Outdoor Equipment: Merida Big Nine 20 MTB

 My current mountain bike...Merida Big Nine 20

Some of the trail sections along the Christchurch 360 are best covered on a bike rather than on foot. In particular the tracks from Brooklands Lagoon along the banks of the Waimakariri River would take an enormous amount of time and effort to walk. The same distance can easily be covered on a MTB in a mater of hours.... 

End of the Brooklands section of the 360 Trail

I have only one section of the 360 Trail left to cover between Taylors Mistake and Scarborough. However it is my intention to eventually cover all of the sections of the Christchurch 360 Trail again as I took no films or photos the last time I covered this ground. 

Getting back on a bike after 20 years...

Back in the late 1980's and early 1990's (before I got married) I was an avid MTB rider. I liked downhill riding, forest and flat trail riding and used to cover between 60-120 kilometers every week on my bike. As with most people jobs, houses, family and lack of time meant I hardly got out anymore and I did very little cycling through most of the 2000's. 

I did a lot of riding on the Port Hills in the 1990's

After the Covid lockdowns back in 2020 and 2021 I decided to buy myself a new mountain bike. My previous bike although good in its time was nearly 30 years old and not fit for purpose anymore. I was very envious of all the people cycling around so decided to invest some money in getting back on two wheels.

Riding up Kennedys Bush Track in the early 2000's

 My new MTB is a Merida Big Nine 20.......

The Merida Big Nine 20:

I had a good look around and decided to buy a Merida bike as it best fit my requirements without a heinous price tag attached to it. The model I choose was the Big Nine 20. It is good for road and off trail riding, has decent downhill brakes, a front suspension unit (and hard tail) and quality components. 

Here is some technical information about this Mountain Bike;

Technical specifications of the Merida Nine 20

It is interesting how far cycle technology has advanced since the 1990's. Back then things like disc brakes, aluminum frames and suspension units were in their infancy and very, very expensive. You had to fit them as aftermarket parts and they were hard to get here in New Zealand. A bike with the same specifications as this back in the 1990s would have cost $3000-$5000 dollars. 

Disc brakes as fitted to my Merida bike

Another feature of this bike is the 29" wheels...back in the 1990's only outlandish folk used wheels of this size but now it is commonplace. They take a bit more effort to get rolling but once you do they seem quicker and easier to pedal. 

The Merida Nine 20 in action:

I have used the bike to cover a couple of track sections so far and I have plans to use it on some of the cycle trails which have now appeared around the country. I used to be a mad keen cyclist and would like to get back into the pursuit if not with the same intensity I had for MTB riding in the 1990's. 

360 Trail logo at Canterbury Park

Here are some shots of the new bike in action...ha...there are no shots yet but I'll ad some soon!!!