Merida’s Big.Trail got an update this year to being it in line with the rest of their MTB range and to give it a bigger fork and wheels.
How does Merida’s sensibly priced, trail hardtail, the Big. Trail 600 stack up after a month of trails? Pete checks in.
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
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.
First impressions of the updated Merida Big.Trail were good, very good indeed. Having taken the ingredients of their outgoing model with their Agilometer sizing and fresh geometry, the Big.Trail was now sporting the same changes that the rest of the Merida MTB offering had enjoyed in the last few years.
The Big.Trail also sports a solid spec at a sensible price. A decent, lightweight alloy frame with all the right angles has some kit hanging off it that’s not to be sniffed at. A Rockshox Pike Base, Shimano Deore 12-speed combined with Shimano hubs and XT 4-piston brakes. Maxxis EXO+ rubber throughout complimented by Merida’s excellent finishing kit and rims. What’s not to like?
Low weight, a steep seat tube, fast tyres and adjustable fork compression mean that climbing was a breeze on the Big.Trail. Only when things got steep or technical did the Dissector give up the ghost in terms of climbing grip, but otherwise, the climbing miles were dispatched with ease. Steep, techy climbs just needed a well selected and executed line to master.
Once at the top of the climb, the Big.Trail is a delight to sling down swoopy singletrack and can even handle some of the less daft enduro offerings in the woods behind the house. The Pike Base fork shows its chops here, doing a solid job of dealing with all comers and smoothing out the hits as they come. The Dissector does leave a little to be desired in terms of braking grip, so you do have to aim for your grip points and trust that they’ll stick.
After being spat out at the bottom of the trail with a large grin on your face, the Big.Trail will make you want to go for more. It offers a lively, engaging ride without being twitchy and faster, smoother trails are lapped up as well. Possibly the only grumble for continued descending is that the grips are a little hard. Some softer grips would help you keep churning the laps out.
It’s proof positive that you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a decent bike these days. Whilst two grand isn’t buttons, it’s a far cry from the top end price points of some bikes out there. Merida have hit the nail on the head when they were looking for a long-forked 29er trail hardtail. There are also two other models that sit below this one.
What do we think?
A better sensibly priced trail hardtail might well not exist. Don’t think you’ll be missing out on performance either. Merida have got the spec of this Big.Trail 600 spot on.
We love:
- Solid spec
- Great ride
- Sensible price
Could do better:
- Grips are a bit hard
