Merida’s Big.Trail gets a revamp with the key elements of the new design being 29″ wheels, a longer travel fork, a dropper post and solid components.
The Merida Big.Trail gets a host of upgrades to make it a more capable trail hardtail and fit in with the recently updated Merida mountain bike range.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Key features:
- Rockshox Pike Base 140mm fork
- Shimano Deore 12-speed drive
- Shimano XT 4-piston brakes
- Merida Expert TR II rims on Shimano TC500 hubs
- Merida Expert TR II dropper
- £2,000.00 RRP
- Merida-Bikes.com
The second generation of Merida Big.Trail has seen a host of updates compared to the outgoing model. The mission statement was to create a capable trail hardtail with 29″ wheels to replace the 27.5″+s on the old bike. A longer travel fork was desired, so you get a 140mm fork up front. A dropper was specified as well as solid components at a reasonable price.
Beyond this, the Big.Trail now sports Agilometer sizing. Not only does this allow riders to select a size either side of their usual size to match their style but also sees some significant geometry improvements. Reach grows 20mm across the sizes, seat tube angles are a degree steeper, head angle is a degree and a half slack and you get 3.5mm more BB drop.
The new frame is UDH compatible, there’s space for two bottle cages as well as on frame tool storage. There’s hidden mudguard and rack mounts too. Three bikes make up the new Merida Big.Trail II range. The bike seen here is the Big.Trail II 600 at £2,000.00, the mid range 500 at £1,500.00 and the 400 at £1,100.00.
Spec on the Big.Trail II 600 is solid. Shimano Deore 12-speed is complimented by Shimano XT 4-pot brakes and Shimano hubs. Merida’s own Expert TR II kit is in effect, with dropper, bars, stem and rims fitted. Tyres are Maxxis at both ends with an EXO+ Dissector out back and an EXO Minion DHR II out front. Not too shabby for £2,000.00 on the nose.
Geometry
The Merida Big.Trail II is available in XShort, Short, Mid, Long and XLong.
Reach on the Mid is 455mm with a seat tube of 420mm. Head angle is 64 degrees with a seat tube angle of 76.5 degrees. Chainstays are 435mm across the sizes with the wheelbase on the Mid being 1213.6mm.
Opening moves
Dialling in the Big.Trail was straightforward enough with the Pike Base fork sitting at the right sag out of the box as did the rebound. That was pretty much all there was to it. Wind the levers in a touch and off we shot.
Fit-wise the Mid size felt spot on for my 5′ 3″ frame, usually preferring a reach round the 450mm mark. With the dropper slammed, it was just too tall at full extension for my wee legs but shows how much dropper can fit with a 170mm in a medium sized frame.
With a Dissector on the back, climbs, especially on fire road would be fast, and the good seating position made it whizz up the climbs. Whilst I didn’t feel the need to use the compression dial for the climbs, it’s there should you need it for a bit more climbing efficiency.
After heat cycling the brake pads, it was a case of getting used to the Big.Trail, something that didn’t take long at all. The roomy cockpit for a trail hardtail is complimented by a relatively short 435mm chainstay. The bike felt lively when I needed it to and stable when things sped up.
As the speed rose, you could tell that Merida had done their homework with the base tune on the fork as I didn’t feel the need to adjust it after the first handful of laps. Despite being the base spec Pike, it did a solid job of hoovering up the trail chatter, whilst the alloy frame did a good job of not being too stiff or too sloppy as well.
So far so good for the Big.Trail. The solid spec, great fork tune and sorted geometry means it’s easy to get on with and I can imagine the pace will keep rising as I get more familiar with it. As trail hardtails go, it’s proof positive that if you do your homework, you don’t need the fanciest kit.
