Come on then guys – Whos got one? how do you rate them – Good bad or just ugly? They don't have the kudos of some of the 'big' brand that have been around for an age but……. Your thoughts?

I have an 850D Matt's trail and it serves me well over the past couple of year's, when i upgrade to a full susser i will definatly be checking out Merida due to my good experience with them 🙂

I was talked into buying one over the equivalent priced orange hardtail and TBH im happy with my choice..

merida are one of the biggest bike manufacturers in the world… the flexi hardtail they do is awesome…they produce bikes for spech and many others…

2009 matts TFS900d here. £999 of full XT groupset goodness with Reba SL forks. It's well designed, well made and has some really nice details. I was just that little bit better specced and somehow more interesting (for me) than its nearest rival, the rockhopper this year.

I had to change the saddle (everyone I know who's bought a Merida has changed the saddle)but that's the only bad point I can think of.

I have managed to keep my saddle so far but enough is enough as my ass canny take it anymore, i was thinking it was me being soft too 😆

'big' brand that have been around for an age

They have owned Specialized for a long long time..

You sure? I was under the impression that their frames were made in the same factory.

Merida own a percentage of Spez (They make frames for several companies).
Technically Specialized don't actually make anything, it's all made for them in various factories.

I thought merida owned 49% of specialized.
One of the biggest bike manufacturers and few have heard of them.
I've got a 5, but if i were choosing again i'd look closer at merida and possibly cube before deciding.

they are the 2nd biggest bike maker in the world iirc

I have an flx 3500 d its sweet and yes 49 % of spesh are owned and a good bit of scott !

I sold quite a few Meridas over the course of 2009 and was happy with all of them. If there's something you like in the range, there's no reason not to go for it 8)

Good feedback guys.

I have heard the name over the years but never really connected with it properly.

Do you think most people will shy away from these bikes because of the same reason ie: just dont know the name? I think die hards will look at them closly and see them for what they really are, but average joe seems to just be looking for a mainstream name that is well known.

The pressure has to be on the retailer to sell these as well as possible and get the name more mainstream.

sorry to hijack this thread but i have a merida mission comp frame for sale its 18" very good condition, its similar to the spesh epic but without the brain shock, i paid £110 for it from an auction site but its to big for me will accept £60 plus post, it rides really well and climbs even better imho,any takers? gazman

FLX3500 all the way. Amazing bike.

I've got an FLX 3500 – carbon hardtail – I likee.

Left off the supplied bar ends in favour of some Ergon grips. Changed the pedals to shimano, but only so's they'd be interchangeable with other bikes/shoes in the family.

Other than that the only upgrade I'm planning is to tubeless.

Ditto on the pedals, I like the bar ends.

the"one five o" is a very tasty bit of kit!

RPRT and dimmadan – this might make you cry ….

Its SS for winter racing.

Normally its full XTR (except cranks and brakes). I shoulda bought the top model – but i didnt like the colour haha! Awesome bike to ride though , it doesnt feel good bimbling about but get aggressive with it and race mist comes down and it flys and just wants to go harder and handles awesome at speed !

double post !

LOVE IT.

I built up a Merida pro carbon for my wife in 2008.
It's a little small for me but on the few times Ive ridden it i find it a very nice frame.
It feels much softer than my Giant XTC carbon or Scott Carbon which makes a nice change.

gazman, does it have the manitou spv rear shock?

saccades, i`m not to sure tbh i know that its a coil sprung shock with a screw on the bottom that adjusts the damping, my email is playing up at the mo so i will try and send you a pic asap,

gaz

they seem to be better priced in relation to spec than competitors such as kona. thats why i bought a matts 50-d. would it be worth upgrading?

Thumbs up here for the TFS Trail (5" travel hardtails), really sharp and flickable little bike, short wheelbase though despite the slack head angle. Its a more mess around in the woods bike than xc racer, great fun though!

Gazman – that's the German "A" shock with the £50 coil upgrade.

I was really looking for a spare SPV for my LRS as I have a "A" one atm.

A shop near me has just started getting them in, first ones I've ever seen in the flesh and they look pretty good. If I was buying now I'd certainly take a look.

I built a Merida Transmission up. Great Frame and the complete bikes have fantastic specs for the money.

The local scrotes liked it enough to nick it 🙁

black and yellow Speed wasn't it Binners?

I remember the thread about the time I got hold of my 2nd hand one, I did a bit of searching as a JIC and found the same fella trying to sell the frame I bought off him a year or so beforehand.

I like it loads, always wanted one when i got into MTB but could only justify a Carrera LRS cheapo version.

Thats the one fella

I started with the Carrera version too, then upgraded to that one with the SPV shock. Very under-rated bike IMHO

Here's my Evo team road bike. I'll be upgrading the kit when the nice weather returns but its winter spec with Old Ultegra kit. Bets road bike I have owned. Its really comfortable and very responsive.