FIRST RIDE REVIEW

MERIDA EONE-SIXTY CF

Words by Robert Johnston  |  Photos by Mirror Media & Roo Fowler for Bike Connection Agency

Merida was showcasing their new eBike lineup at the Mountain Bike Connection Winter 2024 event in Massa Marittima, Italy. I was able to log enough ride time on the new eONE-SIXTY CF to deplete the battery and get a rough idea of its character. As you’ll see in the video and photos though, testing conditions were far from ideal. Because of this, I’ll only report back on the stand-outs from my afternoon onboard the bike. In the summer I’ll be getting one in to conduct a longer-term review, where I’ll be able to really get to the bottom of its capabilities.

I rode the “Mid” size due to availability, which was a little on the small side but certainly not unrideable. It undoubtedly increased the agility of the bike through the tight and twisty trees, but at no point did I feel nervous or lacking in stability. I’ll be really interested to hop onto the more appropriately sized “Long” for the long-term review to see how much agility remains. Reach figures only jump 20mm per size, so I’m going to speculate that it’ll only serve to improve comfort, with limited detriment to agility.

At around 22kg/48lbs, the eONE-SIXTY is not an ultra-light eBike, but in the full power space it’s respectable. Especially considering the build kit, which is sensibly selected to attack the trails. Seated pedaling was comfortable without being overly soft, but it’s hard to comment on efficiency when the majority of climb time was spent ascending rivers. 600Wh is a tricky battery capacity to judge, especially as a heavy 98kg (220lbs) rider who enjoys the thrill of climbing with full assistance. I managed two solid laps of the 350m tall Monte Arsenti hill with some sessioning thrown in there before I hit the red zone of the battery. Certainly not exceptional, but given the vigor of the climbing and the saturated trail conditions, I wasn’t too disappointed. The range extender offers some serious range extension, and though it’s certainly going to impact the handling, the chances are you won’t care if you’re a rider looking for just shy of 1000Wh battery capacity.

On the way down, suspension support was good, but what really stood out was its sensitivity in the initial stroke. This helped to keep the back end glued to the ground through the rough, and left me feeling comfortable to open the taps and plow through the unknown with my heels dipped. The eONE-SIXTY ran quietly and absent of any rattles, giving a high quality overall impression, and making it a machine that I’m very excited to welcome in for its long term test later in the year.

THE WOLF’S FIRST IMPRESSION

Initial impressions are very positive for Merida’s latest offering to the eBike space. The dialed overall build and seemingly pleasant handling characteristics of the eONE-SIXTY CF made for a fun time on the first ride, and it’s a bike I’m very much excited to spend more time getting to the bottom of.

For more information on the eONE-SIXTY CF and the rest of Merida’s eTrilogy of bikes, visit their site. 

PRESS RELEASE

THE NEW MERIDA eONE-SIXTY/eONE-FORTY lineup

Range, low weight, full power support. Riders now want much more from their assisted mountain bikes than they ever have, but sometimes the best compromise to make is no compromise at all.

To achieve a bike that would please all kinds of rider, we went back to the drawing board and created an all new performance eMTB range; we call it our eTRILOGY. These three bikes share key ingredients, but each has a fundamentally different flavor to help them deliver the right performance for the ever-growing group of e-mountain bikers: the all-carbon eONE-SIXTY CF, the all-aluminum eONE-SIXTY LITE and the all aluminum eONE-FORTY LITE.

The eONE-SIXTY CF is our all-carbon, lightweight, full-power, high-performance eMTB. Equipped with 170 mm front and 174 mm rear travel (27.5″ wheel), a fully integrated 600 Wh battery that can be extended to 960 Wh, it offers maximum handling performance and maneuverability when every second counts thanks to its low overall weight, full level support and extremely low battery position in the downtube.

The eONE-SIXTY LITE offers maximum range combined with full-level support and perfect trail performance. Sharing the same travel as the eONE-SIXTY CF, the all-aluminum eONE-SIXTY LITE features a 750 Wh removable battery that can be upgraded to over 1100 Wh for unparalleled range, while the latest geometry, suspension and feature updates improve trail handling and performance.

The eONE-FORTY LITE is designed for riders who don’t need the extra suspension travel, or who are looking for the incredible versatility of an eMTB SUV to combine everyday use during the week with outstanding trail performance at the weekend. Equipped with a large 750 Wh removable battery, the ability to extend it to over 1100 Wh range, a full support drive unit and a lighter, more versatile specification.

Common elements, features and technologies
While our eTRILOGY bikes have very different characteristics so they can cater to unique user groups, much of the inspiration has come from the highly successful human-powered ONE-SIXTY and ONE-FORTY. They have played a huge part in the development process of our new e-full suspension bikes, with many of their test and award-winning features and technologies being shared with the new eONE-SIXTY / eONE-FORTY range.

Our new e-full suspension bikes use an e-MTB-specific version of our FAST kinematic suspension, first introduced on the ONE-SIXTY and ONE-FORTY. It provides size-specific leverage ratios, allowing lighter riders to use full travel while providing taller and heavier riders with the support they need. The eONE-SIXTY range now also features our P-FLEX flexstay technology, reducing weight and maintenance needs, while the eONE-FORTY retains a rear pivot to make it easier to fit rear racks and full mudguards. All bikes can be run with a 27.5” rear wheel or as a full 29er without ruining the handling, thanks to our geometry-correcting FLIP CHIP.

Furthermore, our AGILOMETER sizing system allows you to choose from multiple frame size options. The low standover heights combined with long-travel or adjustable dropper posts across all sizes means you can pick a short reach for agility or a longer reach for stability. We’ve used geometry heavily influenced by our award-winning ONE-SIXTY, but refined it for the unique needs of an e-MTB. That means longer reach numbers, a slacker head angle and a steeper seat angle than the previous generation bike, but adjusted so that the handling is still dynamic, despite the increased chassis weight.

In terms of drive systems, our eTRILOGY range relies on Shimano’s latest EP801 motors, which we combine with a variety of battery types and sizes to cater for different user groups.

Finally, a long list of features and technologies, such as our WIRE PORT cable integration, TRAIL MOUNT, TEAM TR dropper post (model specific) and more, have been introduced to the new eONE-SIXTY / eONEFORTY range to offer maximum performance and user-friendliness wherever our eTRILOGY bikes are taken.