Descending With short travel bike reviews, this is usually the point where the line ‘great going up, compromised coming down’ gets trotted out. But the Merida bucks the trend, as other short travel bikes like the Intense Sniper are also doing, proving that short travel bikes, when equipped with decent geometry, and in the Merida’s case, solid equipment, aren’t fazed when the trail points down or it gets overly rough and technical.
The One-Twenty was an absolute blast on the descents, allowing you to keep whatever gap you’d opened up on the climb into the following downhill. The geometry and suspension together with the Pike fork and beefy (for a short travel rig) Maxxis tires give the Merida the sort of control, stability and pace not normally seen in short travel bikes. When I received the Merida I wondered whether such equipment would be lost on a short travel bike. Sort of like those Audi Allroads with jacked up suspension and big plastic scuff panels. Well, I was wrong. The Merida managed to maintain that essence of a cross-country bike in its delivery of speed, but was as capable on the descents as some longer travel bikes I’ve ridden. The equipment choices removed some of the normal compromises you get on such short travel setups.
The One-Twenty has genuinely eye-opening capability. It's t’s also ruddy good fun because you can push it and it doesn’t push back, but just asks for more speed and more engagement. I know, that sounds a bit cheesy, but the One-Twenty felt really robust and solid when pummelling through and down rocky chutes and smashing into berms and skimming across roots. The Pike fork is a highlight, giving a stout front-end you can really push into corners.
Only occasionally when deep into a technical trail does it feel short on travel. The Merida won’t soak up the full impact of every root and rock you barrel into, so you have to really ride it, pick your lines, use its low weight to float over bigger impacts to make up for its lack of travel. And you will find yourself getting into situations because the tires and fork allow you to take bolder choices and more speed risk than you might on a conventionally specced short travel bike.
Merida’s designers probably didn’t have enduro down on the list of requirements when designing the One-Twenty, but it proved its worth and capability at a local enduro event, the excellent Ex Enduro three day rampage around Exmoor. Granted, a longer travel bike might have been better suited if you were aiming for the top step, but the trails are nothing out of the ordinary here in the UK, and the Merida showed great mettle in meeting the demands of racing technical trails blind.
I’d have no problem using the One-Twenty for XC and marathon races, but for general trail riding, I appreciated the fork and tires more commonly found on a trail bike with increased confidence in those situations that traditional short travel bikes might have you reaching for a white flag.
How Does it Compare?
205 Comments
The only explanation is they made 10 of these worldwide just for show, and they'll focus on selling 1500GBP models.
www.rowerymerida.pl/materialy/prod/big/1410.jpg
If they are paying top of the line price, don't customers deserve the top of the line threaded bottom bracket standard instead of the cookie cutter one? Only cheapskate bike companies use press fit, that's the only real reason.
Threaded bottom brackets on aluminum frames? I'm all for it. But you can't just tap threads into a carbon frame - it requires *gasp* pressing in and bonding a threaded insert. It seems sort of silly to do that extra step, adding weight and another potential source of creaking, when you could just leave it unthreaded and push in a BB92 bottom bracket.
I wouldn't let my purchasing decision be dictated by whether or not a bike has a threaded or BB92 bottom bracket - there are more important factors to consider.
The bike will probably be obsolete, but I remember ovalizing the head tube on an early 80's Cannondale roadbike. I tried building it up with jb weld, which worked pretty well for a while, but I eventually got rid of the frame.
I would think a bb receives as much force. Maybe not, as a fork is quite a lever acting on the headtube during braking. "Not an engineer!"
A threaded bb insert in a carbon frame that had keyways, would probably last well past when the bike is obsolete.
Which is roughly 11K back in Australia... Sooo free trip to here if you want that bike? haha
"because a threaded BB is a lot easier for your home mechanic to replace without messing up the BB or the expensive frame and the tool to do it is way cheaper? Because the chances for creaks are way lower? Because the threaded insert is bonded to the frame so that part isn't going to creak with imperfect tolerances like the PressFit BB? Because you can just get 73mm threaded BB and call it a day instead of trying to figure out which of the myriad of PF standards you have on your bike and make sure you get the right one and right cranks/spacing when replacing cranks? Because it was a standard nobody asked for and a solution to a non-existent problem?"
His first point can't be emphasized enough, what does it say about the throw mentality of the industry when you cannot remove a perfectly good product from one frame to install it on another? It tells me its an industry that clearly doesn't care about environmental waste or recycling and re-using things.
@woofer brings up the possibility of ovallizing, I've actually seem this happen on a press fit frame, once it starts to get loose during a ride the pedaling forces will grind the frame material away.
Manufacturers such as SRAM are now compromising the integrity of their products to deal with the different bb standards. Instead of choosing the ideal bearing size for the intended bottom bracket, the Dub bb uses a compromised size that works with both standards.
Press fit is a compromise to the industry, wasteful, and often a pain for mechanics and bike shops.
I would also prefer not to work around the toxic glues that are sometimes recommended during the installation process of some press fit bb's.
Press fit is based upon a marketing lie in order to bring down manufacturing costs for bike manufacturers. The end result is compromises everywhere and less profitable bike shops.
As for ovalizing the BB. I'd think that is a rare case. If it were more common, everyone would be complaining about it and manufacturers would have moved away from it long ago. My YT has a BB92. I keep it clean and covered in grease to keep crap out. A threaded BB would be better, but so far this one hasn't given me any reason to want something else. YMMV.
So to the complainers I say WTF are you talking about.
Waki is talking about using a 30mm spindle (like what RaceFace uses) in a PF92 frame with BB92 bottom bracket, so the bearings are much smaller than what's used in a BB92 for 24mm spindles. With many cranks using 30mm spindles, it's become a problem. The bearings wear out much faster.
www.fanatikbike.com/products/cinch-bb92-bottom-bracket
Now I do get why BB92 exists. It widens the usable BB shell for complex swingarm/ chainstay designs. Like on my bike. What I don’t get is why bikes with simple solutions use it.
@BaeckerX1 I'm with you, I'll never buy a Press Fit frame again as long as there are manufacturers making great bikes with threaded BB's. PF is a potential trouble spot for any frame that has it, and I like to be able to switch parts between frames rather than throw them away.
@mikekazimer The bike industry almost always prioritizes the interests of bike manufacturers over bike shops. The BB sh*tshow we have now is entirely due to bike reviewers and consumers not being critical thinkers and buying bike manufacturers marketing BS hook, line, and sinker.
I appreciate that you are at least all for threaded BB's in aluminum frames and hope you encourage manufacturers to do this.
"God knows what" simply involves the use of a leverage bar instead of potentially damaging your tools, your bike, or your body.
It's important for consumers to take principled stands in order to improve the industry, just my opinion. That's why consumers need to keep bringing this issue up on every bike reviewed on Pinkbike involving a Press Fit BB, reminding consumers and manufacturers that we view it as a compromise. The fact that some manufacturers such as Specialized have listened to consumers and changed back to threaded shows it's working and with more pressure we can eliminate more PF BB's. No lightening up, no compromise, many mechanics and riders desire threaded BB purity. Only exception is on frames where it might be necessary, but that's questionable since in most cases threaded bb gives manufacturers more flexibility.
Are you aware that oversize, outer shell bearings are available to take up clearance issues caused by imperfect manufacturing tolerances?
What's the problem with PP92,again?
So you're saying it looks like mierda?
BI've seen some HT models @XC races.
btw - talking about names and brands on some countries: Kona ( reades the same as Cona = c*nt). imagine all thr hassle when hearing that kona/hawain jerseys on the road
DHF- Freeride (firmer/faster)
In the end, it probably used to be Front and Rear like Jeremy3220 stated and then changed that. So we are all kind of right ;-D
The Minion DHR II is a complete redesign. Acceleration, cornering and braking have all been improved. The shoulder knobs were borrowed from the legendary Minion DHF and then beefed up to handle duty as a rear tyre. The centre tread has been heavily ramped and siped to roll fast and track straight under braking. Pair the DHR II with the Minion DHF for the ultimate aggressive riding combo!
That's straight from maxxis' website. Of course you can run any tyre on either end, but it's primarily designed to aid braking and acceleration grip (the wider 'paddles' straight across the tread) whereas the f is better for cornering grip with the more in-line lugs. I personally run dhfs both ends, I like the predictability and faster rolling speed, plus I find they last longer.
...the popularity of the HR's is still beyond me when there are DHF/R2's available...haha
F means front
R means rear
It's not much more than a name now
I run dhf both wheels
It still means front and rear.
I've never said it should only be used in the denoted location
It's the name.
It's the name.
It's the name.
Personally, I honestly didn't like the DHR2 in the front and run DHF on both sides right now. The DHR2 didn't corner in the front like I came to expect from the DHF for some reason that I couldn't put a finger on. DHR2 is a great tire in the rear with great grip and braking traction if you don't mind the rolling resistance, but it quickly becomes an unbearable boat anchor at the larger WT sizes.
a good grip /braking tyre to be rear specific, but hey ho, I may just go HR2 .. :-)
@BenPea if I wanted to troll here I would say that a white man and a pink man are arguing about dhf and dhr2, while children in Africa are starving.
Christ, this is like the clipless debate all over again...
Let’s face it if Maxxis started calling them Freeride and race would anyone say it doesn’t make any sense now that no one would point and laugh at a DHR on the front of someone’s bike or a DHF on the rear of someone’s bike?
Back 2013 ish when I bought a new Commencal Supreme Freeride it came with DHF’s front and rear.
You dont know Jungle love? That shit is the MAD notes. Writen by god herself and handed down to the greatest band in the world. The mother f’ing Time!
I would be curious when the last time a line like this actually appeared in a Pinkbike review.
EDIT: Did I say updorked? I meant to say upforked...
The new Pike is really good.
The Minion DHR II is a complete redesign. Acceleration, cornering and braking have all been improved. The shoulder knobs were borrowed from the legendary Minion DHF and then beefed up to handle duty as a rear tyre. The centre tread has been heavily ramped and siped to roll fast and track straight under braking. Pair the DHR II with the Minion DHF for the ultimate aggressive riding combo!
That's straight from maxxis' website.
Check out this Review: singletrackworld.com/2019/02/review-maxxis-minion-dhr-ii-2-4-wt-doubledown-tyre
I am pretty shure "R" and "F" doesnt mean rear and front, I have read this on another review (next to the one above), but cant find it anymore...
It’s less rear specific than before, and many riders I know have taken to running the DHR II up front as well as out back.
That says they know its meant as rear tyre.
If I did everything that I was told to do I'd be just like the majority.