Merida e160 700 - The good, the bad and the ugly

[Sidkop]

Whilst looking at bikes the Merida e160 700 keeps coming up. It looks to tick boxes with the spec sheet, generally ride-ability, price, etc. But what are the downsides and the gotcha’s?

All Bikes have them, I just see a lot loss of them from Merida owners/reviews.

 

[Steve38]

Whilst looking at bikes the Merida e160 700 keeps coming up. It looks to tick boxes with the spec sheet, generally ride-ability, price, etc. But what are the downsides and the gotcha’s?

All Bikes have them, I just see a lot loss of them from Merida owners/reviews.

OK I’ll bite
I’ve owned a e160 700 for around 9 months and put 1200km on the clock

98% all good

Things that annoy me and I have or will change:

Stock saddle (like most) is pretty hard and a bit uncomfortable on long rides. Change it and you’ll lose the handy multitool

SLX hubs suck. I hate the cut in / cut out buzz noise. More costly to update though

Had issues with the battery lock. The metal clip deforms too easily and the rotating lock has broken as well
I like to take the battery out when washing. This might not be an issue if you just leave in as is also OK

Shimano battery management takes a bit of getting used to.You think you’re going OK when you still have one bar or 20% supposedly left
Unless you drop back to Eco your juice can be gone within a few km’s
Got caught a few times early on but not really a Merida issue per se

Don’t let the above put you off
It’s an excellent bike for the money and I absolutely love riding it

 

[Sidkop]

OK I’ll bite
I’ve owned a e160 700 for around 9 months and put 1200km on the clock

98% all good

Things that annoy me and I have or will change:

Stock saddle (like most) is pretty hard and a bit uncomfortable on long rides. Change it and you’ll lose the handy multitool

SLX hubs suck. I hate the cut in / cut out buzz noise. More costly to update though

Had issues with the battery lock. The metal clip deforms too easily and the rotating lock has broken as well
I like to take the battery out when washing. This might not be an issue if you just leave in as is also OK

Shimano battery management takes a bit of getting used to.You think you’re going OK when you still have one bar or 20% supposedly left
Unless you drop back to Eco your juice can be gone within a few km’s
Got caught a few times early on but not really a Merida issue per say

Don’t let the above put you off
It’s an excellent bike for the money and I absolutely love riding it

Thanks, nothing too major there (or too unexpected). Just last minute nerves before trying to finalise a purchase.

 

[Tonybro]

My wife has the 700 and its been great. Saddle changed as it is rock hard! Other than that, no problems.

 

[CTM]

I've been on one for a few months. So far so good. Not a fan of the internal block. Doesn't really work for the tailgate pad. Might try remove it.. other than that the suspension great. Z1 works better than expected coming off a lyric ultimate.
The SLX hub doesn't really bother me but one of my friends I ride with always points it out .
I actually don't mind the stock saddle.

 

[imax]

Need XT brakes upgrade. Funny enough I look at suspension value and Gaint had gr8 value for money when I last check last year. If you get a Marzocchi Z1 get the grip2 expensive upgrade on the 1st service. They end up better than the fox forks for eMTB.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

We just put some money down on a new E160 700 after taking one for a test ride this morning. We had a medium test bike but after trying a Large back at the shop we went with that. My wife is 5'6" & was halway through the seatpost travel which was surprising as we were told the E160s are quite a big size.
It was interesting swapping between that & the Rail 7 I have. The rail seemed more stable overall but the E160 was more nimble & cornered uphill better. If I was to buy a new bike it would come down to a coin toss between either of them (& the new Reign)

 

[Sidkop]

We just put some money down on a new E160 700 after taking one for a test ride this morning. We had a medium test bike but after trying a Large back at the shop we went with that. My wife is 5'6" & was halway through the seatpost travel which was surprising as we were told the E160s are quite a big size.
It was interesting swapping between that & the Rail 7 I have. The rail seemed more stable overall but the E160 was more nimble & cornered uphill better. If I was to buy a new bike it would come down to a coin toss between either of them (& the new Reign)

Interesting that you went with the large, I’m around 5’7” to 5’ 8” and generally a medium. I'm stuck between this and the 2022 Rail 5 (with a fork upgrade). I can't try them out (there's a supply shortage) but the description you said matches what the geometry suggests. Interesting about the uphill cornering, I guess the improved agility makes uphill cornering easier compared to the uphill flats of the Trek.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

Yes the medium was OK & we would have taken it but luckily they had a L to try. My wife really likes my Rail & was more confident on it than the medium 160 but the Large160 felt a lot more similar in fit to the rail. There is a vast difference in body dimensions though however we are quite similar.
Over here in NZ the 400 is $6500NZD & the 700 is the $8200.00 (Thats all there is coming in the Ali) We were going to get the basic model & then upgrade as needed however when I started to price upgrades the 700 made much better value. The Rail is another grand at least for similar specs.
The bosch def feels gruntier however the EP8 was good just different
I really like the mullet for cornering - just floated round but haven't descended with it in anger.
I'm really happy as now I have a quiver of bikes to ride!!

 

[Steve38]

We just put some money down on a new E160 700 after taking one for a test ride this morning. We had a medium test bike but after trying a Large back at the shop we went with that. My wife is 5'6" & was halway through the seatpost travel which was surprising as we were told the E160s are quite a big size.
It was interesting swapping between that & the Rail 7 I have. The rail seemed more stable overall but the E160 was more nimble & cornered uphill better. If I was to buy a new bike it would come down to a coin toss between either of them (& the new Reign)

That sizing sounds odd
I'm 5'7" and riding a size Small and it fits me great

 

[Doug Stampfer]

That sizing sounds odd
I'm 5'7" and riding a size Small and it fits me great

It was all about the reach & feeling of confidence. The medium felt very upright back of the seat riding, the large was a bit more over stetched out. The top tube is quite low on all of them. I'm 6ft & usually ride between med & large depending on style

 

[PennywiseTheDancingClown]

Need XT brakes upgrade. Funny enough I look at suspension value and Gaint had gr8 value for money when I last check last year. If you get a Marzocchi Z1 get the grip2 expensive upgrade on the 1st service. They end up better than the fox forks for eMTB.

Not sure why you say that to be honest.. my SLX brakes pull my 108kg ass up quick fast and in a hurry, usually only using 1 finger to do it.