THE NEW ONE-TWENTY – TRAIL PERFORMANCE SIMPLIFIED
Looking back at a long history as the ‘jack of all trades’ in the MERIDA range and with the last major update taking place in 2019, it was time for the ONE-TWENTY to benefit from their latest innovations to keep their short travel trail bike at the top of its game.
That means boosting the travel up to 130 mm at either end and using the proven P-FLEX suspension system for simple, light, maintenance free and hugely effective performance. They have also harnessed their expertise in aluminum frame production to focus on creating a tough but budget-friendly range of bikes combined with a cost-conscious but high-performance fit-for-purpose kit.
The geometry of the new ONE-TWENTY has also seen some major updates, steepening the seat angle to 78.5° creating a well-balanced position above the bottom bracket for efficient pedaling and climbing and slackening the head angle to 66° for increased trail stability, while reach has grown across the sizes.
MERIDA has also integrated their reach-based AGILOMETER sizing system, allowing riders to choose their bike size based on desired handling rather than seat tube length/rider height. Go long for more stability, go shorter for more agility – or go in the middle for a balance of both.
Furthermore, the ONE-TWENTY gets WIRE PORT cable integration, multiple fixing points for two bottles, a MERIDA trail mount, and a 34.9 mm seat tube diameter for the latest long-travel dropper posts.
One frame, two bikes:
While the new bike is a hugely capable all-rounder, the company has also created the NINETY-SIX LITE based on the same frame. By specifying a shorter stroke rear shock and shorter travel fork with marathon and mountain bike touring-focused components, Merida now has a more affordable alternative to the popular carbon NINETY-SIX.
