Merida make lots of bikes, for lots of companies. It’s no secret. But despite making some frames for some of the ‘coolest’ brands in the world, the company has not developed much of a ‘cool’ image for itself. Unless you’re a serious cross country racer (an area in which the brand has had loads of success), Merida has traditionally been a bit bland. But that could be about to change.

Say g’day to the new Merida One Forty B, which coincidentally (uh huh) has 140mm of travel with 650B (27.5″) wheels. In case you didn’t discern what this bike is designed for, Merida wrote in on the satin black top tube in bright yellow letter: All Mountain.

It’s easy to miss at first glance, but the One Forty B runs a new suspension system for Merida, using a dual-link design, rather than their usual single-pivot arrangement. The new VPK system looks very similar in configuration to Giant’s Maestro linkage.

A price tag of $4299 sees the bike kitted out with a fine build kit indeed, including a FOX TALAS fork, Shimano XT drivetrain and brakes, plus stiff and burly Sun Charger wheels shod in fat-as-butter Schwalbe Nobby Nic 2.4″ tyres (with Snake Skin sidewalls). There’s a Reverb Stealth post too, nice touch.

Things are looking very good so far, so let’s hope the Merida can walk the walk too.