Merida makes a strong transfer to Bosch motors for his or her newest crop of ebikes, together with this all-new light-weight all-mountain eOne-Sixty SL, its companion full-power enduro eOne-Eighty, and a brand new crop of eFloat metropolis bikes. The 160mm journey is my most well-liked place to begin to debate the brand new Bosch powered bikes, as a result of despite the fact that it’s actually an all-new ebike, it has one thing of an analogue in Merida’s earlier in style e160 platform.
However with a lighter carbon body, a lighter and smoother pedal help by way of Bosch’s CX motor, and the smallest battery that Merida has put in an eMTB but… the brand new eOne-Sixty SL feels much more like an everyday all-mountain bike. And it probably will attraction to mountain bikers turned off by the additional heft of most full-powered ebikes.
2025 Merida eOne-Sixty SL light-weight Bosch SX eMTB
The brand new carbon Merida eOne-Sixty SL is a full 29er Bosch SX-powered light-support eMTB, with a 400Wh inside battery, and the choice for a 250Wh exterior vary extender in case you want it.
This previous spring Merida lightened up their in style Shimano EP8-powered eOne-Sixty all-mountain to enduro ebike with a carbon body, larger battery choices, and longer journey than its title would recommend. (Just about each ebike they’ve made till now had a Shimano motor, nevertheless it’s time for diversification and extra selection.) Nonetheless, that eMTB nonetheless weighed between 22-23.6kg relying on how a lot cash you may spend. Certain, it was light-ish, however nonetheless noticeably heavier than any actual light-weight eMTBs.
This all-new ebike however weighs between 19.5-20.8kg, which is sufficient of a weight discount to actually begin to really feel extra like an everyday massive mountain bike.
Tech particulars
The brand new Bosch SX-powered Merida eOne-Sixty SL ebike sticks with 160mm of journey entrance & rear. The
However you can too eke out one other 14mm of rear wheel journey in case you convert it to a mullet setup with a 27.5″ rear wheel and the body’s flip-chip.
The eOne-Sixty SL additionally sports activities some correctly progressive geometry – in 5 Agilometer sizes (XS-XL). With a 64° headtube angle, ultra-steep 78.5° seat angle, and lengthy 489mm body Attain on my large-size Lengthy check ebike, it’s almost equivalent to the Shimano-powered e160 carbon, simply with 4mm shorter chainstays. It’s additionally examined and rated for Class 4 driving which is the whole lot wanting DH racing.
This eMTB is clearly attempting to emulate full-on enduro bikes, however I believe it actually shines most as an all-mountain shredder.
On the coronary heart of the brand new eOne-Sixty SL, after all, is the 55Nm Bosch Efficiency Line SX ebike motor, hidden behind a vented plastic cowl. And neatly tucked contained in the body is a lightweight 400Wh battery.
The charging port is on the left facet of the seattube, and you can too plug in a 1.6kg, 250Wh Bosch PowerMore vary extender exterior battery in case you want extra help or have vary nervousness. The vary extender does substitute the house for the max 750lm water bottle although, and you may’t run each on the similar time.
Though, as an 85kg rider pushing this ebike exhausting, I may nonetheless get 1000m of climbing out of this small battery in its strongest help mode. So I believe I would go away that additional battery at residence for many rides, though it will be a pleasant addition for large days out on the ebike.
First Impressions Using Santa Coloma de Farners
Merida says the brand new e160 SL “blurs the road between typical and assisted driving“. It’s little doubt an ebike while you notice how a lot sooner you may get to the highest of the hill with 250W of normalized energy (and 600W peak energy) boosting your legs. However while you head downhill once more, the additional weight in comparison with an everyday all-mountain or enduro bike appears to nearly disappear.
That is actually one of many extra balanced-feeling and extra capable-feeling ebikes I’ve examined. And when you genuinely must put in some effort to get it up the mountain, taking place is as playful and pure feeling as an everyday mountain bike. There’s actually doesn’t really feel like there’s lots of compromise right here.
Keep tuned for a extra in-depth assessment of how this 20.4kg Merida eOne-Sixty SL 8000 rides, the way it feels, and what I see as its down sides.
2025 Merida eOne-Sixty SL – Pricing, choices & availability
The brand new light-weight Merida eOne-Sixty SL ebike with its carbon body, Bosch Efficiency SX motor & 400Wh inside battery is available in simply 3 spec ranges, 5 sizes, and 5 totally different colours relying on spec. All get correct all-mountain-to-enduro-ready specs with 4-piston brakes, 200+mm rotors, long-travel droppers on all sizes, and EXO+ Minion DHRII/Assegai tires.
The £6000 / 7000€ eOne-Sixty SL 6000 is the extra “entry-level” with a Shimano Deore drivetrain and Marzocchi Z1/Bomber Air suspension at a claimed 20.8kg. (All € pricing, based mostly on German retail pricing, and might differ all through the EU.)
The eOne-Sixty SL 8000 that I examined strikes as much as a SRAM GX Eagle AXS wi-fi transmission and RockShox Lyrik/Tremendous Deluxe Choose+ suspension for £8000 / 9500€, at a claimed 20.3kg (20.4kg precise for my dimension L).
And lastly, the top-tier Merida eOne-Sixty SL 10K goes all-in at much more than 10K – promoting for £11,500 / 13,500€ with a SRAM XX AXS transmission, Fox 36/Float X Manufacturing unit suspension, and even new FSA SC i30 carbon wheels at a weight declare of simply 19.5kg.
All three specs can be found now to select up by way of your native Merida vendor.
