Merida Big Seven Lite XT Edition
Back before there was #enduro, dropper posts and tubeless tyres, in an era when rim brakes were king, there once lived some of the most ‘rad’ and ‘badass’ mountain bikers of all time. These pioneering guys and gals rode one bike for everything, uphill or down; they were bike handlers of the first order. These were the days of quill stems, 50-tooth chainrings and in some cases 50mm of suspension travel too (but only for serious downhill racing). Things were intense! Racing was popular and the Grundig UCI World Cup was the real deal, focusing mainly on alpine European courses and big elevations.
Why is this relevant you ask? Well, Merida’s design program operates out of Germany, and if old school cross-country still has a beating heart, it most certainly lies in Europe. Also consider that Merida has one of the longest running pro cross-country teams on the circuit. It’s no surprise that this combination of heritage, location and commitment would trickle its way into the bikes that Merida manufactures with absolute precision, and volume, in their well-known Asian facilities.
The Euros held out against the incursion of the perceived slow and heavy 29er for about as long as they could, but the humble old 26er has now all but disappeared from the 2015 Merida catalogue (only one 26-inch downhill bike remains). Now Merida has invested heavily in 27.5 wheels for their cross-country, trail and enduro models, while 29-inch wheels only get a start in the cross-country bikes. So the new ‘tweener’ wheel size is clearly the future for Merida, but our fresh 2015 Big Seven Lite XT Edition (yes, that’s its full name!) is a real fusion of past and present.
SLICK PRODUCTION
Representing the present is the wheel size of course, but also the fabrication— the Big Seven features a thoroughly up to date alloy frame. Merida’s production ability is rivalled only by Giant, and accordingly this new frame represents alloy fabrication at its mass produced finest. The lines of this extensively hydroformed frame closely resemble the higher-end carbon versions; the head tube junction is notably different, but that’s about it.
All of the eye-level welds have been smoothed to keep the junctions flowing, especially at the seat tube cluster. The top tube on the carbon frames flares around the seat tube before splitting off into skinny seat stays with loads of tyre clearance. The alloy seat stays of the Big Seven also meet the top tube, shaped and welded into a fantastic carbonmimicking form. The stays themselves are uniquely shaped with no bridge for added tyre clearance. All of this futuristic tube forming looks brilliant and the bare frame weight of 1,850g is acceptably light too.
The Merida also serves up a good dose of beef in all the right places. Beyond the slender seat stays, everything else on the Big Seven is big with thru-axles at both ends and a tapered head tube. The old alloy machines of the ‘90s were prized for their low weight and stiffness, but they were also extremely harsh to ride. Since then we’ve come a long way in stiffness and the Big Seven leaves zero room for complaint, but it’s not nearly as bone jarring as its ancestors. Thankfully Merida has resisted the upsizing trend on the seatpost. Skinny 27.2mm diameter posts are once again finding favour on hard tails, and for good reason. Nobody needs a stiff seatpost—bend baby, bend!
The similarity between the carbon and alloy Big Seven models is more than aesthetic. Whether you’re looking at alloy or a carbon, the geometry is near identical across the seven frame sizes (although only five sizes will be offered to the Australian market). We expect that stores will love the XT Edition; it’s well-equipped for the $1,899 asking price and it comes in a wide range of sizes.
RIDE LIKE HERMIDA
It’s often overlooked but frame geometry is absolutely critical to the handling and performance of any bike. In this case, Merida’s best riders are plying their trade on bikes with identical geometry to our alloy test rig—something that adds serious credibility to the platform.
Our tester was a 20-inch as per Merida’s terminology; the second biggest size option in this model. The frame is quite ‘square’ in its proportions with a tall 508mm seat tube and compact 605mm effective top tube length. We’re accustomed to seeing top tube lengths of 625-650mm on frames that are as tall as this. Every year bikes seem to get lower and slacker but the Big Seven harks back to cross-country’s halcyon days.
As the sizes get smaller the Big Seven aligns itself more closely with modern expectations. Pocket sized riders could well find their perfect 29er antidote in the 15-inch size for instance, but for tall riders the cockpit may be shorter than they’re accustomed to. Opt for one of the really big 21.5-inch size to gain a longer reach and the standover clearance will be compromised.
I dug through my parts stash and dusted off a 110mm stem to add some extra length. In truth, I could have run a 120mm stem and not felt overly stretched. Like bodies, bikes come in different sizes, and thankfully Merida provides a comprehensive geometry charts on their website—ensure that you read and understand the numbers before you commit to a particular size in the Big Seven.
Out of the box, the 20-inch XT Edition comes with a 100mm stem bolted to a 680mm wide handlebar and a zero setback seat post. With this Merida has given the bike a real forward weight bias, positioning the rider more towards front wheel. Riding a hardtail fast requires a commitment from the rider to work the fork by staying light on the rear wheel—this is an easy task on the Big Seven. The chainstays are 425mm; nice and tight and a good deal shorter than most XC 29ers. Popping the rear wheel off the trail or skimming it over chattery sections is second nature. The trade-off for this is stability at speed and on descents. The front wheel bias of the Big Seven has obvious benefits when it comes to climbing but also accentuates the fine line between responsive steering and going over the bars.
Rocky steps and ruts can be a white knuckle experience on this hardtail. The 27.5 inch wheels will never roll over or through obstacles as well as a 29er, and the requisite long stem and short front-centre conspire to place a rider’s torso and corresponding inertia right around the over-thebars tipping point. By modern standards the Big Seven is positively nervous and twitchy—a real traditional race hardtail. Riders that like to take charge of their bike rather than surf it may appreciate the outstandingly direct steering of the Big Seven, if they have the skills and bravery to match. This is clearly applies to World Cup XC racers such as Jose Hermida, Ondrej Cink and Gunn-Rita Dahle; they race on the Big Seven Carbon Team and it’s geometry is basically the same as our test machine.
BIG WHEELED ALTERNATIVE
If razor sharp steering scares you and you’d prefer a more forgiving and mellow ride, the Big Nine will deliver. The Big Seven’s larger wheeled stablemate features the same
high quality alloy frame construction and component spec for the same price tag. Geometry- wise it’s an entirely different animal. Despite running bigger wheels, the Big Nine has a more relaxed 70-degree head angle (the Big Seven is 71-degrees). Both the top tubes and front centre are proportionately longer on the Big Nine. The chainstays are longer too but not excessively so (440mm is reasonably short for a 29er). All of this will give the bigger wheeled variant a more centred or rearward weight bias and make it less nerve wracking on a descent or in rough terrain.
As for the Big Seven, its behaviour is quite polarising. I found the twitchiness was a real detractor when going down but the Seven is an unreal climbing demon. Regardless of the grade you can always keep the front end weighted without leaving the rear too light. The rigidity of the chassis and lower torque required to move the smaller 27.5 inch wheels lets you stay in the saddle and pedal a firm, aggressive and fast cadence. Ridden like this, the Big Seven flies uphill like Elvis gravitates towards a deep fried bacon and peanut butter sandwich. Needless to say, it’s natural climber.
Furthermore, the Big Seven is a star in really tight low-speed singletrack. The wheelbase is short and the steering oh-sodirect. She’ll nip around tight hairpins and obstacles that will leave most bikes floundering. In addition to zipping through the tight spots with minimal deceleration, the smaller wheels require less grunt to get back up to speed. In a race situation, stop-start accelerations are incredibly fatiguing, so it’s nice to know everyone on longer wheelbase 29ers is doing it harder than you.
By now you’re definitely getting the picture. Eye-watering, will-scripting descents are not the Big Seven’s forte, but on steep climbs and tight singletrack the old school talents of the Big Seven sparkle.
BANG FOR BUCK
Merida has also done a nice job with the kit on the Big Seven XT Edition. It’s well spec’d for a $1,899 hardtail and the frame is a darn nice too. It’s not the ‘cheapie’ alloy frame by any means; it’s the best alloy model with great parts to achieve maximum value for money. The XT Edition does not get you a full Shimano XT group, but the key shifting bits are XT; the shifters and both derailleurs. Needless to say, the shifting is light and precise.
The balance of the drivetrain is Deore and SLX level parts in a 2x10 format. The iSpec XT shifters mount directly to the Deore level brake levers, delivering a tidy cockpit with a fancier feel than the price tag would suggest. There are more than enough gears for 99% of situations and the stopping power provided by the Shimano Deore brakes is more than sufficient for the Big Seven. The thru-axle equipped Rock- Shox Recon fork is reasonably stout and smooth—its performance isn’t all that different to the more upmarket Reba models.
With these parts on board, the Big Seven weighed in at 12kg without pedals—certainly acceptable for a $1,899 hardtail. Ideally we’d like to see the Big Seven come with a wider handlebar. We haven’t had a test bike with a sub-700mm bar in quite a while. Some additional width would help to temper the flighty front end and allow the use of a slightly shorter stem. Thankfully these are cheap and easy upgrades or swaps.
Merida spec’s the Big Seven with fast and grippy Maxxis Ikon treads; a perfect match for this style of bike. However, in this case we found the tyres unnervingly squirmy unless we ran them at high pressures. The narrow Jalco rims were to blame; their 20mm internal width didn’t offer sufficient support for the big-bag Ikons. With higher tyre pressures the Big Seven feels very quick but the comfort factor drops exponentially. In this case we traded comfort for cornering stability, but a wider rim would allow us to have both, and who wouldn’t want that? We’d pencil in a wheel or rim upgrade as our first option to supercharge the Big Seven’s performance.
In saying this, we’re postulating that the Big Seven will be a real ‘keeper’ and grow along with its rider. The frame and drivetrain should be super durable and the price point is about right for a first ‘serious’ mountain bike. The paradox with the Big Seven is that it doesn’t handle like a beginner or intermediate level bike. The small frames look great on paper, but in the most popular sizes this bike requires a confident and skilled hand to make it sing on the descents.
With a clear bias towards climbing and negotiating twisty singletrack, it’s one that’ll appeal to XC racer-types and those who enjoy razor sharp old school MTB handling. There will always be room for nice hardtails in the market and the Big Seven fills a unique niche within this big, kaleidoscope-tinted piece of pie.
Thumbs Up
• Tenacious climber
• High tech alloy frame
• Durable and sensible Specs
Thumbs Down
• Narrow rims
• Polarising handling
SPECIFICATIONS
Frame: Hydroformed Alloy
Fork: RockShox Recon Gold TK 100mm travel
Headset: FSA Sealed bearing
Handlebars: Merida Pro Alloy 680mm
Stem: Merida Pro Alloy
Shifter: Shimano XT iSpec
Front Derailleur: Shimano XT
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT
Cassette: Shimano HG50 11/36 10-speed
Chain KMC Z10
Cranks: Shimano M625 Hollowtech II
Bottom Bracket: Shimano
Pedals: N/A
Brakes: Shimano Deore
Rims: Merida/Jalco alloy
Hubs: Formula Alloy
Spokes: Black Stainless Steel
Tyres: Maxxis Ikon 2.2
Saddle: Merida Sport
Seatpost: Merida Pro alloy
Weight: 12kg without pedals (Large frame 1,850g)
Available Sizes: 15, 17, 18.5, 20 (tested) & 21.5 inch
Price: $1,899
Distributor: Advance Traders 1300 361 686
