Merida One-Twenty | Live Ride Testing On Merida's Carbon Fibre Trail Bike 

Thanks Andrew J! After all my years of bike testing, I actually think the matching-kit-to-the-bike has now become entirely subconscious :-) [ST Wil]

Thanks for watching the video mate! Agreed for sure! With current advances in suspension, tyres, wheels and geometry, the latest 120-130mm trail bikes are super capable, and more fun to ride on less gnarly trails. Unless you’ve got EWS ambitions and regularly ride on that kind of terrain, I reckon a 120-130mm trail bike is ideal. [ST Wil]

Cheers for the kind words mate - glad you’ve enjoyed the videos! I’ve had a bit of time off, and just getting back into the swing of things now. I’m working the upcoming review of the Giant Trance, as well as the Merida and Whyte reviews. I’ve also finally got the fork offset test done, so that’ll be coming to our RU-vid channel very soon! As for Merida, according to their website, it looks like they don’t have a US distributor; www.merida-bikes.com/en-au/p/about-us/distributors-worldwide-139.html [ST Wil]

Can do mate! Got an on-board ride video coming soon on the Whyte S-120, so stay tuned for that one! [ST Wil]

Thanks Matthew! Certainly am mate - I’ve already filmed an on-board video for the S-120, so keen an eye out for that one coming soon! [ST Wil]

Singletrack Magazine fantastic news...any plans to resurrect the live chats on Thursday evenings? (UK time).

We’re trying to work that out at the moment - we’ve recently had daylight savings here, so the timing doesn’t work out so well (9 hour time difference from Oz to UK). The Live videos also take a surprising amount of time to prepare and shoot, and I’ve been so loaded up with commitments lately that it’s made it hard to find the spare time for the Live videos. Hopefully we’ll get them back up and running Matthew! [ST Wil]

Singletrack Magazine +1 to the resurrection of fgfdu!!

Singletrack Magazine thanks for the update Wil. My suspicion was that they were proving too time consuming, fingers crossed something gets worked out. I think they are a great forum for live discussion and I certainly enjoyed the ones I was able to participate in.

Glad you’re enjoying them Simon! It’s been a while since I rode the Stumpy ST at the Stumpjumper launch a year ago, so I’d really need to swing a leg over one again to make a direct comparison. On paper, the geo is pretty different, with the Trance 29 being a fair bit slacker and also with a reduced offset fork. That gives it a tonne of high-speed stability, and a real penchant for going very fast done steep and rough trails. It’s certainly the most capable 115mm travel 29ers I’ve ridden. The Stumpy ST is a little sharper in its geo, so perhaps not as sure-footed on the descents. If I can get my hands on a Stumpy for testing, I’ll be sure to make a more detailed comparison for you Simon! [ST Wil]

Hey Adam! That GPS mount in the video is made by K-Edge, and it comes in several different versions including the Lezyne-compatible model I'm using; k-edge.com/shop/computer-mounts/lezyne-stem-mount-adjustable/ It's a clean setup, but it does put the head unit up fairly high - this is the result of the Lezyne X-Lock spline, which is bulkier than what you'll find on a Garmin/Wahoo head unit. Otherwise I really like it, and it's a very high quality piece. [ST Wil]

Hey there Adam! The One-Forty is a cracking bike, and has a lot of the same styling and frame features that Merida has trickled into the One-Twenty. In comparison, I've found the One-Twenty to pedal a little more efficiently, and in terms of its handling, it feels more poppy and sprightly. This makes it the better option for longer distance riding and general trail riding. I think if you were spending more time hitting bigger drops and jumps, and really steep/technical riding, the One-Forty would still be the better pick. Hope that helps mate, but just shout out if you've got any other questions! [ST Wil]

Thanks for watching and for your question Karan! The bottle I've got on the Merida One-Twenty is a 600ml size. It only works with a side-entry cage (Merida includes one with the bike), and clearance is a bit tight and awkward in there. But it does fit. Not sure about the alloy frame, but the tubing may very well be of a larger diameter compared to the carbon frame, and that would give you less clearance around the top of the bottle. The lack of bottle clearance seems a shame given the attention to detail shown on the frame everywhere else. [ST Wil]

@@singletrack Thanks for the answer, Will! Keep putting up great content! :)

I noticed the clearance looked tight also, would a bottle cage adapter potentially work to shift it down the down tube? Also if I may ask, the seat tube looks quite slack, does it have enough forward offset to make climbing still balanced?

@@michaelwillis4528 - I don't think so, since there's not a lot of room between the bottom of the water bottle and the rear shock. If you moved the cage further down the downtube, I suspect it would just run into the shock! The seat tube is actually pretty steep on this bike at a 75.5-degree effective angle. It's a touch too steep for me - I'm running the saddle as far back on the rails as it'll go, otherwise my knees end up too far over the pedal axles and they get sore. This has been my experience with a few XC/trail bikes lately. I think steep seat tubes can be really useful for taller riders and on big travel enduro bikes. On shorter-travel bikes, going too steep has the potential to put you too forward over the BB, and that can cause fit and comfort issues - particularly if you're riding on flatter traverse-y type singletrack. Might have to do a tech article on seat tube angles given it's a pretty hot trend to go super steep at the moment. I'd love to chat with some bike fitters and cycling physios about their thoughts on the trend... [ST Wil]

Hey Frank! That's a great question, since the Fuel EX and One-Twenty are pretty comparable on paper. In my experience, the One-Twenty is a better pedalling bike, with more in-built efficiency through the suspension's kinematics. I don't find I have to toggle the compression switch on the rear shock that much - it pedals really well in the full open position. It's also really agile and zippy on the trail - the handling and suspension performance strikes a great balance between being stable enough for rough terrain descending, while also being poppy and sharp for cutting up tight and twisty trails. In comparison, the Fuel EX has a plusher suspension feel that makes it super stable on properly full-gas descending. The suspension is more active under both pedalling and braking, so it provides outstanding traction. However, to keep it pedalling efficiently, you do need to make use of the shock's compression switch. There are also more frame sizes available in the Fuel EX, and for me at 175cm tall, I like that I can ride both the 17.5 and 18.5 sizes. I prefer the extra reach of the 18.5 frame size, which gives the bike a longer front centre and wheelbase. Overall, I'd say the One-Twenty is the sharper and more agile bike of the two, whereas the Fuel EX leans more towards the aggressive side of the riding spectrum. Hope that helps! [ST Wil]