times sitting in either too high or too low a gear for what was comfortable.

The cassette is a SunRace 11-46t, and is driven by a narrow-wide 42t chainring on the 1x FSA Vero Pro chainset. The rest of the kit is Marin branded, such as the aluminum handlebar with its compact drop and 12° flare, and the 90mm alloy stem.

The seatpost is alloy too, and you get a Marin Beyond Road Concept saddle atop it. It's quite basic with no central cutout, channels or swooping shaping, but I do like the its minimal padding; I find that reduces numbness or hot-spots when riding long distances at a good pace.

The wheels feature Marin's own double-wall aluminium 650b rims with a 25mm inner width, alloy hubs, and 32 stainless steel spokes front and rear. The result isn't light, but did stand up to plenty of abuse out on the trails. In the long term I'd maybe upgrade to something lighter, but if you want reliability over all else then these should serve you well. The hubs spin smoothly and stayed that way throughout very dry and dusty review period.

The tyres are WTB Horizons in a 47mm width, but while any Horizon you buy in a shop will be tubeless ready, these 'original equipment' (OE) versions are not. Noticing the lack the usual Tubeless Compatible System (TCS) branding and imagery on the sidewall, we checked with Marin and they do indeed require tubes. The same goes for the wheels, and it's in order to hit that price.

That aside they roll well and grip on the road is impressive. Their supple feel aids comfort, and their width means they float across even the smallest aggregate, so their lack of tread isn't a problem on many surfaces. If it's muddy though, obviously grip is compromised.

Value and competition

The Nicasio+ is £1,045, and in the current climate that's impressive; we really aren't seeing that many bikes at or below the thousand-pound mark. Speaking of which... while £1,045 is correct as we publish this review, it's actually set to drop £80 to £965 on August 1. So maybe wait a little bit...

Alpkit's Sonder Santiago which I reviewed a few years back is a similar kind of bike with a steel frame and fork, although it uses Reynolds 631 tubing. The current cheapest build is a SRAM Apex 1x with hydraulic brakes for £1,299. The build I tested was a 2x Rival22 Hydraulic and came in at 11.8kg; a fair bit lighter than the Marin.

If your new bike doesn't have to be steel though, Sonder also offers the Camino, which has an aluminium frame and carbon fork. A 1x Rival build costs £1,999, but a 2x Tiagra build is just £1,149.

The Genesis Croix de Fer 10 is built from Mjolnir Chromoly steel tubing and is the cheapest in the range, coming with a Sora groupset and mechanical disc brakes. It costs £1,499.99.

If you want to keep costs as low as possible then Halfords sells the Voodoo Nakisi for just £650. Matt felt there were compromises with its build, but on the whole it's a decent enough bike for the money.

Overall

The Nicasio+ has its own compromises – it's heavy, and braking performance is poor. But on the flipside it has a great ride quality and geometry that works well both on and off the road. If your main goal is to ride and enjoy the scenery, then this is the bike for you, especially with a few tweaks to the finishing kit. Don't buy it if you want something responsive in terms of acceleration, though.

Verdict

Heavy, and the brakes are mediocre, but a comfortable bike for rides on and off-road