Merida Ninety-Six 9.Team (2017)

The 2017 Merida Ninety-Six 9.Team is a top-end full-suspension cross-country mountain bike. The build is spectacular from the ground up: a DT Swiss Spline One wheelset rolls fast and smooth, the big 29ers climbing confidently over any obstacle; brakes are SRAM's Level Ultimate, stalwart hydraulic discs with extraordinary stopping power; and the drivetrain is the top-of-the-line XX1 Eagle, the broadest one-ring drivetrain out there, with lightning-fast shifts and a 10-50T 12-speed cassette. The frame is no afterthought: all-carbon, Merida's finest mix, equipped with RockShox' Monarch XX shock and RS1 fork, it leaps over berms, smoothly cushions landings, and climbs like a goat.
A very good cross-country racer.