We cover a lot of high-end, really expensive mountain bikes, but three updated Merida hardtail offerings for MY2026 show that you can get a fun ride, solid performance, and pretty good spec for a lot less. The new 26″ Dirt is the simplest of the bunch – a couple of no-nonsense dirt jump and pumptrack bikes. But the more affordably-made TFS 29er Big.Nine & 27.5 Big.Seven take everything you could want from Merida’s top-tier modern, versatile hardtails… and brings it down to a more accessible price point for new riders or cyclists from other disciplines who’d just love to add a simple hardtail to their stable.
MY26 Merida Dirt simple singlespeed dirt jump MTB fun
Look, dirtjump bikes are fun… and a great way to refine your mountain bike skills. Start by working on your flow and fitness at the local pumptrack. Then, gradually progress by clearing the rollers, tabletops, and doubles until you are confidently sending it off big kickers and dirt gaps. These are skills that will definitely transition into your technical trail riding and trips to bikeparks, but you have to start somewhere, right?
So, Merida updated their 26″ Dirt singlespeed to get the most bang for your buck with extra durability, refined geometry, and a couple of build options.
Dirt Tech Details
- tough 6061 aluminum frames
- singlespeed only
- gyro-ready integrated tapered headset, but spec’d with extra-long rear brake line for bar spins
- 26″ wheels with 2.3″ tire clearance
- threaded BSA bottom bracket, 135×10 rear spacing, 27.2mm seatpost, 2-piece 160mm cranks
- single bottle cage on the downtube
- available in 2 sizes/lengths (M or L)
- 5-year Category 5 DH & Freeride warranty
2026 Merida Dirt – Pricing, availability & options
The new Dirt is available in two bulletproof builds from your local dealer shop now. The ~1100€ Merida Dirt 500 is your dirt jumping starter, with a 20mm thru-axle 10mm travel Manitou Circus DJ fork, hydraulic Shimano MT200 disc brakes, and 2.3″ wire bead Kenda K-Rad tires on tubeless-ready 30mm internal Novatec/Alex wheels (12kg claimed).
The ~2100€ Merida Dirt 700 takes it to a pro slopestyle level with a 15mm axle 10mm travel RockShox Pike DJ fork, a 4-piston SRAM DB4 rear brake paired to a mechanical Tektro front brake that they expect most riders to remove, and a tubeless-ready DT Swiss D1900 wheelset wrapped with Maxxis DTH dirtjump tires (11kg claimed).
MY26 Merida Big.Nine & Big.Seven TFS simplified MTB hardtails
Merida already updated their Big.Nine hardtail a couple of years back, with both carbon and premium hydroformed alloy models on offer, which got both XC-oriented 100mm fork and trail-focused 120mm fork travel options. But even the cheapest of those started around £1400/1450€. Now they’ve brought that pricing down quite a bit further with an easier-to-manufacture mechanically-formed aluminum frameset, a smaller wheelsize option to fit more riders, and more affordable mostly Cues build specs that don’t really skimp too much on functionality… beyond their upgrade-limiting QR axle standard.
The core of the lower pricing level is what Merida calls TFS, or Techno Forming System. Hydroforming aluminum tubes allows for some extreme shaping and ultrathin walls. But Merida’s newly refined mechanical tube shaping achieves almost all of the same gains with much cheaper machinery. So lower pricing for the end consumer, with slightly less dramatic tube shapes and maybe with a few extra grams in frame weight.
Big TFS Tech Details
- new mechanically-formed, smooth-welded TFS V aluminum frame
- now all with 120mm fork travel for improved trail versatility (except Big.Nine 15)
- updated modern trail geometry with -3° slacker head angle, +2° steeper seattubes, and longer reach for a more forward position
- -10mm lower standover to fit longer travel 30.9mm dropper posts (plus no seattube bottle bosses)
- downtube bottle cage and under-toptube tool cage mounts, plus fender & kickstand mounts
- max 2.4″ tire clearance
- 7 frame sizes: XXS-S for 27.5″ and S-XXL for 29″ wheels
- size-specific 50-70mm stem length & 700-760mm bar widths
- threaded BSA bottom brackets
- still use non-Boost QR axles
- Category 3 rated for XC & Trail riding
2026 Merida Big.Nine & Big.Seven – Pricing, availability & options
There are essentially 8 levels of the affordable TFS-level aluminum hardtail build specs. Just the top two are 29er only with 5 sizes, while the remaining six come in either Big.Nine or Big.Seven models with 7 sizes on offer. The 29er-only Big.Nine 400 is the top-tier with a RockShox Judy Gold RL air fork & 1x Shimano Cues 11sp LinkGlide drivetrain, selling for around 1250€. (Note: All € pricing is approximate as it is ultimately determined at each national distributor level.)
Then, there are a couple models with Suntour XCR32 forks and either 1x or 2x Shimano Cues 10-speed LinkGlide drivetrains for a bit less. One with a budget RockShox coil fork & Cues 1x9sp. Then, around 950€ the 60 or 40 with X-Fusion Migo 32 air forks and either 2x or 1x Cues 9-speed.
The specs go down even further to get prices low with the MY26 Big.Nine & Big.Seven 20 fitted with a SR Suntour XCR32 coil fork & Shimano Essa 1x8sp at 700-750€. And the most affordable of the family being a 650€ Big.Nine/Seven with a shorter 100mm travel SR Suntour XCE28 coil fork & Shimano Altus/Tourney 2x 7sp drivetrains.
Availability of each individual model (and typically two color options each) varies depending on your market, so reach out to a local Merida dealer if you are looking for a low-cost but solid quality aluminum hardtail mountain bike.
