I own a Merida and can honestly say I couldn’t care less about their corporate history, does anyone really?

Well you learn something new every day.
A mate had a No6 when we were kids.
I never knew it was a Merida.

Didn’t know the story about the sign.

Nothing about them owning a chunk of specialized or the LRS (I know, licensed from bergwerk)?

Had loads of meridas over the years, my fav being the Carrera Fury from about 2000, but also have a soft spot for the lrs.

How did geometry begin so wrong without someone suggesting “let’s try the complete opposite”?

Pure chance. Marketing always has to make something ‘more’ from one model year to the next and it was a mere toss of a coin, direction of the wind or whatever that set us all off in the direction of more steeper head angles, more shorter wheelbases, more narrower bars and more faster handling.

does anyone really?

I do too. It’s as much part of the history of bikes as who won what when.

and it was a mere toss of a coin, direction of the wind or whatever that set us all off in the direction of more steeper head angles, more shorter wheelbases, more narrower bars and more faster handling.

It was the roadies more XCing them what did that. MTBs 1980-1987 were mostly better geometries than all that NORBA XC geometry stuff 1990-1995 imho. At least, closer to where they ended up. I like how the early 80s MTBs looked.

I like my “Aldi” bikes as a friend described my Merida in 2014.

Love my 2021 big trail Aldi bike especially.

Pushbikes is a great word.

Riding irons is not, is foppish, and reeks of trying to be hipster.