The Merida eOne-Sixty, Deity's Flat Trak pedals, EVOC's Hydro Pro backpack, the Northwave Rockit Plus shoes and the Schwalbe Albert Gravity tyres

The hottest product to land ahead of testing and the best news of the week.

Liam Mercer

Sep 20 2024

This week's Five Cool Things gets a big MTB focus as we check everything from Merida's latest e-mountain bike platform to a pair of Deity's fresh flat pedals. On top of that, Schwalbe's Albert Gravity tyre has made its way into the weekly roundup with its Radial technology, and we take a closer look at Northwave's new Rockit Plus shoes and Evoc's Hydro Pro backpack.

But first, we've got to look back at the top news of the week as it's been yet another big one for the off.road.cc homepage. Things are returning to the norm after a month's break as the new releases have been coming in left, right, and centre. First, Jespr unveiled a new cycling computer and Santa Cruz brought its latest Hightower to light.

Speaking of Santa Cruz, Leisure Lakes Bikes has slashed the price of Santa Cruz MTBs by up to 53%. Adding to the raft of releases, the Specialized Stumpjumper 15 now comes in alloy-framed models. Orbea has also joined the party with an updated Oiz. Bringing the newness to a close, CeramicsSpeed has delivered a special edition OSPW X pulley system.

It's not all about new releases however as the weekend before last, 2024's edition of the Merida EX Enduro took place and it was another wet one that guided riders through over 20 race stages through over 100km of riding. However, the rain did little to dampen spirits. We also highlighted the best mountain bike gloves of 2024.

As for reviews, we've been delivering the goods as our elite team of expert testers deliver their verdicts on Jagwire's Elite DOT Bleed Kit, Camelbak's M.U.L.E Frame Pack and the Bluegrass Vanguard Core full-face helmet.

Wrapping up this week's retrospective is our latest pro-rider interview as our Steve caught up with Puck Pieterse in Rising to the Top - Puck Pieterse’s rainbow adventure where the young rider discusses her remaining goals for the season.

Schwalbe Albert Gravity

£82

With the new Radial technology introduced only a few weeks ago, Schwalbe is looking to upset the tyre market by creating tyres that provide a 30 per cent larger contact patch compared to regular tyres at the same pressure. The result is more grip and a safer ride.

The Albert, along with the Shredda and a model of the Magic Mary, is one of Schwalbe's new tyres to feature the Radial carcass that uses overlaps with less tension which is said to allow for greater deformation for more grip. Along with a new carcass is a new tread pattern that's said to perform at its best in every situation, says Schwalbe as it benefits from all the things learned when creating the Tacky Chan. As such, it gets the same side lugs but with a centre tread that's not too similar to a tyre from Maxxis.

This tyre is available in 29-inch and 650b sizes in 2.5- and 2.6in widths. As for rubber compounds, the tyre comes with a choice of Addix Soft or Addix Ultra Soft.

www.schwalbe.com

Merida eOne-Sixty 875

£6,000

Released earlier this year and now coming in for a full test is Merida's updated eOne-Sixty 875. This bike is built around the brand's LITE frame and leans heavily into distance and range thanks to its large 750Wh battery. Powered by the Shimano EP801, it gets the recent firmware update bringing the output and overrun in line with its competitors.

As for features, it gets everything you would expect of a current Merida bike. So it gets internal cable routing with the cables running through the headset and uses the brand's FAST suspension kinematic that employs a flex stay, rather than the traditional Horst link. As for suspension travel, there's 174mm at the rear paired with 170mm of squish up front.

The bike now conforms to Merida's Agilometer sizing concept that focuses on the length of the bike while welcoming low stacks and seat tubes, allowing for a greater choice in ride character. Additionally, each frame size utilises an updated version of the brand's adjustable dropper post that provides up to 230mm of travel.

This 875 build of the eOne-Sixty tops the alloy-framed range and it's built with a function over form specification, so while it's not blingy, it all works incredibly well. So that includes the RockShox Zeb Select fork, RockShox Super Deluxe Select shock and Shimano XT 11-speed shifting. A nice touch is the proper tyres inflated onto its wheels, so there's the new classic combo of a Maxxis Assegai up front with a Minion DHR II at the rear, but importantly there's an EXO+ casing up front and a Double Down casing at the rear. So out of the box, it's more than ready to ride.

www.merida-bikes.com

Deity Flat Trak

£149

The Flat Trak, alongside the Supervillian, is one of Deity's latest flat pedals that takes the excellent TMAC and pushes boundaries even further. So much so that Deity claims the Flat Trak is the thinnest the brand has ever created. With its 1mm concave depth, the Flat Trak promises tonnes of pedal clearance thanks to its 14mm depth at the leading and trailing edges. On top of that, the brand is keen to highlight the pedal's thinness but without the bulge in the middle that usually makes space for the pedal's spindle on other uber-thin offerings.

These pedals get 14 dual-access pins per side and large extruded 6061 T6 aluminium 110x105mm platforms. The finish is then achieved through an acid-dipping and anodising process and spare pins are included in the box, which is always a nice touch.

www.deitycomponents.com

Evoc Hydro Pro 1.5L

£115

The Evoc Hydro Pr0 1.5L is designed to hit the balance between a hydration backpack and a vest. At home on the backs of enduro racers and gravel riders alike, this backpack uses Evoc's Airo Flex material which is claimed to be hard-wearing but permeable and flexible to be breathable but also flexible. It's designed to hug the body as close as possible to the centre of gravity close and distribute the load as best it can.

A 1.5-litre bladder is included and there's a single main compartment and a zipped pocket at the front shaped to fit a mobile phone. That's joined by a pair of mesh pockets that can hold nutrition and other light accessories.

www.evocsports.com

Northwave Rockit Plus GTX shoes

£180

The Rockit Plus is the newest shoe from Northwave. It's built to be a do-it-all product, for MTB or gravel. It comes with all of the features expected of a Northwave shoe such as the SLW3 dial and a TPU insert at the toe. There's also an EVA midsole to absorb shock.

The upper is constructed from a combination of PU and Ripstop with TPU anti-abrasion sections. The Vibram Wolftrax sole is built for clipless pedals but is aggressively lugged to provide traction and stability for walking, too.

Setting itself apart from Northwave's other Rockit Plus shoes is the waterproof and windproof Prism S 3ly membrane that's provided by Goretex, which should boost the shoe's versatility well into the winter months.

www.northwave.com

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Liam Mercer

Since beginning his mountain biking career while working as a resort photographer in Greece in 2014, Liam became a freelance contributor at off.road.cc in 2019. From there, he’s climbed the journalism job ladder from staff writer to deputy technical editor, now finding his place as technical editor.

Partial to the odd enduro race, heart rate-raising efforts on slim-tyred cross-country bikes, hell-for-leather e-MTB blasts or even casual gravel jaunts, there’s not a corner of off-road cycling where Liam fears to tread. With more than 40 bike reviews under his belt and hundreds more on MTB, e-MTB and gravel parts and accessories, Liam’s expertise continues to be cemented and respected by the industry.