Merida has two new e-bikes out, one is just about the biggest hitting full power behemoth of a bike you’ll ever see, while the second is a true SL designed for lightweight trail or all-mountain riding.

They’re called the eOne-Eighty and the eOne-Sixty SL, and we’re giving away no prizes for figuring out which gets 160mm travel and which packs in 180. In a step change for Merida, which has been a Shimano-only motor brand for a decade now, both new bikes get Bosch motors.

So while the eOne-Eighty gets the latest Bosch Performance CX Gen 5 motor, an alloy frame and new suspension layout, the eOne-Sixty SL goes full carbon, with flex stay suspension and the lightweight Bosch SX motor.

Side by side the Merida eOne-Sixty SL 10k and eOne-Eighty 900 look pretty similar, but their ride feel will be totally different

Merida eOne-Eighty and eOne-Sixty SL need to know

• The eOne-Eighty gets full-power Bosch CX motor, 180mm travel front and rear, and an alloy frame
• The eOne-Sixty SL uses the Bosch SX mid-power motor, uses 160mm travel at both ends, and a carbon frame
• The SL sticks with Merida’s trusty flex stay suspension, while the eOne-Eighty is too much bike for that and grows a pivot
• Five sizes on both bikes, the big ‘un weighs 27kg and the SL just 19.5kg
• eOne-Eighty starts at £4,900 and tops out at £7,500 with RockShox Ultimate suspension
• SL entry level bike is £6,000 while the top end build is a whopping £11,500 with no expense spared

If you want to dive right in to Mick’s full review of the Merida eOne-Eighty 900 go ahead, we’ve also got this range overview to check out. First up and like a lot of the best new electric mountain bikes coming out this autumn, the Merida eOne-Eighty gets Bosch CX power. The new version doesn’t get any more power, with 85Nm and 600W on tap, but Danny reckons it’s much smoother and smarter than before.

It’s Merida’s longest travel bike ever, with 180mm front and rear, and it’s clearly been built for solidity, with an alloy frame. It also gets the latest 800Wh Bosch Powertube battery, which is more energy dense than the older batteries and will therefore take you further for less weight. The bike’s still just about the heaviest eeb we’ve seen though, at 27kg it’s even heavier than the Privateer e-161 I tested last summer. 

All that travel and heft sees the brand move away from its flex stay suspension design, something it used even on big travel bikes like the Merida One-Sixty FR. Look closely and there’s a new shock link and mount and of course a seat stay pivot. The extender yoke has gone too and instead we’re treated to a funky looking wrap-over rocker. Basically, the flexing design could no longer safely cope with the amount of rotation between the chain and seat stays as the suspension moves.

This bike is full MX mullet of course, there’s no option to run a 29er front and rear and that’s probably no bad thing given the amount of abuse this kind of bike will get. Merida reckons that makes most sense on its hardest-hitting DH machine where extra agility and tyre/butt clearance is prioritised over pure rolling speed.

Merida eOne-Eighty range

There are four different models, all full alloy and all starting at under £5K and rising to £7.5k with RockShox Ultimate suspension. The frame shares a bit of a brand look with the similarly-beefy aluminium eOne-Sixty, but also uses a new shock layout to differentiate it, mullet wheels, and obviously has the all-new Bosch Performance Line CX motor.

Merida eOne-Eighty 900

Merida eOne-Eighty 900 £7,500

The top end bike is actually pretty keenly priced in this modern era of sky high prices, especially when you consider it gets the top end RockShox Zeb Ultimate eMTB fork and Vivid Ultimate shock. The rest is a mix of Shimano XT and Cues drivetrain, Shimano XT brakes, Maxxis Minion and DHR tyres, and DT Swiss HF1700 wheels.

Merida eOne-Eighty 700

Merida eOne-Eighty 700 £6,500

The 700 uses the RockShox Zeb in Select eMTB format, with the Vivid Select shock. Brakes notch down to Sram DB8 Stealth, while the drivetrain is a mix of SRAM GX and NX. Tyres stay the same, but you get Merida own brand wheels.

Merida eOne-Eighty 500

Merida eOne-Eighty 500 £5,750

There’s a RockShox Zeb Base eMTB fork on the 500 here, and Vivid Base eMTB shock. Tektro takes over the brakes, and you get a Shimano Cues drivetrain. Same Merida wheels though.

Merida eOne-Eighty 400

Merida eOne-Eighty 400 £4,900

Finally the 400 comes with a SR Suntour Aion 38X fork and SR Suntour TRIAIR2 shock, neither of which we’ve actually tried on a bike before. The rest of the spec mirrors the 500 above.

Merida eOne-Sixty SL 10k

Merida eOne-Sixty SL

Merida’s not had a lightweight bike before, the eOne-Sixty SL is uncharted territory for the brand then, and it gets a full carbon frame and 160mm of travel. Powering you is the Bosch Performance Line SX 55 Nm motor with a fully integrated 400 Wh battery, and of course you can boost that with the 250Wh PowerMore range extender.

How light are we talking? Merida says the bike comes in at 19.5kg, which is presumably for the mid size bike in the top end bike, so you can probably expect the cheaper bikes in the range of three to tip the scales a little over 20kg. That’s really competitive when stacked against the best lightweight e-bikes on the market, including our favourite right now in the shape of Whyte’s E-Lyte.

Bare numbers on the eOne-Sixty are that the bike uses a carbon frame, comes in five sixes, has 160mm travel front and rear and rolls on 29in wheels, with Merida terming it an enduro bike with some assistance. You can also mullet the bike and keep the geometry unchanged thanks to a flipchip on the seat stays.

And while the big eOne-Eighty has abandoned the flexstay principle, the eOne-Sixty has not, taking its cues from the curry eOne-Sixty bikes. Merida says it takes away another element of maintenance and that it’s lighter too, neither of which can be denied. Certainly when I tested it on the Merida One-Sixty 8000 it stood up really well to The Ex enduro trails down in Exmoor.

Merida eOne-Sixty SL 10k

Merida eOne-Sixty SL range

Merida eOne-Sixty SL 10K £11,500

Top of the range, the SL 10K comes with a Fox 36 Float Factory fork and Float X Factory shock. You get SRAM Maven Ultimate brakes, a SRAM XX AXS Transmission drivetrain, FSA SC 130 wheels and Maxxis rubber. An incredible build then, for a bike price.

Merida eOne-Sixty SL 8000

Merida eOne-Sixty SL 8000 £8,000

The 8000 looks like the bike of choice for most riders, it’s got a great RockShox Lyrik Select+ fork and Super Deluxe Select+ shock, SRAM GX Eagle Transmission drivetrain, DT Swiss HX1700 wheels and the same Maxxis rubber

Merida eOne-Sixty SL 6000

Merida eOne-Sixty SL 6000 £6,000

Rounding out the range is the 6000, which comes with the Marzocchi Z1 eMTB fork and Marz Bomber Air shock, a Shimano Deore drivetrain, Merida’s own brand wheels and Maxxis tyres.