A duel should actually be fair. 150 years ago, the opponents were each given a pistol with a shot, took a few steps and then the one with better aim was left standing at the end. Bang! But both had the same gun. That was the idea behind this duel. That's why we ordered the high-quality Merida One-Sixty 8000, because for just under 6000 euros it has the better suspension elements from RockShox, the SRAM Eagle and DT carbon wheels. After all, the brand-new carbon enduro bike was supposed to compete against the Pivot Firebird with the Fox 36 Float Factory. However, we tested the 7000 with the simple Lyrik Solo Air RC. It's good, but experience has shown that it's not quite as powerful as the rival's pistol - to stay in the history duel image. That's a shame, but fortunately not fatal in our case. And the Pivot was also lucky, because for over 3000 euros less, Merida offers almost identical equipment: DT E-1700 wheels, Shimano XT groupset and brakes. Well, the Pivot boasts an XTR rear derailleur and escapes the standardised look with RaceFace cranks, but functionally you won't notice anything. There must be other values in the red firebird to make the thousands of euros extra price worthwhile.
Weight is clearly an important value for enduro bikes. In the past, you only had to look at the price tag and at least this was clear: more expensive is lighter. Full stop. With Pivot and Merida, there is a tie on the scales. The cheaper One-Sixty 7000 is not sensationally light, but the expensive Firebird is rather average in weight. Okay, the Ami is fitted with the Fox X2 shock, which is slightly heavier than the Super Deluxe RC3 in the Merida. But that alone makes up perhaps 200 grams. Consequently, the frames must be at a similar weight level. This is not surprising, because even if Merida does not have a premium image, the Taiwanese are experts in carbon and a manufacturing giant that, according to Wikipedia, builds a whopping 72,000 bikes every month. In comparison, Pivot is a dwarf. You can see the power of the company and its experience with different materials in the One Sixty frame: beautifully finished, with internally routed cables, neat cable locks and a chic matt gloss finish, the main frame looks very high quality. However, the rocker and rear are made of aluminium; the rear triangle is designed as a supported single-link. The developers installed a shock with a trunnion mount at the top end in order to be able to lower the top tube as far as possible with a shorter overall dimension and the same stroke. The freedom of movement is correspondingly large and there is still room for a water bottle. Ideal. In return, Pivot relies on a full carbon frame with DW-Link - a virtual pivot point system in which the rear triangle is connected to the main frame via two very short levers. The cable entries are prepared for both classic cables and Shimano Di2 cables. Unfortunately, there is no space for a bottle cage in the frame under the thick Fox shock. A no-go for backpack haters. However, considering the high technical effort that results from the construction of a carbon rear triangle, the point for the more stylish frame goes to the Pivot, at least from an enthusiast's point of view. As different as the rear triangle concepts are, as similar is the geodata: Both bikes have a very long reach and steering angles around 65 degrees. The One-Sixty has a lower bottom bracket and a significantly steeper seat angle. The stack value is virtually identical. Both bikes are therefore ultra-modern and at least theoretically equally powerful.
The set-up is quick and easy using the manufacturer's specifications. We take the Pivot on its first descent and are thrilled after just a few metres. The bright red bike is extremely plush on the ground, the suspension feels almost bottomless at the front and rear and is perfectly balanced and sensitive. The geo places the rider in the centre of the bike. At high speeds, the riding experience is close to that of a thoroughbred downhill bike. However, you have to accept a slight loss of agility for such downhill performance. The extremely smooth ride is supported by the extremely agile yet plush shock absorber, which works at steel spring level. The characteristic curve is linear. The rear suspension acknowledged one or two blunt landings with noticeable bottoming out. An adjustable high-speed compression damping would help, but unfortunately the X2 Factory Evol lacks it. We had to increase the air pressure in order to have reserves. The DW-Link is even more convincing in pedalling sections. The tendency to bob while seated is low and the bike develops surprisingly good propulsion. However, when pedalling out of the saddle, the suspension starts to bend noticeably. The quick adjustment of the compression damping on the X2 does not provide a sufficiently stable platform. The Pivot is definitely not a sprinter, but we wouldn't have expected such a balancing act, as the downhill characteristics are already extremely good. Overall, the Firebird climbs reasonably well and is also fun on long rides. The 46 notch cassette with the 32 tooth front cassette is sufficient for long climbs.
On the Merida One-Sixty, you sit shorter and more upright due to the steeper seat angle, but the position is also secure and low on the bike on the descents. The rear suspension works very sensitively and smoothly with the new Super Deluxe shock. The bike feels a touch more manoeuvrable than the Pivot, but the downhill characteristics are not quite on the same level as the Firebird: in the flowing sections of the trail, the front and rear are still nicely balanced and sensitive without bottoming out in compressions. However, when the terrain gets steep and rough, the suspension suffers from the simpler compression damping of the Lyrik RC. Fast hits often go straight to the wrists. Of course, now comes the price difference and the fact that the Merida would be available with the higher quality Lyrik at a comparable price - and the Fox, although different in character, is on a par in terms of performance. But even then, the rear suspension wouldn't come close to the Pivot. This is because the Fox does a fuller and better job at high speeds than the RockShox Super Deluxe, which, despite its very good response behaviour, is still noticeable as a progressive air shock. On the other hand, the characteristic curve of the Merida fits perfectly: no noticeable bottoming out, but perfect stroke utilisation. Uphill, the rear suspension is surprisingly susceptible to bobbing. The rear end pumps more than the Pivot and we regularly used the compression lever to stabilise the rear end. However, this works very well because the Climb mode in particular is very firm.
ConclusionWe would have preferred to have the comparably priced 8000cc Merida in the duel. Then the pendulum would have swung even more narrowly in favour of the Pivot. But a modern enduro bike simply has to be able to race downhill perfectly - and the Pivot can do this better without compromising its touring capabilities too much.
You can order the entire test duel with all technical data and grades here:
