When you look at the price tag, you can react in two ways. Firstly: start grumbling and utter the usual "everything is getting more expensive" curses. Secondly: marvel in awe, stroke the frame, perhaps pick up the expensive item. Wait, there's a third option, but it's unlikely: buy it and step on the gas. We didn't pay, but we sped off anyway, immediately after the expensive freight had left our test lab. We had to wait a long time for the new Merida race bike announced for spring. We had passed the time with test rides on the trade fair prototype ("Project Beijing"). In the meantime, the news that Merida pro Ralph Näf had won World Championship silver on the bike spilled into the newsroom. The bullet is now called "Ninety Six", which refers to the rear suspension travel in millimetres. The bike was able to justify all the praise in our laboratory. If you compare the measured values with the competition (test in BIKE 3/08), the following picture emerges: The "Ninety Six Team" is the lightest production fully we have ever tested (even in 20 inch). The suspension (2,021 grams with shock and lockout lever) ranks second in the weight comparison and fourth in the STW ranking. The wheels (3,099 grams complete) are unrivalled in their lightness, as is the Manitou fork (1,354 grams). Now you can say: at this price, nobody would have expected anything else. OK, accepted. Nevertheless, we are pleased that development has not come to a standstill. Merida has accepted the challenge, analysed it carefully and done its homework.
Get in the saddle: The acceleration tops everything that has gone before. An inspiring 9.8 kilos, plus the light wheels, you lock the suspension from the handlebars - and fire! The bike has a manoeuvrable cross-country character, which is also confirmed by the measured values (compact wheelbase, steep angles). You have to experiment with the air pressure in the shock before you find the optimum setting. The suspension has a fairly high breakaway torque and is not as sensitive as some of its competitors. The "Ninety Six" doesn't have the wide range of use of a Scott "Spark", but it fulfils its purpose more perfectly than any other.
CONCLUSIONIt doesn't get any better than this: Merida's "Ninety Six" has excellent laboratory values, rides sensationally and lays legitimate claim to the title of best (and most expensive) race bike in the world.
Web:
www.merida.de
Photos: Robert Niedring, Daniel Simon
