Merida One Twenty 700 - Advice

[Fas1975]

Further to an earlier thread where I thought I wanted a road bike, I've found myself hooked on mountain biking. I recently picked up a hardtail but am now venturing further afield and going to trail parks. I'm finding myself wanting a full suspension bike as I want to start getting into more of the rocky down-hill technical parts and the hardtail is'nt as compliant as I like.

I've done some research and I'm erring towards the Merida One Twenty 9.700 in an XL

https://www.merida-bikes.com/en-gb/bike/534/one-tw...

Merida's an unknown brand for me, but I recently picked up my roof rack from e-bike barn in Henley and they had the e-bike versions and they look really well made with good components.

I can get this on my C2W scheme with a decent saving, but at this price point, is there any other brand I should be looking at?

Thanks

[yellowjack]

Merida may be an unknown brand to you, and little known in the UK, but do a little research on them. They're one of the biggest bike manufacturers on the planet. They make bikes for other brands which you almost certainly will have heard of. And the one I had (road bike - Merida Road-Race) was definitely a quality item, and priced more competitively than "brand" bikes that came out of the same factory. Sadly that one died when I was knocked off it by a van. I'd have another from them if I could afford another bike, but they're definitely worth considering, and certainly not "cheap" or "rubbish" in any way.

[Fas1975]

yellowjack said:

Merida may be an unknown brand to you, and little known in the UK, but do a little research on them. They're one of the biggest bike manufacturers on the planet. They make bikes for other brands which you almost certainly will have heard of. And the one I had (road bike - Merida Road-Race) was definitely a quality item, and priced more competitively than "brand" bikes that came out of the same factory. Sadly that one died when I was knocked off it by a van. I'd have another from them if I could afford another bike, but they're definitely worth considering, and certainly not "cheap" or "rubbish" in any way.

That's pretty much what the guy I was dealing with said. He mentioned they made frames for Raleigh and another big brand, the name escapes me now.

Certainly when i was looking over the e-bikes they had from Merida, cheap was not even in the same room in terms of description.

I've never looked at full suspension and certainly not at this price point and there's just a ton of options out there. Just wanted to know before I commit if there was anything else researching

[trails]

One of my friends brought the 160mm travel variant at the beginning of the year, also an XL; he is super pleased with it and has had no issues to date.

[Carl-H]

I ride a Merida Eone Sixty. It's great. Quality wise most consumables are made by someone else but the way its out together is great. Can't fault it at all. Overall I'm really happy with it, mine is the 900e so the top spec with fox factory suspension, saints brakes, di2 etc. I also had a lower spec Merida a while back and that too was brilliant. I think they build specialized frames but don't quote me.

Other bikes to look at? I love YT Industries and if you don't mind going direct rather than through a shop the value generally can't be beat. My YT was faultless.

[BackPedal]

Fas1975 said:

Further to an earlier thread where I thought I wanted a road bike, I've found myself hooked on mountain biking. I recently picked up a hardtail but am now venturing further afield and going to trail parks. I'm finding myself wanting a full suspension bike as I want to start getting into more of the rocky down-hill technical parts and the hardtail is'nt as compliant as I like.

I've done some research and I'm erring towards the Merida One Twenty 9.700 in an XL

https://www.merida-bikes.com/en-gb/bike/534/one-tw...

Merida's an unknown brand for me, but I recently picked up my roof rack from e-bike barn in Henley and they had the e-bike versions and they look really well made with good components.

I can get this on my C2W scheme with a decent saving, but at this price point, is there any other brand I should be looking at?

Thanks

I personally wouldn't bother. There are better bikes out there for the money. BikeRadar review here.

What you should get depends quite a bit on budget and what kind of riding you want to do. YT, Canyon, Giant, GT, Cannondale, Trek, NS bikes, Nukeproof, Vitus et al. with the same amount of travel will be better than the One-Twenty.

[joshleb]

Merida's are good bikes, if under represented in the UK.

If you like it, go for it. Specs look fine for the price. I prefer Shimano gearing so that all looks good.

I'm sure you'll have a great time on it, 120mm full sus will be my next bike size I think after spending all my previous time on DH and long travel enduro bikes.

[Will O. Bey jr]

trails said:

One of my friends brought the 160mm travel variant at the beginning of the year, also an XL; he is super pleased with it and has had no issues to date.

Oh cool, where did he bring that thing to? You forgot to mention.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Good bikes , they sit in a bit of a no mans land as aren’t as big , fashionable and trendy as the big boys such as Spez, Canondale , Trek etc ...

Nor are they cheap and market reactant like Planet X

I’d buy one , £500 - £2000 they seem solid good all round buys

My good lbs stocks them , I think that’s the market they want to chase , the lbs route

[Fas1975]

Appreciate the info. There’s a place a few miles away that has the range in stock. Will also consider the YT range. I really do like the look of those too

[TAZ 215]

Merida only make for themselves and Specialized these days.

Been around since 1972 so know a bit about making bikes.