Merida Big Ninety Nine

[MarioM]

My new XC race machine replacing another Merida ( 96 ) .I was going to take my time with this build after getting the frame from Johnny Sprockets but the forks and wheelset came in the too good to say no to price bracket . This is my first 29" bike and its so damn quick . The spec will change as I borrowed some parts from the 96 to put this one on the trail . It had its maiden voyage today and was able to compare the ride to another done on the 96 just recently . Over the same course the big 99 was 3 min15 sec faster than the 96 with a lot less effort and I wasn`t pushing it , just trying to get used to it . I felt instantly comfortable on it when I sat on it and after 3 laps I was used to it . I love having remote lockouts back .
Changes will be going to 700 mm bars and I`m thinking maybe a 32 tooth front ring .

Frame - Merida Big Ninety Nine
Rear shock - DT Swiss M212 remote lockout
Front shock/fork - Suntour Axon Elite with ti axle and remote lockout
Handlebars - FSA SLK Carbon 680 mm NOW 3T Pro flat 720 3 deg alloy bar
Stem - FSA SLK alloy ? with carbon face plate . The ? is because the inside of the stem looks carbon not alloy .
Headset - FSA ZS3
Grips - ESI
Saddle - Selle unsure of model NOW Ergon SMR3S Marathon saddle
Seatpost - On Off components NOW 3T Pro zero offset
Front brake - Avid XO
Rear brake - Avid XO
Cranks - FSA K Force Light carbon 170 with Blackspire Mono Veloce NW 30 tooth ring
Chainguide - NIL
Chain - KMC
Pedals - Crank Bros
Front derailleur - NIL
Rear derailleur - XT shadow plus 11 speed medium cage
Front shifter - NIL
Rear shifter - XT 11 speed
Cassette - SLX CSM7000 11 speed 11 - 42
Front hub - Stans 3.30 TI 15 mm axle
Rear hub - Stans 3.30 TI 12 x 142 axle
Front rim - STANS XC LTD 24 Spoke
Rear rim - STANS XC LTD 28 Spoke
Spokes - Sapim Race Black 2.0/1.8/2.0mm
Nipples - Sapim Double Square Secure Lock, Silver
Tyres - Rubena Charybdis 29 x 2.0 Now nobby nic addix of some sort 2.2 and 2.35
Tubes - Rubena sealant
Total weight - 12 Kg with pedals

 

[Freediver]

I've got the stock build on one of these, it climbs better than anything else I've ever swung a leg over but yours will do even better being about 1 1/2 kg lighter

 

[MarioM]

Yeah its funny . The 96 sits in the high 10 kg ( Carbon ) but the 99 feels so light on the trail . The front end is so easy to pick up and it jumps well . Even if I were to do a full weight weenie build I think the max I could get would be another kilo ( frame weight is actually heavy for XC ) , which is not worth it in my opinion . My goal after doing the Jet Black 12 solo was to build ( rather than buy ) what I wanted in a an XC / marathon 29" bike . The 12 hour on 26 " wheels in mud was not fun and the two crashes I had earlier on ( one where I landed flat on my back on rocks ) forced me to pull out after 8 hours 20 . Bring on next year .

 

[MarioM]

I noticed that I was having trouble keeping speed through sections so I decided to swap out the 30 tooth front ring for a 32 . Did it make a difference ? Hell yeah ! I`m carrying speed now through sections where I`d lose it , not only on one trail but several . My average speed has lifted by a couple of km`s . My climbing has also improved dramatically , although this may be due to trail hill climb training .
I have just changed the front tyre to the new style nobby nic 2.25 as the rubena charybdis 2.0 seems to drift somewhat so I`ll sacrifice a little rolling resistance for some grip , try this on Sunday . I remounted the rear charybdis the wrong way as I remembered this is what I`d done on the 96 and grip was nice on the back .

The more time I spend on this bike the faster I get on it and with much less effort than its 26 inch cousin the 96 and that`s what I was looking for in my race bike . It will get its first race in Feb`s jet black 24 .

 

[MarioM]

As I can`t ride for some time I made some changes to the race bike . I noticed at the jet black 12 hour that I seemed to be getting some flex from the FSA bars , you get to think of some strange things when long saddle hours happen . I`d been wanting to change the bars from the 660 to wider flat bars so took advantage of Pushy`s january sale and got some 3T flat bars 720 long . I think my change was justified by the pictures of the FSA bars , yes they are genuine bars . I also got a 3T seat post zero offset , and finished off with Ergon marathon grips and saddle . Tyres changed also to nobby nic 2.2 rear and 2.35 front . Also changed the stem to a Crank Bros Iodine 2 65 mm +/- 6 deg . Running in minus as I`d also wanted to get the cockpit lower .

I serviced the Suntour Axon fork before the 12 hour . I used the Fox top seal kit . The Suntour wipers were very thin and after checking clearances the Fox foam rings were a perfect fit . Also Suntour say to use a light grease to lubricate but have gone with using Fox 20 as per normal Fox levels and found they made the fork very plush . Lockout damper was also a breeze to service . Suntour are making some very good product now .

 

[Oddjob]

As I can`t ride for some time I made some changes to the race bike . I noticed at the jet black 12 hour that I seemed to be getting some flex from the FSA bars , you get to think of some strange things when long saddle hours happen . I`d been wanting to change the bars from the 660 to wider flat bars so took advantage of Pushy`s january sale and got some 3T flat bars 720 long . I think my change was justified by the pictures of the FSA bars , yes they are genuine bars . I also got a 3T seat post zero offset , and finished off with Ergon marathon grips and saddle . Tyres changed also to nobby nic 2.2 rear and 2.35 front . Also changed the stem to a Crank Bros Iodine 2 65 mm +/- 6 deg . Running in minus as I`d also wanted to get the cockpit lower .

I serviced the Suntour Axon fork before the 12 hour . I used the Fox top seal kit . The Suntour wipers were very thin and after checking clearances the Fox foam rings were a perfect fit . Also Suntour say to use a light grease to lubricate but have gone with using Fox 20 as per normal Fox levels and found they made the fork very plush . Lockout damper was also a breeze to service . Suntour are making some very good product now .

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Them be some unhappy bars. Were they ever cut down? Ever spun the ergon grips?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

 

[MarioM]

Them be some unhappy bars. Were they ever cut down? Ever spun the ergon grips?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Never cut down . Used as a donor from the Merida 96 but were good . All I can think of is some crashes and the Hope doctor bar ends took their toll ? Look like they have delaminated off the alloy inserts and cracked - but only on one side . After having a carbon seat snap I`m getting scared of carbon . Cranks are still carbon on this but will probably go to Suntour before the year is out .

Not used the bike since making changes , snapped achilles in December so got a few more months before I can spin the bike . Looking forward to using them as fatigue can play a big part in marathon riding as to how you roll your wrists . Saddle had to come from O/seas as not available in Oz .

Once I ride them will be posting an update .