How does a big brand like Merida work their current kinematic and geometry into a new bike like the One-Twenty? Pete has been finding out.
After racing the new Merida One-Twenty at The EX Enduro, Pete sat down for a chat with the man behind the bike, Stephan Seitz.
What was the impetus behind updating the ONE-TWENTY?
The ONE-TWENTY was not a typical product refresh. It wasn’t just a decision to update the frame based on product life cycle management. Instead, we decided t o fundamentally renew the entire trail model range, starting with the launch of the new ONE-SIXTY and ONE-FORTY in September 2022, ready for the 2023 season and completed by the launch of the ONE-TWENTY this summer.
We have started to develop a new consistent concept for geometry (super steep seat angle, long reach, short seat tubes), kinematics (linkage-driven single pivot with flex pivot) and size concept (variable, reach-based size selection).
We successfully launched this into the market in 2022 with the new ONE-SIXTY and ONE-FORTY and have received extremely positive feedback. With the ONE-TWENTY update, we wanted to transfer the same approach to less suspension travel and even better pedalling characteristics. And compared to the ONE-SIXTY, we aimed for a similar performance but with a much simpler design. The slogan for the ONE-TWENTY development was: Design a great working but simple bike. TRAIL PERFORMANCE SIMPLIFIED.
Once you’ve made that decision, what happens next?
The first thing we have realised is that it is not simple to design a simple but well-working bike ;)
The next steps vary greatly from project to project, but can essentially be summarised as follows:
We observe the market, collect feedback on the previous model from a wide variety of sources and ride and compare our previous model with competitors
Defining the concept of the bike, which includes the position on the bike, the kinematics, the design approach and the target group. This happens in a big kick-off meeting, which is usually super exciting.
As soon as all requirements have been finalised, everyone dedicates themselves to their core tasks: The engineer draws up the pivot points, creates the tubes and cares about the strength of the frame. The designer gets to work on the drawing pad and then in CAD and also defines the colours and artwork for the models. And we in product management add our two cents everywhere and take care of the costing, specs and MERIDA own components.
After a few iteration loops, the prototype is finally built and the test riding begins. If everything is confirmed, samples are built and tested in various internal and external labs. The launch is now being prepared in collaboration with marketing so that the world can find out about the product and journalists like you are well-informed at the launch event.
How many people are involved, and what do they do?
That is hard to define. All in all, a huge number of people work for MERIDA worldwide in all different positions.
But if we stick to the core of bike development, we have quite a lean set-up. We are about 15 people for product management, engineering and design. On a project like the ONE-TWENTY, most issues are discussed by a trio of an engineer (Tim Holch, check his Wise Words interview), a designer and a product manager. This allows us to work very efficiently, make decisions quickly and realise ideas without a lot of administrative paperwork.
But of course, other colleagues are called in for specific questions. MERIDA Taiwan has enormous expertise in assessing manufacturability, other colleagues have a supposedly good eye for design and others simply have a good feel for the bike.
What did you want to retain from the previous ONE-TWENTY, and what did you know you wanted to change?
We actually developed almost everything from scratch without paying too much attention to the predecessor. Visually, we wanted to maintain only the slight kink in the seat tube, technically the good all-round characteristics, and the short chainstay and the model name, of course.
Everything else was completely new and completely different from its predecessor:
- Geometry is radically different, with a 3° steeper seat tube angle and a 30 mm longer reach
- New suspension lay-up with flexpivot kinematics and more suspension travel (130 mm front and rear)
- Almost all interfaces have been changed to the newest and proven standards (SRAM UDH implementation, 34.9 mm seat tube, back to BSA bottom bracket)
How much of developing a new model involves giving you a chance to try new features or make a new bike fit the rest of the range?
Fortunately, we have a lot of room for decision-making and can introduce new features to each model.
But as we mentioned earlier, it wasn’t just the single bike that we were looking for, we wanted a short-stroke trail bike that harmonised with the new ONE-SIXTY and ONE-FORTY both visually and in terms of riding technique. A new consistent model range: If you feel comfortable on our Enduro, you will also love the new ONE-TWENTY.
Did you have materials in mind before you started?
For us, carbon and aluminium are the two options and we usually offer both. But with the ONE-TWENTY, we have decided to only offer aluminium models for the time being.
Why? Modern downcountry bikes are great and we are fans of them ourselves, but these bikes are light mainly due to their carbon frames and parts, which makes them extremely expensive. As the MERIDA brand, we want to develop products that offer the best performance but are still accessible to a wide range of people.
With the ONE-TWENTY in aluminium, we offer a riding experience for a broad target group that is comparable to that of carbon downcountry bikes, despite the natural extra weight. It’s lively, poppy and goes well on the descents.
How many prototypes did you go through before getting to the production model(s)?
The number of loops on prototypes depends heavily on how satisfied we are with the function. Normally I would say 3 loops of different frame statuses are sufficient until we can confirm the mass production status.
Can you talk us through that prototype stage?
As soon as we design a radically new geometry, we develop a geo-prototype from existing tube sets with CNC adjustments. With this prototype, a lot of attention is paid to adjustability (e.g. chain stays) and even extreme options can be tried out.
Depending on the kinematics, a kinematics prototype is also built, which does not yet have the final shape, but already has the later pivot points. Ideally, this can also be used to test the interaction with new shocks in collaboration with the suspension manufacturer.
When the project is almost complete within the development department, the most important prototype step comes: the sample frame in all sizes. These are welded on the basis of the hopefully finalised drawing and come in all sizes.
This sample frame is used to run internal laboratory tests and then tests with the ZEDLER testing institute. If the strength is confirmed in the laboratory, all small parts (cable guides, chainstay protector, protective foils, etc.) are checked for fit. The sample frames are then ridden extensively by our team members and athletes for about a year before series production begins. This allows us to assess the longevity and incorporate any improvements before production.
How important are your athletes to product development, and at what stage do they become involved?
Of course, athletes are valuable and can provide a lot of feedback. With the ONE-TWENTY, however, we have chosen a different approach for the test rides. We wanted to develop a bike that is fun to ride and that works for a broad target group.
That’s why we also put real beginners on the bike and looked at what we had to do to make them feel comfortable and safe right from the start.
In addition, we had the average advanced rider in the team and also some super-fast guys like Jose Hermida and Enduro athletes testing the bike. In the end, everyone in the test group said that the bike felt very intuitive, that’s the biggest compliment.
Favourite moments?
The moment when I realised how extremely capable the kinematics work. When we tested the kinematics with Rock Shox for the first time and rode the ONE-TWENTY against the ONE-FORTY on a pretty rough trail in a bike park in a back-to-back comparison, the downhill performance was surprisingly close. It’s a good feeling to know that the bike does perform when and where it matter!
Any disasters?
Actually, not really during the development project, but we had a shock moment at the launch event in Exmoor. We didn’t realise until we got to the launch venue on the day of arrival that the shocks on the event bikes incorrectly had a progressive air chamber instead of a linear one.
In the short term, we compared the characteristics with Rock Shox and then removed the two positive spacers and added a negative spacer at the campsite in quite a hectic situation. The journalists then had almost the same spring characteristics as we had defined, and everyone was happy.
Where next for Merida?
We don’t want to give too much away, but let’s put it this way: despite the many e-bikes, we are still placing a lot of bets on normal MTBs. We have many exciting projects in the pipeline and will use the positive feedback and trends to introduce new products in all MTB segments, from XC to enduro.
