It's been a good four years now, that Merida has withdrawn from the Cross-Country World Cup. Without a racing team in the top league of cross-country sport, a new edition of the Ninety-Six race full-suspension bike has been a little slow in coming. But perhaps this development also has its good side. Because instead of a small revision of the old and now clearly outdated bike, Merida is presenting a completely new development for 2021 with the new Ninety-Six.
More downhill, but light: frame and geometry of the new Nintey-Six
And that is immediately noticeable. Nobody is likely to confuse the elegant new Ninety-Six with the jagged, straight but less elegant predecessor model. But of course it's not the looks that matter most, but the function. And here, too, the Merida engineers have made significant improvements. The new frame now comes with flexing chainstays and thus saves a joint in the rear triangle. This saves weight and increases stiffness. The highest quality frame without shock should weigh just 1695 grams, while the ready-to-ride top model weighs 10.3 kilograms without pedals and with tubes, according to the manufacturer.
In addition, the geometry has been extensively revised to do justice to the modern and increasingly technical race tracks in the Cross-Country World Cup. As a result, the head angle has been slackened by 1.5 degrees to 68.5 degrees and the reach has increased significantly to 453 millimetres in frame size M. This - as well as the lowered bottom bracket - should make you feel much more secure on the bike on fast descents. A steeper seat angle also ensures a lot of control and good weight distribution on the bike on steep climbs.
New rear triangle with more progression - Vario support as standard
Last but not least, the rear suspension has been fundamentally revised. It should now offer significantly more progression than the rather linear rear triangle of the old bikes - One of the main criticisms of the Ninety-Six to date. The bike should react more sensitively to small bumps and generate more traction both uphill and downhill without sinking into the suspension travel at high speeds.
Of course, the suspension can be locked at lightning speed for the final sprint. Merida relies on the Twist-Lock system from Rockshox, leaving enough space under the handlebars for an ergonomic thumb lever for the Vario seatpost, which is now fitted as standard on all bikes. For the time being, only two models will be available in Germany: The Ninety-Six RC XT marked with complete Shimano XT equipment and Fox Performance suspension for 4599 Euro the entry into the model range, the Top model comes as shown with Fox Factory suspension, XTR components, Race-Face Next carbon components and carbon wheels from DT Swiss. It will 8799 Euro cost.
All further information can be found on the Website of the manufacturer.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
