Merida One-Sixty Review

The redesigned Merida One-Sixty takes advantage of all the new trends of gravity-focused mountain biking and implemented them in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the looks or ride of the bike. The frame is lower at the bottom bracket and stand-over height, helping keep it planted in the corners. The longer reach gives more room to be centred on the bike and makes it more stable at speed and is complimented by the 65 degree head angle for more confident handling.

Key features around the bike makes this MTB easy to live with, like the Smart Entry cable routing that prevents rattling inside the frame and the rubber guard on the bottom of the carbon frames prevents damage from rock strikes. The One-Sixty 600 and 800 both get full alloy frames, with special 6013 alloy in the rear that allows for thinner wall tubing, allowing a lighter overall weight. The 5000, 6000 and 8000 all get Uni-Directional carbon fibre front triangles that are lighter and also stronger than the alloy frames. Boost 12x148mm spacing in the rear increases stiffness, which aids handling.

The One-Sixty features a simple, yet very effective suspension design to control the 160mm rear travel on tap. Called the “Float Link”, it’s a link driven single-pivot design that has a floating shock mount. This design mounts both sides of the rear shock on the swingarm, reducing strain on the front triangle, and reduces the chance of bottoming out the suspension. It helps the rear end feel more supple too, giving the feeling that more than 160mm travel is on offer.

RockShox Super Deluxe shocks come on every One-Sixty, and are all trunnion mounted, using bearings instead of bushings to increase sensitivity. The Super Deluxe R is found on the 600 and 5000, while the range-topping Super Deluxe RCT comes on the 800, 6000 and 8000. Up front, a Suntour Durolux RC DS is specced on the One-Sixty 600, balancing the price and performance. The rest of the range has RockShoc forks, with the 800 and 5000 getting Yari RC forks, while the 6000 and 8000 get the formidable Lyrik for all terrain tackling ability. All the forks have 170mm travel.

Merida put a lot of focus of the One-Sixty at its ability to go downhill. The One-Sixty is only designed to take a single-chainring drivetrain, and Merida knew that riders want to climb to the top, so have made sure to incorporate the widest range cassettes they could. Shimano provides solid shifting with their SLX 11 speed drivetrain on the One-Sixty 600 and 5000. These are matched to Sunrace 11-50t cassettes for that massive range. Both models also get Shimano disc brakes with their fantastic Servo Wave levers.

The 800, 6000 and 8000 all get SRAM Eagle drivetrains, with the 8000 getting the range-topping XO1 with carbon crankset. The drivetrains have 10-50t cassettes, offering that little bit extra over the Sunrace options. These models get SRAM Code disc brakes, which are made for downhill racing, coming with 4-piston callipers and massive stopping power. Every One-Sixty model gets a 200mm rotor up front and a 180mm rotor in the back, ensuring powerful braking during descending.

The One-Sixty range is built around 27.5” (or 650b) wheels, which deliver a great balance between rolling speed and nimble handling. It’s up to date with wheel trends, with wide internal rims on every model. The 600, 800 and 5000 models all get Merida’s brand rims, coming with 29mm internal diameter rims, and tubeless ready designs.

The two top models, the 6000 and 8000 both received DT Swiss wheels, which also have wide 30mm internal diameters. These wheels are lightweight, yet robust, giving you the ability to ride confidently on challenging terrain. Wider rims allow the tyre to have greater stability while running lower pressures, giving greater traction.

Tyres make a huge difference in how the bike rides, so Merida didn’t hold back, giving every One-Sixty the same Maxxis Minion DHR II tyres. The rear tyre gets a double compound rubber, with the centre being hard, for faster rolling, and the sides softer, giving extra grip. Up front, the 3C triple compound rubber is specced, giving no compromise traction and durability. Maxxis EXO casing is found on all the tyres.