2021 Merida

ONE-SIXTY 400

Merida hope the new One-Sixty will propel it into the ranks of the best enduro mountain bikes. You know what? It’s got a pretty good chance… Need to know Two new bikes from Merida, the One-Sixty with 162mm travel and 170mm fork, and the One-Forty with 143mm travel and a 150mm fork Both bikes use the same new frame technology, with flex stay seatstay replacing a pivot 29in wheels throughout, but the One-Sixty can be a mullet bike, with suspension travel rising to 171mm Size-tuned suspension, meaning each of the five sizes has a different suspension progression rate to account for heavier riders Big step up in sizing and geometry over the last bike, 20mm longer reach, with an effective seat angle of 79° All sizes come with 30-230mm travel, infinitely adjustable Merida Team TR dropper post Downtube storage, Fidlock bottle, bashguard and chainguige, saddle-mounted multitool Three carbon models, from £9,000 down to £4,600, and two alloy bikes stopping at £2,750   Flex stay bikes are not new, most XC race bikes use the technology in 2022 while Cannondale and BMC have been using it for three decades on their trail bikes. What is new is that the latest Merida One-Sixty uses flex stays – so that’s a 162mm travel enduro bike using short-travel tech. Why is that out-there? Well, with more suspension travel on the bike than your average 100mm XC whippet that’s a whole lot more flexing for the seatstay to accommodate. Add to that the intended use of an enduro bike – smashing through gnarly terrain – and there’s going to be a whole lot more stress on the stay. Merida isn’t worried though, it says the bike has been more rigorous tested than any model to date, with more than 250,000 compression cycles of the back end and shock in the lab to ensure the frame will go on indefinitely. What’s better than a new bike? Two new bikes, of course. The new One-Sixty is a 162mm travel 29er with a 170mm fork, with suspension travel growing to 171mm when you set it up as a mullet. There’s also a new One-Forty trail bike with 29in wheels, using the same flexstay suspension design – it’s got 143mm travel and uses a 150mm fork. Why flex stays? Most brands use the concept on their XC bikes to shave off weight. That’s arguably less important on a heavier enduro bike, where a few hundred gram saving makes less of an impression. Merida has used flex stays for a different reason here though, the tech has come across from the brand’s P-FLEX system used on Merida’s Ninety-Six XC bike. The idea is the stays are of course maintenance free, while the other pivots should need servicing less frequently too. Merida also says this leads to a stiffer rear triangle. Size tuned suspension There are five sizes of both the One-Sixty and One-Forty bikes: extra short, short, medium, long, and extra long. Merida has tuned the suspension to increase the …Continue reading »

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The new One-Sixty uses a flex pivot suspension layout and has adjustable geometry to accommodate a 29" or 27.5" rear wheel.

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The evolution of the Merida One-Sixty enduro bike sees it packed with new features. Here's our first impressions.

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