£6,600 • 29in & MX • merida-bikes.com
NEED TO KNOW
• New flex-stay enduro bike, with 162mm travel and 170mm fork
• 29in wheels, or convert to MX wheels via a flip-chip where suspension travel grows to 171mm
• Size-tuned suspension, each of the five frame sizes features a different suspension progression rate
• Bigger sizing than the outgoing model, with 20mm longer reach, with an effective seat angle of 78°
• All sizes come with an adjustable drop 30-230mm Merida Team TR dropper post
• Three carbon models, from £4,600 to £9,000, and two alloy bikes starting at £2,750
Flex-stay bikes are not new. Most modern XC race bikes use the technology, and Cannondale has been using it for two decades on its trail bikes. What is new is that the latest Merida One-Sixty uses the technology, a bike with a whole lot more travel than your average XC whippet; 162mm in stock 29er guise, 171mm with the mullet/MX set-up.
Clearly there’s going to be a lot more movement in the seatstays to accommodate for that extra travel, and add to that the intended use of an enduro bike – smashing through gnarly terrain – and there will be much
