Merida revamps their core One-Twenty full-suspension mountain bike with a simplified design and a bit extra journey to create an much more succesful all-rounder path bike for the lots. With 130mm of journey entrance and rear, name it a downcountry bike in order for you. Or perhaps extra appropriately – a brief journey path bike, Or extra merely, only a mountain bike. And it’s solely accessible in aluminum. That then, makes positive to maintain the brand new One-Twenty inexpensive and accessible to anybody out looking path to experience.
Oh, and in the event you just like the latest carbon Ninety-Six cross nation replace, however are on a funds? There’s a brand new Lite alloy setup for that kind of marathon using, too…
Merida One-Twenty an inexpensive 130mm alloy mountain bike
Following within the footsteps of final 12 months’s One-Forty & One-Sixty platform, Merida revamps the One-Twenty. It will get a brand new simplified suspension design, an alloy-only body, and modernized geometry.
Let’s get this out of the way in which shortly… The brand new Merida One-Twenty is a 130mm journey mountain bike. It originated at 120 within the again, 120 within the entrance. Then, 120 rear & 130mm up entrance. Now, it’s simply 130mm entrance & rear. The bike has been round in primarily 5 generations because it debuted in 2009. And quite a bit has modified in virtually 15 years – from 26″ wheels and 3x drivetrains to this contemporary 1x-specific 29er.
Nevertheless it’s nonetheless a mid-travel mountain bike.
And it’s nonetheless meant to be ridden on just about any trails you need. Pedal uphill like a short-travel bike, bomb down virtually like a long-travel gravity bike. It continues to evolve, but it’s nonetheless only a mountain bike. So, Merida has stored the One-Twenty title. Argue with them, not me.
What’s new?
Merida envisions the One-Twenty because the sort of versatile bike that’s well-suited for every part from a rider’s first entry in discovering singletrack using to all-day backcountry path using for extra skilled mountain bikers. So, this new replace focuses on a couple of key factors: simplicity, affordability & fashionable path functionality.
Hold it easy (silly)
Retaining this straightforward means making the bike straightforward to setup and final a very long time. To that aim, Merida shifted to the identical simplified single pivot design because the 140/160 & 96. That makes use of flex within the P-Flex aluminum seatstays to eradicate the necessity for a pivot close to the axle. And it upgrades to bigger principal pivot bearings. Additionally they rearranged the brief linkage-driven shock format. It’s now reconfigured underneath the toptube to make more room for 2 common water bottles, plus a mount for a spare tube & instruments.
The brand new design with the seatstays successfully appearing as springs, means a extra progressive suspension leverage ratio. That necessitates a customized tune for the air shocks. Nevertheless it additionally means better help on the finish of the journey, letting you ship it on this comparatively short-travel bike.
All-in, it’s now additionally Class 4 examined to be used as much as enduro racing, with a lifetime authentic proprietor body guarantee.
Old skool inner cable routing ports additionally disappear, going for inner cable routing by the outsized 1.5″ Acros headset. The brand new routing additionally has foam sleeves for rattle-free using. And it provides a service port on the BB for straightforward cable alternative.
Make it inexpensive in aluminum
Sustaining affordability primarily comes all the way down to sticking solely with an aluminum body. The brand new fifth era One-Twenty makes use of a LITE alloy body fabricated from triple-butted Prolite 66 hydroformed aluminum tubing, with massive chunky easy welds. 5 years of economic inflation implies that the top-spec bike is costlier than the outdated prime alloy bike. However Merida nonetheless managed to construct up a brand new entry-level full path bike cheaper than they did again in 2019.
How a lot does it weigh, although?
The brand new claimed body weight is 3100g with out shock, down simply 20g from the earlier shorter-travel iteration (or up 80g relying on how they evaluate it). It’s additionally greater than 500g lighter than the latest alloy One-Forty body. The highest-tier alloy Merida One-Twenty 700 that I examined weighed 15kg, simply 100g greater than a equally spec’d One Twenty 800 from the earlier era.
Shred tougher with extra journey & fashionable geometry
As for further functionality, the bump as much as 130mm of rear wheel journey definitely helps to a point. An additional 10mm of journey can do wonders for making a motorbike’s experience plush, whereas nonetheless having one thing in reserve for larger bumps. Nevertheless it’s actually the extra fashionable longer, decrease, slacker enduro-inspired geometry that makes the largest distinction. Now with a slacker 66° headtube, a steep 78.5° seattube, the identical 435mm chainstays, and 1-3cm longer Attain – the bike climbs & descends sooner.
It additionally places it proper smack dab in between the Ninety-Six & One-Forty on Stack, Attain, and angles.
Plus, just like the 140/160, the brand new 120 shifts to Merida Agilometer sizing that provides a fifth framesize, and relabels them. From XShort to Mid to XLong, standover heights are usually decreased with longer journey droppers. That then, lets most riders choose from 2 or 3 totally different body sizes. Get the Attain that they like, with out worrying over typical sizing.
Go shorter for a extra playful experience, or longer for further stability at pace.
Tech particulars
Past the brand new aluminum body design and its efficiency enhancements, Merida additionally sticks with stable confirmed requirements. The brand new One-Twenty incorporates a Enhance thru-axles with a SRAM UDH for future-proof derailleur or ‘transmission’ drivetrain setups. It additionally retains a threaded BSA backside bracket, with an elective set of bolt-on ISCG05 tabs in the event you really feel the necessity for a chainguide.
It options lengthy 34.9mm dropper posts for reliability (150mm for XS & S, 170mm for M, and 200mm for L & XL). And it will get ribbed chainstay & inside seatstay protectors, plus an extended downtube protector to maintain the bike quiet and looking out good.
The bike has room for two water bottles throughout all sizes – 0.5L on the seattube & 0.5-0.75L on the downtube relying on measurement. Plus, there’s one other 2-bolt mount underneath the toptube to mount one other accent like a strap mount or device bag.
It additionally builds brake cooling fins into the put up mount rear disc tabs that separate braking from seatstay flex. There’s additionally an elective lengthy bolt-on rear fender (shared with the 160) to maintain muck away out of your pivots in the event you experience quite a bit on muddy trails.
2024 Merida One-Twenty – Pricing, Choices & Availability
The brand new 2024 Merida One-Twenty is available in three specs, every with a colourful body possibility or the grey model like my check bike.
The highest spec is a £3100 / 3720€ One-Twenty 700 with a mechanical SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain, DB8 4-piston brakes, RockShox Pike Choose/Deluxe Choose+ suspension, and home model 29mm inner alloy wheels with 2.4″ Maxxis Forekaster tires (tubeless-ready, however with out tubeless tape, valves, or sealant.)
Then a £2500 / 3000€ One-Twenty 600 opts for a Deore 1×12 group, Deore 4/2-piston brake combo, a Marzocchi Z2 fork paired to the identical RockShox Deluxe Choose+ shock, and the identical wheel/tire combo.
And lastly, an entry-level One-Twenty 300 is Merida’s most inexpensive path bike in years at £1900 / 2280€, with a Shimano Cues LinkGlide 1×10 drivetrain, Shimano 2-piston brakes, SR Suntour 2CR XCR34 fork & Edge Plus shock, and 25mm inner tubeless-ready wheels with 2.4″ Rekon wire bead tires.
All the new One-Twenties are making their method across the globe now on their method to Merida seller bike retailers. They need to be accessible all over the place in October.
However, how does the brand new bike experience? Take a look at our First Rides Assessment from thrashing the brand new One-Twenty by The Ex Enduro to see the way it fared. And the way beat up I used to be after 5 intense days of technical UK using!
However what in regards to the alloy Merida Ninety-Six Lite?
Eagle-eyed mountain bikers might discover that this 130mm alloy path bike’s design appears to be like quite a bit just like the 100mm journey Ninety-Six XC bike from a few years in the past. And that Ninety-Six continues to be solely accessible in a carbon body possibility – both in XC or gentle path builds.
So to make a Ninety-Six on a funds, Merida realized they might scale down the brand new aluminum One-Twenty by merely giving it a shorter journey fork and a shorter stroke shock. It’s the identical triple-butted alloy Lite body as for the One-Twenty. Solely now it’s decreased journey to 110mm entrance & rear, which places it in between the racy RC and downcountry path builds of the carbon cross-country bike.
Geometry-wise you get a one diploma steeper setup with 67° head angle, extremely steep 79.5° seat angle (perhaps slide the saddle again a bit on the rails), and the identical 435mm rear finish. Leaning the bike ahead a bit does decrease the BB by 7mm, and lengthen body Attain by 10mm & decrease Stack by 8mm throughout all sizes.
Construct-wise, the Ninety-Six Lite will get a lighter setup. Which means a lighter 34mm stanchion forks and 31.8 cockpit for the 96 vs. the 35 & 35 on 120. It additionally means faster-rolling Rekon Race tires vs. the Forekasters, and 2-piston brakes on all fashions.
The tip aim of the brand new Ninety-Six Lite is an inexpensive marathon cross-country bike. Evaluate that vs. the path focus of the One-Twenty Lite.
2024 Merida Ninety-Six Lite – Pricing, Choices & Availability
Two alloy Merida Ninety-Six Lite fashions enter the 2024 lineup, every in shade or black. The highest-tier is the nonetheless affordable £2900 / 3500€ Ninety-Six XT-edition, with you guessed it… a Shimano XT 1×12 construct with RockShox SID SL/Deluxe Choose+ suspension and 25mm inner alloy wheels.
Or choose the much more inexpensive Ninety-Six 400 for simply £2100 / 2500€. That will get a Deore 1×12 construct and SR Suntour Raidon 34 R/Edge Plus suspension.
Identical to the latest One-Sixty FR, all the new 2024 Ninety-Six Lites and One-Twenties shall be arriving inside weeks at Merida sellers all over the world.
