Review: 2023 Merida One-Sixty: An Easygoing Enduro Bike

Although a big part of Merida's business is making frames for other people, they've been impressively creative with the design of their own frame. It's one of only a few bikes to make a simple and lightweight flex pivot suspension system work in a long travel application, the geometry is modern and adaptable, and the frame is packed with handy features.

I've been riding the One-Sixty in two different sizes and two different spec levels, including racing an enduro, to see if it's any good.

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Frame Details


The frame's main talking point is surely the flex pivot on the seatstay, which eliminates parts, weight and service requirements. Merida couldn't say exactly how much weight but having four fewer bearings to change (compared to most modern bikes) is a nice bonus. This design is everywhere on modern XC bikes but rarely seen with this much travel. Even more unusually, they've made it work with both carbon and alloy frames. By aligning the rocker link vertically, the angle through which the seatstay bends as the suspension compresses is minimised to the point where it flexes less than their 100 mm travel XC bike. As a result, Merida claim its fatigue lifespan is effectively indefinite, independant of material.

The frame also passes Zedler's category 5 fatigue tests (usually reserved for bike park and DH bikes). That means the five-year warranty on the One-Sixty covers you for any amount of bike park riding, although the One-Forty's lifetime warranty is category 4 (excluding bike park riding), purely due to the components used. A dual crown fork is not recommended due to the lack of reinforcement where the fork bumpers would hit the side of the frame. But it will happily take a 180 mm fork, and with 171 mm of travel in the mullet setting, it could be a great park bike.

The seat tube is short, straight and uninterrupted, helping riders to size up or down with ample dropper travel and insertion depth. The carbon frame is compatible with the Eightpins integrated dropper post (which is significantly lighter), but for now, all bikes (XS to XL) get a more conventional dropper co-developed by Merida, which offers up to 230 mm of infinitely adjustable travel.

A service port under the bottom of the down tube allows access to the cables for installation, and also can be used to store a (narrow) tool roll in the carbon version, which can stash a small pump and tire levers or a handful of Curlywurlys. The alloy frame's "door" is too small for significant snack storage.



Cables run through internal guides in the carbon frame or foam tubes in the alloy version. They also pass through the main pivot axle, which minimizes cable stretch as the suspension cycles, but means you'll have to remove the cables before removing the pivot bolt when it comes time to change the bearings. The cables also run through the upper headset bearing. Merida claim it's no harder to remove the fork or install a cable than any other internally routed frame, but it will make it harder to swap the headset bearing.


There's a tool/tube mounting plate in front of the shock, and carbon bikes come supplied with a Fidlock bottle mount. The plastic fender above the chainstay is a permanent part of the frame, stopping debris from collecting above the main pivot. There is also an optional fender that bolts on above the seatstay to protect the rider and seatpost from mud.

The claimed frame weight is 2,460 g in carbon, or 3,660 g in aluminium. Those numbers relate to a size medium, without shock, axle, frame protectors, saddle clamp, hanger, headset bearings or cable guides. That doesn't sound like a very useful frame to me, but that's a standard way of weighing things in the bike industry and the figure for the carbon version is competitive.

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Geometry & Sizing


Merida offers five sizes, all with short seat tubes and long (but travel adjustable) droppers so most riders could choose between two or three different sizes depending on how much stability or agility they want. Merida call this approach "Agilometer sizing".

At 191 cm (6'3") I chose to ride both the Long and the XL. Which is best? For the tight, blind race stages where I rode it, the Long made a lot of sense, with more weight on the front tire and a slightly nimbler feel; but for rough and fast sections, the XL was noticeably more surefooted. Honestly, though, I was happy riding either. This was backed up by the results at The Ex Enduro where I raced the Long on day one and the Xl on day two, coming third in my category bot times, suggesting neither is outright faster. With a gun to my head, though, I'd probably take the XL. The extra stability comes in handy on trails where you know where you're going, and that's what I ride most often.

Merida decided to stick with one chainstay length for all sizes, but the 29" rear wheel setup used in the larger sizes lengthens the (static) chainstay length by 4 mm. One geometry quirk that's less obvious is the stack height (that's the vertical distance from the BB to the top of the head tube) is low, especially in the larger sizes. This is done to allow smaller riders to size up without the bars being too high. It does mean that taller riders will need to add more spacers under the stem, which effectively reduces the reach because of the angle of the steerer tube. This means the XL doesn't feel quite as big as the 525 mm reach figure would suggest.

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Suspension Design



Unlike size-specific kinematics from other brands like Structure and Cannondale, the anti-squat doesn't change by size. It's relatively high though, which means there's a generous amount of pedalling support to resist bob and slouching. In my view, size-specific anti-squat makes more sense than leverage curves, because taller riders need more mechanical intervention to stop their weight from rocking back with each power stroke. That's not a criticism of Merida, though, as it's true of all bikes

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Specifications

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Most importantly, I swapped the 30 mm rise bar for a 50 mm rise Burgtec one on both bikes to raise the front-end height. Merida say they'll leave the steerer tubes longer on production bikes, and at 191 cm (6'3"), fitting a taller bar is standard practice for me.

Climbing

These days enduro bikes are expected to be capable uphill, but the One-Sixty climbs particularly well. The 79-degree effective seat angle is a great seating position to attack steep slopes, without being over the front on flatter trails. There's plenty of anti-squat to keep it from bobbing and slouching under power too, so the suspension is stable and stays high in its travel, but it still moves out the way when pedalling over bumps.

I spent most of my time riding the 10K model with Flight Attendant, which noticeably firms everything up when the RoboCop dampers zip shut, but I made a point of riding some climbs with the system switched off and also spent a day riding the 6000 model without Flight Attendant. Certainly, the bike is not reliant on a lockout of any kind (manual or electronic). For long and steep tarmac climbs when I wanted to spare every watt, I was happy to let the Flight Attendant do its thing or switch the manual lockout on the 6000, but the bike climbs well without it. It doesn't hurt that the 10K model is impressively light (15.3 Kg in XL with DoubleDown tires) but when switching back to the 6000, it never felt lethargic.

Sizing-wise, the XL gave a roomier feel which I appreciated when tackling steep slopes, but I liked the more upright position of the Long size's shorter cockpit for a long day in the saddle.

Descending


One aspect of the One-Sixty's character that stood out straight away is the forgiving ride feel. Even after I'd increased the pressure in the shock to make the suspension feel balanced through big compressions, the suspension is supple and active, swallowing up bumps large and small with minimal fuss. It tracked the ground well in all situations I put it through and never got hung up. If you'll forgive the cliché, it feels like there's a little more than 162 mm of travel on tap. When riding over webs of speed-sapping roots and stones, that supple action is much appreciated. Though I never bottomed out, I could imagine wanting more support for bike park riding with built-up berms and heavy landings, but that could be done with another volume spacer or more pressure.


The bottom bracket (around 343 mm) is not radically low, and the suspension stays high in its travel under power so pedal strikes are rarely an issue. Yet in the corners, the handling is predictable and responsive. The numbers are pretty typical for a modern enduro bike, so there's nothing crazy to get used to. The size Long felt super agile and responsive in the tight turns, while the X-long was noticeably more stable at speed and over rough stuff - more like a DH bike. When riding flat turns, the XL took a little thought to keep applying gentle pressure on the bar to ensure plenty of weight on the front wheel, so a longer chainstay might be better here, but I had no issues weaving it through tight turns.


On steep terrain, the bike feels very confidence-inspiring in either size. The rear suspension barely rises up under braking, making it feel settled and stable, especially when braking hard into a turn. At 64 degrees, the head angle is slack enough without the front end becoming floppy on flatter tracks. I also like being able to drop the seat 230 mm out of the way. Sure, 200 mm is enough, but 230 mm offers that bit more room to maneuver when things get sketchy. The DoubleDown tires certainly help the bike feel composed compared to the flimsier tires seen on many enduro bikes too, yet the MaxTerra compound at the rear helps them roll reasonably fast. Finally, the four-pot Shimano brakes with 203 mm rotors front and rear offered ample power and control, whether it was the SLX brakes on the 6000 or the XTR on the 10K.

Overall, the One-Sixty is comfortable, confidence-inspiring and easy to ride fast. The standard shock tune is not the most supportive when pushing into big compressions, but the flip side of that is a supple feel that works very well for steep and natural terrain.

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How Does it Compare?

The Strive's 505 mm reach (size large) fits me well. But while the reach is closer to the Merida in a size Long, the wheelbase is similar to the XL. The Canyon's higher stack and slacker head angle push the wheelbase out that bit further relative to the reach. When just riding along, the XL Merida feels like a bigger bike in terms of the cockpit, but when I got stuck into the corners the agility is similar to the large Strive, which is unsurprising as the wheelbase is near identical. Out of the box, the Merida's rear suspension is more forgiving and less supportive than the Strive's, but after I'd got rid of a volume spacer and backed off the compression damping on the Strive, I ended up with a similar feel to the Merida.

The climbing ability is similar too, although the Merida doesn't need a complicated Shapeshifter mechanism to achieve this, instead relying on a steeper seat angle and plenty of anti-squat to keep the climbing spritely.

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Technical Report


RockShox Flight Attendant: For long days in the saddle or enduro stages with lots of sprinting, having the suspension firm up without having to think about it feels like it offers a little boost, even if it's just about feeling less tired at the end of the day. With the bias in the middle position, it did once feel harsh on the first root after a sprint, but in the -1 setting (where it's more likely to stay open), I never caught it out; it was always in an appropriate mode. But when I went back to the 6000 spec (which costs half as much as the 10K) I didn't miss Flight Attendant. On a bike that pedals well, it just isn't a huge upgrade.

Shimano XTR brakes: When they work, they work really well. I seem to be having better luck with Shimano's brakes and the dreaded wandering bite point recently. Perhaps there's been a running change.

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Reviews and Tech Reviews Enduro Bikes Merida Merida One Sixty