Pete tested a Merida One-Sixty back in 2022 with the smaller back wheel and wanted to see what the full 29er guise to see what the big hoop did the to the feel.
The Merida One-Sixty is a known quantity. Serious performance with a not-so-serious price tag. The 6000 I rode a few years ago is testament to this, but the 29er version that arrived with me was in 8000 flavour.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Key features:
- Rockshox Zeb Ultimate 170mm fork
- Rockshox Super Deluxe Ultimate shock
- SRAM GX AXS Eagle 12-speed drive
- Shimano XT 4-piston brakes
- Merida Expert TR hubs on RaceFace Turbine R30 rims
- Merida Team TR dropper
- £6,600.00 RRP
- Merida Bikes.com
Geometry
The OneSixty is available in XShort, Short, Mid, Long and XLong. The Short is the model tested here.
Reach on the Mid is 470mm combined with a 425mm seat tube length. Head angle is 64 degrees mated with a 79 degree seat tube angle. Chainstays 434mm on the XShort to Mid, with 438mm on the Long and XLong. Wheelbase on the Mid is 1242mm.
Launched three years ago, the updated Merida One-Sixty was a major departure from the more traditional four bar layout that had typified the entire range of bikes. Not only did the platform change, the usually conservative geometry was abandoned to produce what still is a very modern bike.
Merida also backed this up by splashing the bikes with a lot of kit without the ludicrous asking price. The One-Sixty 6000 I tested, the base carbon model, being an absolute flyer out of the box, and under five grand too. Add almost two grand and you get the One-Sixty 8000 seen here. Dampers jump to Rockshox Ultimate offerings, the Shimano drive is replaced by SRAM GX AXS Eagle (non-T-type), better wheels and slightly higher spec Merida finishing kit.
The bigger rear wheel was the main focus of testing this bike again, and had the 6000 been available I would have done a wheel swap. However, this was the bike I raced The Ex on and came north with me afterwards so it was the most familiar at the time. Kit-wise, only the change from Shimano to SRAM was worthy of note between the two bikes.
From the off, the bike feels very much like a Merida. Wicked fast, composed and fun, yet entirely understated. With the bigger wheel, travel at the rear wheel is 162mm, as opposed to 171 on the Mullet bike. Whilst neither are massive changes, they do create a very different feel on the trail.
On the climbs, you feel more of what’s going on underneath the rear wheel, the tracking improves with the increased contact patch. Square edges on the ups don’t present themselves as much as they do on the smaller wheel either. That steep seat tube angle is a joy when it comes to really winching up the steep, techy stuff.
When the singletrack levels out a bit, the big wheels help the bike hold its speed that bit better, not that the Mullet bike was a pig but the back end just doesn’t quite catch the edges as much. For anyone looking at a One-Sixty who churns out the miles, the full 29″ option has to be the one to go for.
I should clarify, however, that the Mullet One-Sixty is a riot. You won’t be disappointed with either. Unlike some other bikes that attempt to attain the same feel from different wheel combinations, the One-Sixty offers a familiar ride with the full 29er feeling a little more surgical when it comes to crossing the ground without losing the fun that comes with the platform.
Beyond the differences in travel and wheelsize, you still get the great ride, banging spec and the intricacies that Merida put in their bikes (don’t mention headset cable routing), that make them even better than they look on paper. Meridas always ride great and the One-Sixty 8000 is no exception.
You can check out the Merida One-Sixty 8000 over on their website here.
