Good things often take time, so too for MERIDA. Two new bikes will become the new standard for MERIDA full-suspension mountain bikes: the completely redesigned ONE-SIXTY and ONE-FORTY.
After the longest and most rigorous development and testing program any Merida model has ever undergone, these two new off-road machines are the most advanced full-suspension mountain bikes the expert has created to date. Designed to be in perfect harmony with the rider and give them the capabilities to push further and harder than ever before.
The ONE-SIXTY is Merida's long-travel bike, aimed at the serious enduro rider and racer or anyone who needs maximum performance and reliability in rugged terrain, with the ability to conquer the most challenging and steep descents and climbs. The ONE-FORTY is aimed at today's do-it-all trail rider, where all-mountain qualities must be well balanced with lightweight climbing capabilities.
In these times when you get less and less for more, it's a rare thing when that's not the case; the ONE- FORTY and the ONE-SIXTY give you even more suspension travel than before. The ONE-SIXTY delivers 170mm of suspension at the front and 161mm at the rear in the full 29" setup, and even 172mm of rear suspension in the 'mullet' setup: 29" front wheel and a 27.5" rear wheel. The 29" wheels of the ONE-FORTY give 150mm of suspension travel at the front, 143mm at the rear. All of this is made possible by the newly developed Flexstay-Adjustable-Size-Tuned Suspension: an innovative suspension system for the dampers which benefits the suspension.
The Flexstay component pulls through the P-FLEX system as already on our NINETY-SIX cross-country models, to a long travel platform. It is adaptable to either a 29" or 27.5" rear wheel without affecting the geometry of the bike, and is Size-Tuned: this provides more wheel speed as the suspension travel increases. This gives the bike more support to heavier or more extreme riders while also allowing the lighter rider to utilize the bike's full suspension travel.
While both the ONE-FORTY and the ONE-SIXTY are two bikes aimed at different riders, they both share a huge amount of similarities thanks to the completely redesigned long travel platform design, which is available in both carbon and aluminum LITE. No matter which model you choose, both bikes share the same geometry, design and much of their features.
Merida has also given short shrift to the compromises today's rider has to make in terms of bike size. Whether you want a bike that behaves like a sledgehammer and is mega-stable or one that feels like it has put on its dancing shoes due to its short wheelbase and can make even the sharpest turn, you'll be able to set up the Merida ONE-FORTY and ONE-SIXTY without any compromise thanks to our reach-based AGILOMETER sizing. This includes a short stack and standover height plus our 30-230mm adjustable MERIDA TEAM TR dropper post in each size.
The geometry has also been radically overhauled, with a much wider range of individual ratios among the five sizes supplied, ranging from Extra Short to a mighty Extra Long. All that combined with a progressive super steep seat tube angle for ultimate climbing comfort and a lazy head tube angle for calmer handling on chaotic trails.
And to top it all off, there are a host of other features that take use and reliability to a new level: with integrated tool and storage options, easy-to-maintain parts and so many other cool features that we actually need another A4 sheet to list them all. Do other bikes on the market have these features? Yes, of course - but there is no other that offers all this in one bike....
Starting next October, the models will be available for sale.
© 2024 MASTERS EXPO. All rights reserved.
