Over the past few months, José Hermida's Instagram account has repeatedly featured photos of a taped-up hardtail. Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja also contested the last races on a bike with the Erlkönig look (BIKE reported). Now Merida has used the World Cup stage in Albstadt to unveil the Multivan Merida Biking Team's new workhorse: the new Big.Nine. The 29-inch race hardtail was already getting on in years. Another reason why it was time for a new Big.Nine was the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio in August. José Hermida and Gunn-Rita Dahle Fesja favour a hardtail for the course in Brazil.
Race hardtails have a long tradition at Merida
How important in the house Merida the hardtail range The milestones that the bicycle giant can boast about in this mountain bike category show just how important carbon fibre is. But let's start at the beginning: Merida launched its first race hardtail in carbon fibre back in 2004, the "Carbon FLX". The Spaniard José Hermida immediately won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Athens. Things continued with a bang in 2009: the "0.Nine" was the first hardtail with a frame weight of less than 900 grams - at that time still in 26 inches. With this Merida bike, which was still a semi-monocoque construction, Herimda was crowned mountain bike world champion in 2010, followed by the first 29er from Merida, the "Big.Nine", in 2011. In its first season, the 29-inch hardtail was one of the best "giant bikes" on the market (see Test Merida Big.Nine Team 2015). The frame weighed 1100 grams. Two years later, the Taiwanese company followed up with the 27.5-inch version - the "Big.Seven". Why? Because 26-inch fan Hermida didn't get on with the 29er straight away.
Big.Nine frame only 900 grams in size M
With the brand new Big.Nine, Merida is closing in on the 26-inch best in terms of frame weight. The 29er frame in size M weighs just 900 grams. On top of that, there are small parts such as the seatpost clamp (10 g), chainstay protector (6 g) or the new DT Swiss thru-axle, where you can remove the lever (28 g). The high-quality carbon frame ("CF5"), which consists of a total of 400 individual prepreg pieces, relies on the highest quality fibres and a sophisticated layup. It also manages completely without a front derailleur mount. This means that the top models of the Big.Nine and Big.Seven only use single drivetrains. The somewhat simpler carbon fibre frame, which Merida has christened "CF3", weighs around 250 grams more and has a low direct mount on board. The integrated headset also saves a few grams on the CF5.
Own test bench and a lot of work for a comfort seatpost
The second important issue - alongside weight - was seat comfort, which was a top priority for Jürgen Falke's development team. Slim seat stays, which are slightly convex in shape, together with the chain stays are intended to provide flex in the rear triangle. "We designed the seat stays to be as thin as possible," explains Falke. Merida has also laminated flax fibres into the seat and chain stays. These are "softer" than carbon fibres and should help to improve comfort. But the centrepiece of the Big.Nine is the specially developed comfort seatpost. Merida has reduced the diameter from 27.2 mm to 30.6 mm to make the hardtail compatible with standard Vario seatposts. To get the most out of the seatpost, a new test rig has been developed that allows the flex values of the rear triangle and seatpost to be determined separately. This is done dynamically using acceleration sensors. The results of the measurements were incorporated into the new comfort seatpost, which "looks like a Cobra head" with a kink in the upper section. It is reminiscent of the Save 2 seatpost from Cannondale.
BB92 for stiffer bottom bracket connection
In terms of stiffness, the Merida developers focussed on bottom bracket stiffness. In order to realise the widest possible connection of the down tube to the bottom bracket, Merida relies on a BB92 bottom bracket from Shimano. In addition, the new Boost standard (148x12 mm) is used on the rear wheel, which guarantees more tyre clearance without having to compromise on the chainstay design. During our first test rides, the Big.Nine left an extremely stiff, direct riding impression - just as the pros appreciate it.
Longer, flatter, shorter: geometry of the Big.Nine & Big.Seven
José Hermida was involved in development right from the start. The Spaniard rode many aluminium prototypes, gave feedback and incorporated the wishes of the team riders. The result is a slacker head angle of 70.0 degrees on the 29er and 69 degrees on the 27.5-inch bike as well as shorter chainstays (433 mm on the 29'', 423 mm on the 27.5'') for more agility on winding World Cup courses. Merida's race hardtails have also been given a longer reach and shorter stems. This is intended to better integrate the rider between the wheels. As with the Ninety presented in 2015, Merida offers its latest hardtail in different sizes depending on the frame height ("Size Specific Wheeling"). However, there are significantly more overlaps: The Big.Seven, for example, is offered in frame sizes XS, S, M and L, while the 29-inch version is available in S-XXL. This means that riders who ride bikes between 15 and 19 inches have the choice of 27.5 or 29 inches. However, not all sizes will be available in both wheel options in all countries; this is decided by the respective importer.
Aerodynamics on a mountain bike?
The journalists at the Merida presentation were somewhat taken aback when Jürgen Falke brought up the subject of aerodynamics. But what is now common practice for racing bikes is also becoming increasingly important in the mountain bike world. The Big.Nine and Big.Seven have a down tube that has roughly the same shape as the "Scultura Disc" racing bike. The aerodynamic values were calculated and optimised using computer simulations. This may sound exaggerated to the average cyclist, but when the pros are bludgeoning down gravel tracks at 35 km/h in marathons, every watt that can be saved counts.
The aluminium counterpart of Big.Nine and Big.Seven also gets a completely new frame based on the new carbon hardtails.
Fun hardtail in plus format: the Merida Big.Trail
