2023 Merida

eONE-SIXTY 500

Merida’s alloy eOne-Sixty 875 is all about packing in the watt-hours to create a pedal-assisted mountain bike for big days out. It's not the lightest e-MTB on the market but makes up for it when it comes to capability and comfort out on the trail.

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Merida’s carbon enduro ebike shaves weight to boost the riding experience

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Rich Owen tests the fourth incarnation of Merida's alloy e-MTB and it's by far the most capable version yet

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With a split range, the latest Merida eOne-Sixty takes a two-pronged approach with the aim of satisfying two distinct e-bike customers. The eOne-Sixty CF goes after the rider seeking less weight and more agility with a smaller battery that’s fully enclosed in the carbon frame, while the eOne-Sixty Lite takes the monster truck approach with big travel and as much range as possible from the 750Wh removable battery and gargantuan 360Wh range extender. Only Merida has inexplicably chosen to make this strategy as confusing as possible to potential customers in the market for the best electric mountain bike. Neither bike has 160mm travel, and the heavy bike is called ‘Lite’. And it’s this, ahem, stout 26.1kg (29kg with range extender!) model that I’m covering here. To find out more about the 22kg eOne-Sixty CF models, read our news story and range overview. Merida eOne-Sixty 875 Need to know Alloy frame with 174mm of travel Shimano EP801 motor powered by 750Wh removable battery Flexstay back end deletes one pivot and simplifies manufacturing Five frame sizes, all with MX wheels (29in front, 27.5in rear) Frame design While the previous eOne-Sixty used a carbon front triangle with a faux-bar back end, vertical shock and rocker link, the new bike mirrors the latest Merida analogue models, with its FAST design. The shock has moved beneath the top tube and the seatstay pivot has been eliminated completely. Instead, Merida has engineered flex into the tubes, regardless of whether they are carbon (on the eOne-Sixty CF) or alloy (on the eOne-Sixty Lite). In that respect, that makes the brand something of an outlier, as most brands restrict their flexstay designs to short-travel XC applications, where the weight savings can be significant. Saving 150g on a 26kg e-bike is neither here nor there, so the explanation here is more about reducing complexity, eliminating components, and reducing costs in manufacturing and assembly. Merida is completely committed to its P-Flex design, and outspoken about its durability, saying that ‘the lack of the rear pivot has no impact on the longevity and robustness of the frame’. And it backs that statement up with a lifetime guarantee and category 4 (enduro/all-mountain) approval. All Merida eOne-Sixty models are built as mullet bikes – something the brand was an early adopter of with the gen 2 bike – but a flip chip at the upper link lets owners run a 29in rear wheel without screwing up the geometry. In that respect it’s more of a compensator than an adjuster, with rear travel being reduced to 160mm with the larger wheel. Motor and battery Merida has also offset the shock to the non-driveside, and rotated the piggyback to the driveside, to increase clearance inside the front triangle. Not only for a bottle and cage, but Merida’s massive 360Wh range extender. A 3kg behemoth of a power pack that, once installed, takes the battery capacity up to 1,110Wh, the weight up to 29kg, and makes the bike look weirdly similar to the original 2017 eOne-Sixty …Continue reading »

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The MERIDA eONE-SIXTY is a true evergreen and now wants to secure victory in our 2022 budget group test. The new eONE-SIXTY 975 enters the race with a Shimano EP8 motor and bigger battery than its predecessor, offering 750 Wh capacity!

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