The trail hardtail to beat. Fast and fun handling wrapped up in a tough, trail-ready package. Our new BIG.TRAIL 500 is the real deal for anyone after no-nonsense riding thrills.
A passion for trail fun, all wrapped up in a no-nonsense package. The BIG.TRAIL 500 offers handling that at inspires confidence and pushes you to go that little bit further in your search for true trail connection. Our top-quality aluminium frame is paired with tough, trail-ready 29er tyres, a 140 mm travel fork and a long travel dropper post to add confidence and capability to any ride.
The BIG.TRAIL is back and better than ever! Hailed by the international mountain bike press as one of the best trail hardtails around, we've tweaked it so it goes up, down and along even faster - which obviously means more fun. With updated, progressive geometry, the new BIG.TRAIL builds on an incredibly successful heritage, with a slack head angle and extended reach helping tame the gnarliest trails and a steeper seat angle that makes climbing up to do it again a breeze. We've also given it a slicker and tricker look and improved the frame protection too, so it'll stay looking good for longer. Join the BIG.TRAIL family and enjoy hassle-free trail fun in spades. Available from X-Short to X-Long, perfect for finding your preferred size and reach options.
Highlights
- Durable double butted aluminium frame
- Progressive trail bike geometry with long reach, slack head angle and steep seat angle
- Extremely low standover height paired with long travel dropper posts
- 140 mm RockShox Psylo fork with 35 mm chassis for incredible stiffness
- 29er wheels specced with 2.5" front and 2.4" rear tyre with aggressive trail pattern
- Powerful 4-piston Shimano front brake paired with lightweight 2-piston brake
"The original Big Trail was designed on the back of a napkin when several UK customers and Merida’s German R&D team chewed the fat about what would make the perfect UK trail bike. The resulting bike received rave press reviews and delighted customers worldwide.
Since then Merida’s R&D team have wowed the mountain bike world winning the coveted MBUK Bike of the year in both the Trail bike and Enduro bike categories.
Big Trail II takes many of those award-winning learnings:
A steeper seat angle (up from 75.5° to 76.5°) puts the rider in an efficient climbing position and shortens the top tube allowing Merida to extend the reach meaning the bike doesn't feel too long when you're pedalling in a seated position but provides plenty of stability on rough terrain.
The head angle goes from an already progressive 65.5° to 64.0° and when combined with a large 70mm BB drop (up from 66.5mm), gives the feeling of ‘sitting in the bike’ rather than ‘on it’ providing plenty of stability and confidence when things get rowdy.
The geometry follows the Agilometer principles which means most sizes work for most body sizes so riding style can be factored in. If you want to go crazy fast, take the longer size, for agility, take a shorter size."