Merida One-Sixty FR 800 review

Is the enduro bike dead, killed by the eeb? If we failed to have a good time on this bike that certainly could be the case…

• Brand: Merida
• Product: One-Sixty FR 800
• Price: £3,800
• From: Merida Bikes
• Tested by: Aran Francis for 4 months (plus Benji for a couple of rides)

Pros

• Eats fast, open chunk for breakfast (and then has hucks for lunch)
• Surprisingly comfy climber
• Well chosen spec where it matters

Cons

• Not the best on slinky linky loamers
• You’ll need to sort out the correct weight spring before you leave the shop

‘Freeride’ doesn’t just mean flinging yourself off cliffs in Utah or chinbar-banging off silly big wooden features in some woods in British Columbia. ‘Freeride’ arguably represents what some of us do on our usual rides: mucking about in the woods exploring new tracks and ticking off challenging/stoopid features with your mates.

‘Freeride’ is not necessarily about speed, distance or any other quantifiable metric, but instead simply having a good time riding bikes. It seems to me that this definition of ‘Freeride’ is what the FR in this Merida One-Sixty FR 800 stands for. FWIW it’s the type of riding that I grew up on. Coincidentally, if I was that kid now, this is the bike I would have wanted. 180mm of fork travel, mixed wheel size and a very Top Trump-friendly spec.

To go against the Freeride grain and start with the One-Sixty FR’s ability to handle uphills. There is no getting around the semi-literal elephant in the room: the FR 800 is a big and heavy bike. However, with how comfortable the riding position is you quickly begin to adapt to this near 18 kg weight. I really can’t stress enough how good this riding position feels and having sat on some of my mate’s Merida One-Sixty bikes in car parks, this to me is one of the stand-out features across Merida’s One-Sixty range.

On top of this, it comes with lots of dropper insertion and an adjustable travel post. The bike pedals really well too, with surprisingly little pedal bob even with a fairly light spring (which is swapped in to replace the 450 spring it ships with). However, if you do find pedal bob creeping in, the Vivid coil has a nice simple climb switch which puts an end to any bobbing. Before doing that though, we’d recommend not being afraid of the red and blue taps AKA the damping dials. Coils don’t ‘get worse’ with more damping dialled on. Give those dial a tweak.

As expected though, the One-Sixty FR clearly excels when it is pointed down. To be blunt, it performs as expected when you look at the numbers. The One-Sixty has a pretty generous reach; this Long size has a reach of 492mm with a (claimed) 64° head angle (we measured it as more like 63-and-a-bit°). As a result it feels a little monstertrucky to sub-6ft pilots.

It is very much a bike you can point at a rough section and it’ll roll on through. The One-Sixty FR really eats through chunk and it can handle some seriously deep landings too, the latter characteristic saved me on a few occasions! For better or worse, through the rough stuff it doesn’t feel too dissimilar from that planted weighty feel you get from an eeb between your legs.

Whilst the One-Sixty FR does still allow for some nuance to your descending, thanks in part to the 27.5 back wheel, my main critique would be that for my height (179cm) and riding style it does ride rather overly planted. I’d advise sizing down if you’re in between sizes. Anyway, the bike picks up speed and holds onto it with steeper tracks, taking a touch more persuasion to get round tighter corners.

Having said that, I’d say that this bike is not really about corners. Well, unless you’re in a bikepark with lots of supportive berms. It’s a pretty specific bike: it either likes fast, open, chunk or slow super-steep tekkers and hucking. It’s much more like a DH bike that you pedal comfortably to the top of hills. It is not an enduro bike really. Though it may take some maneuvering on the tight stuff, on the flip side, the One-Sixty feels effortlessly fast when the trail opens out, holding speed well and remaining stable when things get rough.

t’s hard to criticise the FR for being so… well, FR, but it does occasionally suffer slightly from a dulled-down feeling that can be a symptom of big travel bikes. If you’re not going flat out say, when riding on ‘loamers’ etc, I feel that the FR can suffer somewhat from its own success in the unwavering stability department. But yeah, if you’re a smasher, hucker and/or steep-chuter… you’ll be laughing. Literally.

At £3,800 the One-Sixty FR 800 isn’t too bad value. it’s clear that Merida has focussed on what’s important on a freeride bike and allocated the budget accordingly. With suspension, brakes and wheels, the FR does plenty to satisfy. The Zeb Ultimate and Vivid Coil pairing offer plenty of adjustment, yet are nice and easy to set up in broadly the right way if you’re not into your fiddling.

FWIW we tested the Vivid here with a Sprindex with 340-380lb spring (you get a 450lb spring as standard with the size Long). At just north of 70kg (and Benji mid 70kg) we ran it mostly between 375 and 365lb and found the 170mm rear travel felt impressivley bottomless even on the lighter settings.

DT Swiss F 1900 wheels are a nice option and stood up really well to punishment. As for tyres, Merida has opted for Continental Kryptotal F & R, with the thicker DH oriented casing on the rear and the Enduro casing on the front. The Kryptotals do a good job of matching the balance between toughness and pedalability that is definitely the vibe of the One-Sixty FR. I coincidentally didn’t have a single puncture during my time on this bike (a test bike first for me!). For stopping, SRAM Mavens offer great power albeit with a slightly heavier and sometimes slightly inconsistent lever feel.

It’s reassuring that Merida has definitely spent the ‘spec budget’ where it matters and have been able to retain some decent value for such a well-equipped bike. The Shimano Deore drivetrain was nothing special, but I am glad for the cheaper, mechanical shifting in return for some better kit elsewhere. The own-brand Merida bits are also pretty good. I am especially a fan of the 200-230mm adjustable dropper which ran smoothly throughout the test.

[ I found the mid-rise bar and short head tube made for a rather low front end height. Swapping in a 50mm riser bar improved things and made for a less glued-down front end – Benji ]

The FR 800 we tested came as a mullet and was kept that way. There is the option for full 29 and a flip chip to adjust the geometry to fit. Though, I personally don’t see the need for making that switch (apart from possibly flipping into 29er mode and still running a 27.5 rear wheel if circumstances/desires call for a super slack ‘n’ low geo setup…)

It is frustrating to see headset-routed cabling which will make life just a little bit more difficult when it comes to maintenance.

Aside from extra headset-routing faff, I can see the One-sixty FR still being a great bike to live with over the long term. It’s good to see a decent effort in the way of chainstay protection as the Deore system can get a bit rattely. The integrated mudguard and tool strap are a nice touch too. The 5 year frame warranty, especially on a bike designed to be ridden hard, could also come in handy.

From square-edged rocks to overshooting jumps, I put some serious punishment into this bike and the only problem I had was a bent rear mech after it had attempted to chew through a decent sized stick.

Overall

There’s nothing particularly surprising about how the FR rides. You get the expected no nonsense descending capability, balanced with a slight loss in agility. On the uphills there is a degree of surprise; the pedalling position is extremely comfy and – if you need it to – the One-Sixty FR 800 can handle some big days. If you want a bike that can cope with some heavy bikepark days but also work for day-to-day domestic-DH duties, the Merida One-Sixty FR is a great option. If you want something more agile and playful, there are better options out there. Not least the Merida One-Sixty not-FR models.

Merida One-Sixty FR 800 specification

• Frame // Aluminium, 171mm
• Shock // RockShox Vivid Coil
• Fork // RockShox Zeb Ultimate, 180mm
• Wheels // DT Swiss F 1900
• Front Tyre // Continentla Kryptotal F Enduro Soft 29×2.4in
• Rear Tyre // Continental Kryptotal R DH Soft 27.5×2.4in
• Chainset //Shimano Deore MT512, 165mm, 32T
• Brakes // SRAM Maven, 220/200mm
• Drivetrain // Shimano Deore M6000, 10-51T
• Stem // Merida Expert eTRII 35mm, 40mm
• Handlebars // Merida Expert TR II 35, 780x30mm
• Grips  Merida Expert TR Lock-on
• Seat Post // Merida Expert TR III, 34.9mm, 200-230mm
• Saddle // Merida Comp SL
• Sizes Available // XShort, Short, Mid, Long, XLong
• Size Tested // Long
• Weight // 17.9kg

Geometry of our size Long

• Head angle // 64°
• Effective seat angle // 79°
• Seat tube length // 445mm
• Head tube length // 105mm
• Chainstay // 437.5mm
• Wheelbase // 1,275mm
• Effective top tube // 621mm
• BB height // 7mm BB drop
• Reach // 498mm