First Ride: Merida eOne-Sixty - Low Weight or Long Range

Further setting the eOne-Sixty apart is the massive 360Wh range extender, which boosts the capacity to 960 Wh or a whopping 1110 Wh, respectively.

On the subject of confusing names, the eOne-Sixty delivers 174 mm of rear wheel travel, teamed with a 170 mm fork. All models ship with a 27.5" rear wheel, but it does have a flip chip to accommodate a 29" rear wheel, and in this setting the wheel travel is 160 mm like you'd expect. The name is a carry-over from the unassisted One-Sixty, which uses a similar suspension system but ships 29" wheels by default, giving it 160 mm of travel out the box. See? Not confusing at all.

There is also an eOne-Forty with 29" wheels and 140 mm (rear) / 150 mm (front) travel, but Merida are pitching this as an "SUV" for commuting and occasional trail use - it has a kickstand and pannier racks etc..


Frame & Motor

All models use Shimano's EP801 motor, with 85 Nm of torque and 600 W of peak power. Batteries are supplied by Trendpower (including the range extender), but Shimano will take care of any warranty claims with the batteries as well as the motor. The 360 Wh range extender weighs 2.9 kg and mounts onto two large bosses on the downtube. Conventional water bottle bosses are also present, though you can only fit one or the other so make sure you don't get dehydrated on those epic rides. There is an additional tool mount under the top tube.

Merida say the carbon fibre frame is 800 g lighter than the outgoing eOne-Sixty thanks in part to the enclosed downtube and non-removable main battery. The alloy bike wasn't designed with weight as a priority, so it sticks with a removable battery for off-bike charging or transport, thanks to a less structurally efficient downtube cutout, while also offering a larger battery capacity and a lower price point.


Like Merida's other models, the suspension uses a flex-pivot on the seatstay to reduce weight and maintenance in both carbon and alloy versions. Merida say the degree of flex is so minimal as to be negligible in terms of suspension forces and a non-issue in terms of fatigue. The eOne-Fourty has a conventional seatstay pivot in order to allow for mudguard and pannier rack mounts.

In both the eOne-Fourty and eOne-Sixty, the shock is turned sideways to provide enough clearance to fit the range extender underneath while keeping the standover low. The shock is also offset to one side so the piggyback reservoir doesn't protrude too much. A short clevis link connects the shock to the rocker link with a vertical-axis bushing to reduce side-loading on the shock.


Merida are sticking to their guns by routing the cables through the Acros headset, but in this case, there is also a steering limiter to stop the frame from getting damaged in a crash.

All models feature mounting points for a rear mudguard and an integrated front light that runs off the main battery. The light will continue to work for several hours after the battery is too depleted to drive the motor. A flip chip on the rocker link allows the 27.5" wheel size to be swapped for a full 29er setup without affecting the bottom bracket height or frame angles. This alteration will reduce rear wheel travel from 174 mm to 160 mm due to a lower overall leverage ratio between the rear wheel and the shock.

Tire clearance is 2.6", and the frame can accept 1.8" forks (though all models ship with 1.5" steerer tubes). The seat tube is 34.9 mm in diameter and accommodates a travel-adjustable 230 mm seatpost.

---

Geometry

Compared to the people-powered One-Sixty, the head angle is half a degree steeper and the reach is shorter too, especially in the bigger sizes. Merida say this is done to keep the handling agile despite the extra weight and/or because the lower centre of gravity requires less front-end length to provide stability. Due to the motor, the chainstay length has grown by 12 mm, and will get 4 mm longer if you choose the 29" setting.

Despite this, the sizing is more compact than most modern e-bikes, and the seat angle is on the steeper side too. Merida's "Agilometer" concept means short head tubes and seat tubes, combined with the 230 mm travel-adjustable seatpost, make it easy to size up or down to suit reach or handling preferences. If you size down, you will likely need a higher-rise bar.

---

Suspension

Merida adjusts the rocker link so that each frame size has a different leverage curve such that larger frame sizes are more progressive. The idea is to help resist bottom-out in the largest sizes - which are generally ridden by heavier riders - while ensuring typically lighter riders on small sizes can use all the travel.

In my view, heavier riders shouldn't need more progression. This is because the bottom-out force is proportional to the air pressure in the shock, which is proportional to the rider's weight so long as the same sag percentage is set. If heavier riders are bottoming out more often, or lighter riders not getting full travel, it's probably best to address this with size-specific damping tunes.

All the sizes are progressive overall, though the smaller ones are regressive at the end of the stroke. Either way, this could be compensated with extra volume spacers in the shock.


Anti-squat is generous, at just over 100% at sag in the easiest gear. That should mean the bike stays high in its travel when climbing. Anti-rise (the effect of braking forces on the suspension) is on the higher side, which will cause the suspension to sit lower in the travel while braking. This reduces pitching when hard on the anchors, but could reduce suspension sensitivity in some situations.

---

Models

One-Sixty 10K - £10,5000 / €12,600*

One-Sixty 7000 - £7,000 / €8,400*

One-Sixty 6000 - £6,000 / €7,200*

One-Sixty 875 - £6,000 / €7,200*

One-Sixty 675 - £5,500 / €6,600*

* Euro prices are shown for Ireland but may be different in other countries.

---

Ride Impressions

I rode the eOne-Sixty 875 for one full day on familiar trails in the Tweed Valley. I didn't get to try out a range extender, but I did swap out the 750Wh battery halfway through the day to get the maximum riding in.

Merida recommended a size Long (not X-long), which was decidedly smaller than I'm used to but didn't feel too cramped on the climbs. The steep seat tube angle is still a huge benefit even with a motor and even with the handlebars closer than normal; it makes it possible to spin up steep slopes without needing to adopt an uncomfortable body position to maintain pressure on the front wheel. The Shimano EP801 motor may not be quite as punchy as the Bosch CX alternative, but it feels way more powerful than the lighter Bosch SX motor, despite having the same peak power on paper.


When descending, I wanted to get the handlebar higher on the long-size test bike, so I would have liked a higher-rise bar or more stem spacers to play with. At 191 cm tall, the 479 mm reach is smaller than I'm used to and this felt strange at times, but with the 26+ kg of weight between my ankles I never had that "tripping" sensation that short-wheelbase bikes can suffer from. In the tight turns of the Tweed Valley, I gelled with the shorter setup - I think it helped disguise the bike's weight in the twisty tech. I'd still like to try the X-long to compare though.


I was impressed by the RockShox Select-level suspension. The more basic Charger damper is much more open than the new Charger 3, meaning I could adjust the rebound damping instead of running it all the way open and wishing it was faster. At least in the context of a 26 kg e-bike, the fork feels free and supple, sticking the front wheel to the ground but without diving too much. The high anti-rise rear suspension might help with that last point. The 174 mm of rear suspension is well-judged too, with lots of suppleness at 30% sag to help smooth out the trail when climbing and descending, yet it never pushed through towards the end of the travel too readily. I only managed to reach full travel on a particularly head-nodding 2.4-meter drop, and even then I didn't feel a harsh bottom-out.

---

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech eMTB First Looks Enduro Bikes Merida Merida E160