Merida has added a new carbon hardtail and 120mm full suspension bike to its range for 2010.
The One-Twenty is a 120mm bike designed for ‘do it all’ riding according to the company. Light enough to race 24-hour events or enduros but sturdy enough for backcountry trail riding.
An aluminium frame and a single pivot design with Merida’s new 3D rocker linkage and some lightweight aluminium hardware keeps weight down and the low ratio of the shock ensures it’s responsive to smaller bumps.
For £2,247.82 the range topping HFS 3000-D gets you a Fox FRL 120mm fork and RP2 shock, Shimano XT kit and SLX brakes and an FSA finishing kit. Spend a bit less and you get the same frame albeit built from a more affordable aluminium tubeset and an SR Epicon LOD fork and X-Fusion 02RC shock for the cost of £1,123.90.
Also new is the 0.Nine hardtail, an unashamedly race-ready carbon bike which is currently being used by the Multivan Merida Biking Team at World Cup races. The big news is the 930g (2.05lb) frame weight, which is over 200g lighter than the previous (and already light) Carbon FLX hardtail.
It’s designed around an 80mm fork and while Merida claims it’s a no-compromise race bike, the rear stays have been designed to be stiff horizontally but allow a small degree of vertical suppleness. A BB30 bottom bracket boosts stiffness and the seat tube is butted and tapered from full width at the BB shell to 31.9mm at the clamp which, along with the new Ultralight seat post, is said to give 10mm of flex.
The top-end Team-D gets a Manitou R7 MRD fork, Avid Elixir CR carbon brakes, SRAM X-0 and costs just over £4000. A more modest Shimano XT specced 3000-D version is available as well. The frame is available to buy separately too for £1788.03.
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