Introduction

Two of the 160mm travel OneSixty team bikes, fresh from the bike wash.

What I Used To Think

I’d never even ridden an ebike, yet, like most people, I had already formed a fairly strong negative opinion (based on assumptions, barely any information and absolutely no experience).

Assistant mechanic (bottom left) signs-off my work.

The First Test - An Evening Ride (after work)

Second Test - A Weekend Ride

On The Trails

NOT

It’s all very well having a bike that climbs like a mountain goat, but it’s completely useless if it handles like the Titanic on the descents. Fortunately that is absolutely NOT the case

Lewis Richards Invitational - Tidworth

Fitness and Exercise

It even made climbs fun. Now there’s something I never thought I would say!

Bike

Duration

Climbing/descending (ft)

AVG Heart Rate (bpm)

Max Heart Rate (bpm)

Calories Burnt

OneSixty

2:00

1,673

136

183

1,569



eOneSixty ⚡️

1:56

3,268

158

189

1,912





I would thoroughly recommend riding some trails (not just the car park) on one and make up your own mind

After mountain biking for almost 10 years, in 2015 I was lucky enough to pick up sponsorship from my local bikes shop, Mitchell Cycles. Team Mitchell Cycles is going from strength-to-strength, gaining momentum each year; supporting grass roots, national and international riders. Having recently entered the longer travel market, Merida have been kind enough to supply the team bikes for 2018. To give you an idea of my riding ability, you can normally find me somewhere near (slightly above?) the middle of the results at most mid-level DH races and somewhere near the back of the field at BDS and national level events.I have been riding the fantastic Merida OneSixty 800 for the past 7 months. After a couple of frustrating rides getting it setup for my “spicy” riding style, I have been nothing but impressed, to say the least. The mid-stroke support provided by some volumes spacers in the rear shock makes the bike feel like it’s charging out of every corner, compression and take-off on the trail. Installing an 800mm Renthal Bar and stem (40mm), volume spacers and slapping on a set of my favourite rubber from Schwalbe has created on of the most capable and most fun bikes I’ve had the pleasure of riding.Before getting into my experience with ebikes, I need to set the scene for any international readers. I live in Southern England - we have no chairlifts and uplifts/shuttle services are relatively limited, 4-6 hour drive away and sometimes have a 3 month waiting list to get on at the weekends! If you’re lucky enough to have access to chairlifts, fairly obviously, ebikes are probably not for you and this write up definitely isn’t! If you don’t have that luxury, like the majority of us, read on…In the last few years, as ebikes have started to come to market, I was sceptical. I didn’t really understand the point, thought the weight would ruin the ride and generally thought they were for those too lazy to get around under their own power. (Spoilers: I was wrong!). Further, I work a 9-5 (well 9ish-5ish) desk job and the few hours I spend on a bike each week, are the only form of exercise I can squeeze into my lifestyle. I’m already slightly overweight, so burning less calories on these rides definitely wouldn’t do me any favours. So far in this story, I’d never even ridden an ebike, yet, like most people, I had already formed a fairly strong, negative opinion (based on assumptions, barely any information and absolutely no experience).I started to getafter reading a review that took an enduro bike and an ebike around the same lap. Rather than being less effort, it just took half the time! Rather than thinking of the ebike as a tool to take the effort out, I started to think “maybe it’s a tool to increase the riding I can do; If I can cut the time in half, maybe I can squeeze more rides into my week; If I’ve got the same amount of time, maybe I can go twice as far”. My new view was cemented after riding at Windhill and Tidworth B1keparks and seeing some people going past 2 or 3 times while I was still struggling back up the hill under my own power. They certainly didn’t look impeded by the weight on the way down and they looked like they were having a lot of fun.Needless to say, when Merida offered me the opportunity to borrow an eOneSixty for a week, the bike was hanging off the back of my car on my Scorpion Rack mere seconds later. Being practically a carbon copy of the bike I’ve been riding all year, the eOneSixty is the perfect ebike to test. Aside from the battery and motor, the frame is practically identical*; allowing me to make direct comparisons between the normal and electric versions.* For those interested, to accommodate the motor, the lower shock mount is slightly different and the chain stays have been stretched by a few mm.For a true like-for-like comparison, after collecting the bike I swapped my Renthal bar and stem and made some suspension adjustments until I felt at home on the demo bike. Of course, given that I’m sponsored by Merida, I’m going to find good things to say about the bike and don’t get me wrong, it was absolutely fantastic, however, to stay unbiased, I will be trying to draw conclusions about the concept of ebikes in general - it just happens that Merida provided the bikes for this comparison.Keen to get as much experience on the eOneSixty as possible, an after work session at Tidworth B1kepark was quickly organised with another TMC Rider - James Windley (Insta: @jameswindley ). I hooked him up with the eOneTwenty, a 140mm front/120mm rear trail ebike - also with the Shimano eSteps system. We were both unsure whether this would be enough for some of the bigger jumps at Tidworth, but cracked on anyway.To say this first test was a success, is an understatement. With both of us on eBikes, in the first 50 minutes, we had managed to ride a lap of every trail on offer - everything from 99 beaches to Hooper Struve... and every run was an absolute blast. Stoke levels were off the chart. Averaging one trail (climb and descent) every 7 minutes - including frequent trips back to the car for water. I was absolutely blown away by how much riding we’d got done so quickly. We carried on for just over another hour, culminating in about 20 runs in the 2 hours we were there. That’s far more than I’ve ever managed on a full day, never mind after work.For comparison, a similar 2ish hour after work session from earlier in the summer pushing my OneSixty up the climb, without any electrical assistance, I managed just under 1,700ft of descending... on the eOneSixty, nearly doubled to 3,200ft (in only 10 miles as the climb goes straight up!)Come Saturday morning, a quick drive up the M4 to BikePark Wales. We head to BikePark Wales regularly, thanks to the convenient location, great on site facilities and, most importantly, a selection of lit trails. This would be the perfect opportunity to see how the eBikes handle a longer ride. Once again, we were nothing but impressed, managing to ride further and spend more time shredding the trails by reducing the time spent climbing the fire roads. This culminated in over 17 miles and ~3,700ft of fully lit descending - again significantly more than I can manage without an uplift.TMC rider George Rickman (Insta: @georgerickman ) joined us for this one, however, with only 2 ebikes available this presented somewhat of a challenge... Nothing a tow rope couldn’t solve though! I think George’s GoPro edit shows how much fun we had on both the climbs and the descents:It’s all very well having a bike that climbs like a mountain goat, but it’s completely useless if it handles like the Titanic on the descents. Fortunately that is absolutelythe case. I only noticed the additional weight in very specific circumstances on the trail. ~95% of the time it was unnoticeable or even beneficial. I would say I was cautious on my first run, but I really wasn’t… after all, aside from the weight, it’s the same bike I’ve been riding for 7 months. I pushed this bike hard from the word go, and it responded in kind. I did notice the weight under heavy breaking through brake bumps towards the end of the ride - I suspect this wasn’t helped by tired arms! The only other hint of the weight was on drops and flat take-offs, the backed end of the bike dropped away slightly quicker than I’m used to. These two inconveniences are more than forgivable considering the ride it gave on the rest of the trail. Every turn was sublime - just the right amount of spice; little two wheel drifts here and there but never out of control. The bike flows from one feature to the next. Much like my normal OneSixty - it really is one of the best bikes I’ve ridden; and the motor only makes it better.I’m sure most people have a flat section of trail they’ve thought would be more fun if you entered it a little bit quicker… On an eBike it's simple… you hit it quicker. The acceleration of a single pedal stroke is phenomenal. Places where you can barely spin a crank on a normal bike can be used to hit the next turn with the speed you’ve always dreamed of (for those familiar, the first right hander in 99 Beaches at Tidworth is significantly more fun with a bit of boost across the traverse). The other massive advantage of descending with boost enabled, must be familiar to most riders - it can restore “flow” to a trail in an instant. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been shredding a trail and the front end pushes through a corner, or you get cross-rutted or bounced off-line, ruining the next features on the trail as you no longer have the momentum to enjoy them. Worry no more; on an ebike you can get back up to speed near instantly and enjoy the next features.In the UK, by law, ebikes cannot provide assistance above 15.5mph (25kmh). Even above that speed, the bike excels on the descents. If anything, the weight is confidence inspiring with the bike tracking the ground, but responds instantly when you want to get airborne. For me this confidence and responsiveness allowed me to go several bike lengths deeper into the landings of some of the biggest jumps I’ve ever done(Enter the Dragon, Bike Park Wales & White Line at Tidworth B1kepark). For the guys who tested the OneTwenty, they sent bigger jumps they’ve hit before on any bike. To me, that speaks volumes about both the geometry on the 120mm Merida trail bike and ebikes in general. Since you can lap your favourite trails over and over without any long pushes or waits in between the confidence builds very quickly while you’re riding. Fatigue is kept at bay. You get more creative with line choice. Due to the sheer number of laps I was able to squeeze into such a short period and the fact I could keep hitting the trails while they were still fresh in my mind - I think it made me a better rider. Sure the difference isn’t night and day, but I’m convinced the difference is there.Get on down to the ebike post office - just lick the stamp and send it ⚡️After the day I’d had at Bike Park Wales, there was no choice about which bike I would be taking to the Lewis Richards Invitational the next day. This prestigious jam session was held at Tidworth. One of the challenges presented here was riding with people on normal bikes. Staying as a group became challenging. I often lost them getting carried away lapping the park. Luckily, being a relatively small venue I usually managed to find the group again within a few minutes. I suspect if (when) I get an ebike, riding with normal bikes may present some real world problems! Once again, the bike was absolutely sublime. Still keen to find out exactly where the limits of the eOneSixty’s capabilities are, I even sent the Dirt Jump gaps in the skills area. These jumps are awkward enough on any 160mm trail bike, never mind one that weighs ~40lbs. However, the last few days riding the bike had taught me not to underestimate it. I negotiated the entire line with the same ease as my OneSixty. Once again, my expectations of this bike were thoroughly exceeded.Ebikes only respond to your input, this meant that I was still putting the work in - admittedly, had I ridden the same distance or same elevation, the ebike would be less work. However, as most of my stats were actually doubled. The “workout” between a normal ride and an ebike ride are actually comparable and I think by this point you already know which ride was more fun! Further, any technical climbs are still challenging. Roots and rocks can push you offline, break traction or if you time your pedal strokes wrong, encourage the bike to tip you off the back! It even made climbs fun. Now there’s something I never thought I would say!I know this isn’t very scientific, but here are my stats. I am aware of the limitations of gps, heart rate monitors and estimated calorie burns, but I used the same methods to measure all the rides, so the figures are comparable as any discrepancies should be relatively consistent across all the data collected. Additionally, I was unable to control for external factors, such as weather.Tidworth - Evening Ride (these are the only two directly comparable rides I could find based on location and duration).Shout out to my sponsors for providing me with some of the best kit on the market all year round and making this review possible:* Mitchell Cycles* Merida Bikes UK* Oneal Racing* Schwalbe Tyres UK* Smith Optics UK* Scorpion Racks* Reborn Clothing* Renthal Cycling* Torq FitnessComment or send me a message if you’ve got any questions of want some more information.Keep it lit ⚡️