Merida makes a powerful move to Bosch motors for their latest crop of ebikes, including this all-new lightweight all-mountain eOne-Sixty SL, its companion full-power enduro eOne-Eighty, and a new crop of eFloat city bikes. The 160mm travel is my preferred starting point to discuss the new Bosch powered bikes, because even though it is really an all-new ebike, it has something of an analog in Merida’s previous popular e160 platform.
But with a lighter carbon frame, a lighter and smoother pedal assist via Bosch’s SX motor, and the smallest battery that Merida has put in an eMTB yet… the new eOne-Sixty SL feels a lot more like a regular all-mountain bike. And it likely will appeal to mountain bikers turned off by the extra heft of most full-powered ebikes.
2025 Merida eOne-Sixty SL lightweight Bosch SX eMTB
The new carbon Merida eOne-Sixty SL is a full 29er Bosch SX-powered light-support eMTB, with a 400Wh internal battery, and the option for a 250Wh external range extender if you need it.
This past spring Merida lightened up their popular Shimano EP8-powered eOne-Sixty all-mountain to enduro ebike with a carbon frame, bigger battery options, and longer travel than its name would suggest. (Pretty much every ebike they’ve made until now had a Shimano motor, but it’s time for diversification and more choice.) Still, that eMTB still weighed between 22-23.6kg depending on how much money you could spend. Sure, it was light-ish, but still noticeably heavier than any real lightweight eMTBs.
This all-new ebike on the other hand weighs between 19.5-20.8kg, which is enough of a weight reduction to really start to feel more like a regular big mountain bike.
Tech details
The new Bosch SX-powered Merida eOne-Sixty SL ebike sticks with 160mm of travel front & rear. The <2kg carbon frame features a simple linkage-driven single-pivot suspension design with flex engineered into the seat stays for simplicity and light weight.
But you can also eke out another 14mm of rear wheel travel if you convert it to a mullet setup with a 27.5″ rear wheel and the frame’s flip-chip.
The eOne-Sixty SL also sports some properly progressive geometry – in 5 Agilometer sizes (XS-XL). With a 64° headtube angle, ultra-steep 78.5° seat angle, and long 489mm frame Reach on my large-size Long test ebike, it’s nearly identical to the Shimano-powered e160 carbon, just with 4mm shorter chainstays. It’s also tested and rated for Category 4 riding which is everything short of DH racing.
This eMTB is clearly trying to emulate full-on enduro bikes, but I think it really shines most as an all-mountain shredder.
At the heart of the new eOne-Sixty SL, of course, is the 55Nm Bosch Performance Line SX ebike motor, hidden behind a vented plastic cover. And neatly tucked inside the frame is a light 400Wh battery.
The charging port is on the left side of the seat tube, and you can also plug in a 1.6kg, 250Wh Bosch PowerMore range extender external battery if you need more support or have range anxiety. The range extender does replace the space for the max 750lm water bottle though, and you can’t run both at the same time.
Although, as an 85kg rider pushing this ebike hard, I could still get 1000m of climbing out of this small battery in its most powerful assist mode. So I suspect I would leave that extra battery at home for most rides, although it would be a nice addition for big days out on the ebike.
First Impressions Riding Santa Coloma de Farners
Merida says the new e160 SL “blurs the line between conventional and assisted riding“. It is no doubt an ebike when you realize how much faster you can get to the top of the hill with 250W of normalized power (and 600W peak power) boosting your legs. But when you head downhill again, the extra weight compared to a regular all-mountain or enduro bike seems to almost disappear.
This is certainly one of the more balanced-feeling and more capable-feeling ebikes I have tested. And while you genuinely have to put in some effort to get it up the mountain, going down is as playful and natural feeling as a regular mountain bike. There really doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of compromise here.
Stay tuned for a more in-depth review of how this 20.4kg Merida eOne-Sixty SL 8000 rides, how it feels, and what I see as its downsides.
2025 Merida eOne-Sixty SL – Pricing, options & availability
The new lightweight Merida eOne-Sixty SL ebike with its carbon frame, Bosch Performance SX motor & 400Wh internal battery comes in just 3 spec levels, 5 sizes, and 5 different colors depending on spec. All get proper 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 more “entry-level” with a Shimano Deore drivetrain and Marzocchi Z1/Bomber Air suspension at a claimed 20.8kg. (All € pricing is based on German retail pricing, and can vary throughout the EU.)
The eOne-Sixty SL 8000 that I tested moves up to a SRAM GX Eagle AXS wireless transmission and RockShox Lyrik/Super Deluxe Select+ suspension for £8000 / 9500€, at a claimed 20.3kg (20.4kg actual for my size L).
And lastly, the top-tier Merida eOne-Sixty SL 10K goes all-in at even more than 10K – selling for £11,500 / 13,500€ with a SRAM XX AXS transmission, Fox 36/Float X Factory suspension, and even new FSA SC i30 carbon wheels at a weight claim of just 19.5kg.
All three specs are available now to pick up through your local Merida dealer.
