Merida eOne Sixty 900 – Long-Term Test Introduction


The not-so-minor details

Product

Merida eOne Sixty 900

Contact

Advance Traders

http://merida.com.au

Price

6299

Weight

22500

Positives

Excellent pricing.
Reliable, solid component choices.
Geometry is nice and lively.

Negatives

e8000 mode shifter prevents under-the-bar dropper lever.
Rims don't come tubeless-ready.

You haven’t been able to get your hands on one of these bikes for love or money over the past few months. We’d hoped to have this review underway some time ago, but with massive global demand for the eOne Sixty series, it just wasn’t happening! We’ve finally nabbed one, and we’ll be riding this bike hard over spring and summer, using it as a vehicle to test all kinds of products, both e-bike specific and not.

Coming in at $6299, the eOne Sixty 900 continues Merida’s trend of aggressive pricing in the e-MTB world.  This pricing strategy has worked a treat, securing Merida a strong foothold in the segment. The only other e-MTB we see as frequently as the eOne Sixty on the trails around Flow HQ is the Specialized Levo, which is pretty telling.

Read to charge. Geddit?

The bike is built around Shimano’s punchy, compact e8000 motor, with the XT brakes and the drivetrain also provided by the Big S. Merida have made some sensible choices with the suspension, opting for robustness and reliability over adjustability. The Lyrik RC fork and Deluxe rear shock don’t offer a lot of external tweaking, but with careful attention to pressures and using Tokens to control the spring crunch, you can get them dialled in nicely.

The size and orientation of the Shimano e8000 motor is a factor in keeping the eOne Sixty’s chain stay length quite short.

2.8″ Maxxis Minion rubber is slipped onto 38mm Alex rims, which are already showing a few dings… we might be looking at a Huck Norris or similar system shortly! As a side note, the rims don’t come ready for tubeless use, and will require taping before you can ditch the tubes.


More from Merida

Merida One Sixty 800 review 

Merida One Forty 800 review

Merida One Sixty 5000


The integration of the battery is a far cry from the sleek, enclosed designs we’re starting to see more of (like the 2019 Trek Powefly or Giant Trance E+), but if that’s the trade off for keeping the overall cost of the bike down, then we’re certain many consumers will be happy to wear it. And it’s not like it’s an ugly bike by any stretch of the imagination.

RockShox front and rear. There’s not a lot of adjustability here externally, but the rear end feels smooth and planted.

We’ve got some tweaks planned for this bike already, including some bigger brakes (XT four-piston stoppers) and we’ll be looking to fit the new Shimano e7000 mode shifter too (once it’s available), which will free up space for an under-the-bar dropper post lever.

Keep your eye out for this bike on Flow, we think you’ll be seeing plenty of it!

Boost mode is certainly quick up the hills, but so far we refer the way the bike responds in Trail mode, a more moderate power setting.
Maxxis Minion DHR 2.8″ rubber at both ends.
The battery isn’t fully integrated like we’re seeing a lot of for 2019 e-bikes.
Shimano’s 11-speed XT drivetrain handles shifting duties, with a 46-tooth cog out back which we can only imagine being used if we get a flat battery!

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