Tested: Merida Big.Trail 2021

Two years ago, I sold my mountain bike. It hadn't been an easy decision, because my Enduro bike was real fun and for me – being a road bike pleb – it was a welcome change from the usual aero-race-fit-lycra routine. Also, it looked really awesome. It was even black.

A straight 160 mm of suspension travel front and rear made for some real serious trail shredding. Trips to the nearby bike parks were an integral part of the season anyway. But as it turned out, I didn't have time to spend several hours in the car every weekend to break my bones on daring trails.
So more often than expected, the Vienna Woods became my number one destination, and although a lot of flowing mountain bike routes and trails have been built there in recent years (big shout out to WienerWaldTrails | Mountainbiken im Wienerwald), my Enduro bike never felt at home there – it was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

The top model got specced with a Shimano M6100 1x12-speed drivetrain. A really fine groupset, technically equal to an SLX, offering many technologies that have found their way into the low-price segment as trickle-down features from the prestigious groupsets XTR and XT.

Furthermore, it is great that Merida opted for a standard, bolted BSA bearing for 24 mm axles. Why there is a Race Face Ride on the bike instead of an M6100 crank, I couldn't tell. Perhaps it's simply due to supply bottlenecks, of which there are a few these days as I've heard. Anyway, the Race Face crank is certainly as good as Shimano’s, and visually this straight-to-business solution fits into the overall concept very well.
Only the braking system seems to have been compromised on – sure, Shimano’s M4100 brakes do their job. Brakes with two pistons only, however, are like alcohol-free Swedish beer: they shouldn’t exist. Even the two massive 180 brake discs can’t change this fact.

The other components are mostly Merida’s own aluminum parts: 780 mm handlebars (35 mm clamping!), 50 mm stem, seat clamp, grips and the 150 mm dropper post mentioned earlier. Nevertheless, and this needs to be emphasised, every part has clean, high-quality looks and feel. The handlebars could just as well be from Renthal, and the grips’ quality is quite similar to Ergon products.
It is this attention to detail that I particularly like about the Big.Trail. The remote lever for the dropper post, for example, could be a cheap plastic product, as it is the case with many entry-level bikes; but Merida opted for an SL-MT500-IL, which imitates the feel and usability of the right-hand shift lever and, thanks to I-SPEC II compatibility, is fixed to the handlebar with just one clamp together with the brake. This results in a pleasantly clean cockpit with many adjustment options – depending on the rider's preferences, the gear lever can be moved to the left and right, as well as tilted forwards and backwards, until the perfect ergonomic position is found.

So where and now should I put this this monster-commuter-trail-shred-bikepacking ride to the test? It's definitely too good for city use, hence the daily commute to work isn't an option. Bikepacking may sound tempting, but with temperatures just above zero degrees Celsius I’d prefer to postpone such activities to warmer days. So, all that's really left is some trail riding. In winter, however, the Vienna Woods trails are officially closed and usually so muddy that they aren't worth a try... However, after some initial hesitation I’ve come to see the whole point of the Big.Trail in this exact scenario: it doesn’t care what the weather is like. The dirtier the better. Get on the bike and into the mud!

Have I already mentioned the Maxxis Dissector? Developed in close collaboration with Troy Brosnan, these tyres are a fusion of Rekon, Minion DHF and High Roller II – in a nutshell, a God's gift if grip matters more than weight.
At 2.4 inches, i.e., 61 millimetres after all, the tyres weigh just under 900 grams each. If you take into account the roughly 200 grams for the respective inner tube, the weight climbs to almost 2.2 kg. Boom. Therefore, the tyre choice amounts to about 16 % of the bike’s total weight of 13.9 kg.
Nevertheless, I’ve had no reason for criticism – even the muddiest passages, the wettest roots, the most slippery ice were no problem. Well, admittedly I didn’t ride on ice. I lied on this one. But all other surfaces I honestly had no problems riding on. Unfortunately, I haven't had many rides in dry weather so far, so I can't say much about rolling resistance and cornering behaviour. Since I have always been a fan of High Roller II, I assume that the Dissector tyres also work great on dusty terrain. However, I think that more easy-rolling tyres would be more appealing to the average rider.

Uphill, the Big.Trail is a very relaxed ride. It does well, even on steep climbs the front wheel always stays on the ground (of course that is considering the tyres). Thanks to the glorious gear ratio of 32-51, even I can get up every climb - not fast, but reliably so.
I could point out how smooth the Deore shifting system works, but I won’t, because this is no surprise. Speaking of smoothness, that's exactly how the bike takes most descents, both in terms of surface and the feel of the bike. Downhill the Big.Trail is surprisingly agile; despite its considerable dimensions, it takes obstacles and tight tree gaps almost gracefully. Kudos, the geometry is spot on!

The fact that it is a hardtail is not a deficit, but rather a challenge. This stripped-down bike demands much more attention; it does not simply cover up mistakes, like full suspension bikes do, but gives rather straight feedback. This also forces the rider to rethink and adjust the ride line on familiar trails. In a way, a hardtail requires more attentiveness and experience than a full suspension bike, which makes it interesting for experienced bikers, too.

With their revised Big.Trail, Merida has really nailed it. Our world has become more and more complicated for years, and this trend has not stopped at mountain bikes. As cool as I think the latest generation of trail- and Enduro full suspension bikes is, only few of us won’t cringe when looking at their price tag.
That's why it's important to show that even beginners don't have to compromise on fun. Big.Trail is a bike for purists and all those who want to become one.

The bike's specs cannot be beaten, and the few weaknesses – such as the poor braking system – may confidently be ignored. Some upgrading doesn't cost a fortune and is done quickly.
For next season, I plan to optimise the bike’s weight and will possibly go on one or two bikepacking tours with it. Because, of course, I bought this bike. Who can turn down such an opportunity after all?