First Look: New Merida Lithos eMTB
Merida have released details on their new eMTB and they’ve ticked all the boxes with this one. It’s a banger!
The press release says something to the effect of having a single goal in mind when developing this bike and how they wanted it to be tough, reliable and versatile – a bike that will find flow on even the toughest terrain. Looking through the details on this bike it’s pretty clear they delivered on all the details, to do just that. Here’s a quick overview of what stands out to me.
It’s a carbon frame machine with a lifetime warranty on the frame. It’s built around a flex stay suspension system (meaning there’s fewer bearings) with a flip-chip that preserves geometry whether you run it as a full 29er or in a mixed wheelsize setup. The kinematic is designed to accommodate both an air or coil shock.
As a full 29er, there is 160mm of rear wheel travel and in the mixed wheelsize setup that travel moves to 174mm. Geometry is modern: the bike has longer than usual head tubes which increases stack height, at 78.5 ° the seat angle is suitably steep and the 64 ° head angle is bang on trend for eMTBs.
There’s massive dropper insertion numbers – Merida says all five frame sizes will accommodate a 230mm travel dropper post – with full adjustability. The frame has cable routing options for fully internal or semi-external builds.
The Lithos runs on the immensely popular and reliable Bosch drive unit – it’s available with the Bosch Performance Line CX or CX Race motor. There’s 120Nm of torque, 750 Watts of power and either a lighter 600Wh battery or the mega-range of an 800Wh battery to chose from. Some of the finer and super impressive details include frame protection film as standard, a rear fender, larger bearings to deal with suspension sideloads, a carbon layup that is tuned for optimal compliance, multitool storage and a maximum system weight of 140kg.
On first impressions, the Lithos appears to be a thoughtfully engineered package that combines modern geometry, robust construction and practical rider-focused features in a highly capable eMTB platform. //