Merida

Merida is a bike manufacturer based in Changhua, Taiwan. The company specialises in road and mountain bike bikes as well as a range of electric bikes. Merida’s original purpose was to improve the perception of Taiwanese-built bicycles.

History

The company was founded in 1972 when Ike Tseng visited the United States and noticed the consumers' poor regard for Taiwanese-manufactured bikes. Keen to change perceptions, Merida, as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), launched a BMX and road bike two years later.

As the 1980s arrived, Merida began producing mountain bikes for the American market. The company became a global brand in the same decade thanks to an unusual collaboration with Einar Steen-Olsen, a Norwegian merchant sea captain.

From 1992, the company came on leaps and bounds, becoming the first bike manufacturer to trade on the Taiwanese stock exchange during 1992 before launching its first - ahead of its time - eBike and becoming Taiwan’s first ISO-certified manufacturer, giving it a world-class reputation for safety and quality.

Merida continued to grow as the 21st century arrived, expanding into off-road racing with the sponsorship of a women’s mountain bike World Cup team that has gone on to claim more than 30 World Cup wins during its lifetime.

A research and development facility in Germany was established in 2001 before the company partnered with fellow Taiwanese manufacturer Giant and several component suppliers to develop a reliable production alliance that, for a higher price to the suppliers, prioritised the two companies’ demands for consistent quality and delivery.

Ike sadly died in 2012, passing on control to his son Michael. Within a year of Michael’s tenure, he saw the company move into WorldTour road racing with the launch of Lampre-Merida. A few years later and Merida launched one of its most decorated bikes ever - the eOne-Sixty electric mountain bike.

Despite no longer being a title sponsor, Merida continued as bike supplier for Bahrain-McLaren from 2020, working with them to develop top-level bikes like the latest in the Reacto range.

Did you know?

Pro cycling

Current sponsorships: Bahrain-Victorious

Highlights:

• Norwegian mountain biker Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja had an illustrious off-road career on board Merida bikes, achieving gold at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and ten World Championship titles in cross-country and marathon.
• Meanwhile Spaniard José Antonio Hermida claimed silver in the men's mountain biking in Athens but would then don the cross-country Rainbow Jersey at the 2010 MTB World Championships.
• Merida picked up its first Grand Tour stage wins as title sponsor of Lampre-Merida in 2014 with two wins at both the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. The team continued this Grand Tour success into 2015, winning their first Tour de France stage.
• Having switched team sponsorship over to Bahrain Merida, the company was handed its first Monument win thanks to Vincenzo Nibali at Il Lombardia in 2017. The Shark of Messina would then solo to victory at Milan-Sanremo in the following spring.
• In the autumn of 2021, at a delayed and muddy Paris-Roubaix, Sonny Colbrelli sprinted to an emotional victory on the Merida Reacto. The images of the Italian covered in mud and rolling around in tears around the iconic velodrome is something to behold.
• Merida's Monument magic followed again once more in 2022. Matej Mohorič left his rivals for dead on the Poggio at Milan-Sanremo, using a dropper post to descend like a stone and solo to a surprise victory.