Merida One-Forty: the right tool.

When you want to carve up a turkey, you don’t use a spoon. And when you want to rip a trail, you don’t want some flim-flammy noodle cycle. You want a bike with purpose and guts. Maybe it’s just the colour which gives it the appearance of a piece of mining equipment, but the new Merida One-Forty 800 screams ‘tough as nails’ – it looks like the right tool for the job.

The One-Forty 800 applies the successful Float Link suspension design and frame layout found on the One-Sixty platform (which we reviewed here) in a slightly shorter travel package. It’s a no fuss machine – 100% alloy, with the cash spent wisely to deliver excellent components for the $3999 price tag.

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There’s something very reassuring about the way this bike is assembled. It feels stout and strong, but throw it on the scales and the weight isn’t over the top, 13.59kg. There’s sure to be a carbon version of this bike on the way.

Smart, tough components.

We like the way Merida have approached the rolling gear  – 29mm-wide rims, shod in 2.6″ Maxxis rubber (though it’s lamentable that the rims don’t come taped and sealed for tubeless use!). 2.6″ rubber is becoming the norm for aggressive trail bikes, and this Maxxis combo looks very good indeed.

Up front, the new RockShox Revelation is inspired by the Pike, with 35mm legs. It’s a huge improvement over previous versions of this fork. And of course, the SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain is a real highlight.

For some reason, this bike has us really excited. And not just us – a lot of people have commented on it already, in the short period of time we’ve had our hands on it. Can it deliver where it counts?