50 YEARS OF MERIDA

OUR MILESTONES

2022

MERIDA CELEBRATES ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY

After half a century in the ever-evolving world of bicycle manufacturing, MERIDA looks back with pride at what has become of its humble beginnings. While 50 years is a long time, with a long list of exciting projects in the making, everybody at MERIDA knows this is just the beginning.

2022

THE TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS WINS MILANO-SANREMO FOR THE SECOND TIME.

Following the impressive and memorable win of Paris-Roubaix in October of 2021, Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS manages to add another win to its tally. After Vincenzo Nibali’s Milano-Sanremo victory in 2018, this success is echoed by the perfectly calculated yet daredevilish ride of Matej Mohoric onboard his dropper post equipped SCULTURA TEAM, securing one of the most talked-about and watched victories of the 2022 spring season.

2021

TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS’ SONNY COLBRELLI WINS PARIS-ROUBAIX ON THE REACTO

Few races in the Word Tour racing calendar are better known, more talked about or raise racer’s heartbeats just at the very thought: Paris-Roubaix is one of the monuments of cycling, and it is every road rider’s dream to cross the finish line at the Vélodrome André-Pétrieux ahead of the field. After a courageous ride, Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS’ Sonny Colbrelli leaves his opponents behind him during a decisive sprint in the velodrome and adds one of the most prestigious wins to his career as well - as to the trophy cabinet of our aero bike, the REACTO.

2021

BAHRAIN-MCLAREN CHANGES TO TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS

After McLaren pulls out of World Tour cycling racing, Team BAHRAIN-McLaren changes to Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS. MERIDA continues to stay involved at the sharp end as the bike supplier and technical partner.

2021

MERIDA WELCOMES THE 70TH COUNTRY TO THE EVER-GROWING MERIDA FAMILY

Since the first international distributor helped create the 'MERIDA family' more than 30 years ago, the family continues to grow, making our bikes available in most markets in the world. In 2021, MERIDA welcomes the 70th country to the MERIDA family, further helping to make our 'family' a truly international one.

2020

MERIDA SUPPORTS THE BAHRAIN-MCLAREN TEAM

With a change in team ownership, the BAHRAIN-MERIDA PRO CYCLING TEAM turns into Team BAHRAIN-McLaren. MERIDA stays on board as the bike supplier and technical partner, further benefitting from supplying equipment to some of the best riders in the world and learning from the demanding and uncompromising world of World Tour racing.

2020

MERIDA INTRODUCES THE LATEST VERSION OF ITS TEST AND AWARD-WINNING REACTO AERO BIKE

MERIDA launches the fourth edition of the REACTO, which quickly becomes one of the most decorated bikes in MERIDA history. With multiple test wins, industry awards, and 'Bike of the Year' recommendations, the latest version of the REACTO takes its renowned aero and comfort credentials to the next level and provides the team riders with one of the most advanced and versatile bikes in the peloton.

2018

MERIDA INTRODUCES LASER CUTTING TECHNOLOGY

In order to minimise production time, reduce waste and improve accuracy MERIDA introduces laser cutting technology to its production facilities. This robot-controlled technology allows our bikes to keep their distinctive silhouettes without sacrificing strength or durability. The incredibly high precision means cleaner tubing cuts that result in stronger finished joints. This technology is especially important for the growing e-bike line-up, which requires large frame openings for easy battery insertion. Once again, investing in technology helps keep MERIDA bikes at the cutting edge of production techniques. 

2018

MERIDA LAUNCHES THE SUPER VERSATILE SILEX GRAVEL BIKE TO GREAT SUCCESS

Seen by many as an 'ugly duckling' when first introduced, the passion and persistency of our R&D team are rewarded by the super versatile SILEX gravel bike, becoming one of our most successful bikes internationally. Used by many as a purebred gravel bike, others make the SILEX their versatile adventure bike partner, an agile commuter or a trusted training bike that can deal with any surface.

2018

VINCENZO NIBALI WINS MILANO-SANREMO

Continuing his fruitful time with the BAHRAIN-MERIDA PRO CYCLING TEAM, Vincenzo Nibali adds another monument of cycling to his winning streak on MERIDA by winning Milano-Sanremo.

2018

GUNN-RITA DAHLE FLESJÅ WINS HER 30TH WORLD CUP.

Looking back at an unrivalled career, Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå wins her 30th World Cup 22 years after winning her first World Cup in 1996. Her 30th World Cup win follows the European Marathon Championship in the same year before she retires from World Cup racing at the end of the 2018 season. Besides her record-breaking 30 World Cup wins, Gunn-Rita can look back at 10 x World Champion, 9 x European Champion titles and Olympic Gold, making her time between the tapes one of the most successful sporting careers in recent history.

2017

MERIDA WINS ITS FIRST DESIGN & INNOVATION AWARD WITH THE eONE-SIXTY

MERIDA wins its first Design & Innovation Award with the eONE-SIXTY. Every year from then onwards, at least one key bike in MERIDA’s range has been given the prestigious Design & Innovation Award, underlining the constant strive to bring the latest technology and innovation to the MERIDA line-up.

2017

MERIDA CONTINUES ITS WORLD TOUR LEVEL ROAD RACING SPONSORSHIP WITH THE BAHRAIN-MERIDA TEAM

Building on the success of the LAMPRE-MERIDA team, MERIDA’s interest in the high-octane world of World Tour level road racing is as strong as ever. So, when the opportunity presents itself to get involved in the ambitious BAHRAIN Cycling Project, MERIDA joins and helps to create the BAHRAIN-MERIDA PRO CYCLING TEAM. Involved from the very beginning and instrumental to the founding of the team, Vincenzo Nibali is able to start the success story of the team by winning one of the monuments of cycling, the Giro di Lombardia.

2016

MERIDA LAUNCHES THE MOST DECORATED BIKE IN ITS HISTORY - THE eONE-SIXTY

While MERIDA can look back at a long list of bikes that impressed the cycling press and riders alike, nobody is prepared for the uproar the eONE-SIXTY will generate. Within a number of months after its launch, the eONE-SIXTY starts collecting test wins, awards and press accolades that would remain unrivalled to this day. The bike helps to change the perception of the MERIDA brand and positions MERIDA as a key player in the newly emerging e-mountain bike sector.

2015

MERIDA TO UPDATE ITS E-BIKE PRODUCTION FACILITIES, TURNING IT INTO ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED AND MODERN IN THE WORLD OF CYCLING

The rise of the e-bike is one of the most dominating factors in the bike industry and opens up new markets and opportunities. It also re-introduces the bicycle to consumers who have shied away from bikes for a number of years while giving established riders a new fun-packed alternative to their human-powered bikes. To satisfy the ever-growing demand, MERIDA updates its e-bike production facilities, turning it into one of the most advanced and modern in the world of cycling.

2013

MERIDA GETS INVOLVED IN UCI WORLD TOUR LEVEL ROAD RACING SPONSORSHIP, SUPPORTING THE LAMPRE-MERIDA TEAM

After looking back at a remarkable success story in the world of mountain bike racing with the MULTIVAN MERIDA BIKING TEAM, MERIDA’s ambition to get involved in UCI World Tour level road racing takes shape with the launch of the LAMPRE-MERIDA team.

2012

MERIDA INTRODUCES THE REACTO, ITS FIRST AERO ROAD BIKE

Following key bikes like the NINETY-SIX, the O.NINE and the BIG.NINE, MERIDA introduces the REACTO, its first aero road bike, at a time when aero bikes are far from being the standard they are today. The REACTO will embark on an amazing success story, gaining not just multiple race victories but also adding countless test wins and awards to its name.

2012

MERIDA WAS GIVEN THE TOTAL PRODUCTIVE MAINTENANCE AWARD

MERIDA is given the Total Productive Maintenance Award in recognition of the ongoing focus of the MERIDA team to improve equipment and effectiveness by involving the workforce, thus boosting production, employee morale, and job satisfaction.

2011

MERIDA TO INTRODUCE ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PAINT PLANTS TO ITS FACTORY

Following the renovation of the factory only a few years before, MERIDA introduces one of the most advanced and environmentally friendly paint plants to its factory, further helping to improve the working conditions for the staff and the sustainability of the production process.

2010

JOSÉ ANTONIO HERMIDA WINS THE XCO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Hugely talented and by many seen as the 'nicest and funniest man in mountain biking', José Antonio Hermida wins the XCO World Championships in Mont Sainte-Anne, Canada, adding a further Gold medal to the ever-growing list of successes of the riders from the MULTIVAN MERIDA BIKING TEAM.

2008

THE NINETY-SIX IS LAUNCHED, WINNING THE ‚MILESTONE‘ AWARD IN BIKE MAGAZINE.

Led by the continuous flow of new designs coming from the R&D centre in Germany, MERIDA gains recognition for producing some of the most influential bikes in the market. One of these is the NINETY-SIX. After earning pre-launch racing success under Ralf Näf with a silver medal at the 2007 XCO World Championships in Fort William, the new super light short travel full suspension bike also wins the 'Milestone' award in Europe’s biggest mountain bike magazine, BIKE.

2007

MERIDA INVESTS $7 MILLION TO RENOVATE FACTORY

In its constant strive to keep the MERIDA facilities at the cutting edge of bicycle production in terms of quality, working environment and sustainability, MERIDA invests $7 million to renovate and improve the factory, turning it into one of the most advanced bicycle manufacturing hubs in the industry.

2006

GUNN-RITA DAHLE FLESJÅ AND RALF NAEF WINS THE XC MARATHON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS.

The winning streak of Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå continues at the Marathon World Championships in Oisans, France, where she secures the title and her third World Championships in the discipline and her 6th World title altogether, only to add the 7th just a couple of weeks later in New Zealand. Her win is made ever so sweeter for the team by her teammate Ralf Näf winning the male title to complete the Marathon World Championships double.

2004

MERIDA LAUNCHES THE UMF RANGE

Following the growing trend in the dirt jumping movement and gravity orientated riding, MERIDA adds the UMF (UNITED MERIDA FREERIDERS) brand to its offering, which quickly gains popularity amongst the younger MERIDA fans. While being seen on dirt jumps and bike parks worldwide, UMF also ventures into supporting some of the biggest names in the gravity world with its UMF VELO team. 

2004

GUNN-RITA WINS GOLD AT THE ATHENS OLYMPICS, WITH JOSÉ WINNING THE SILVER MEDAL.

After Sabine Spitz rode her magnesium bike to a respectable 9th position at the 2000 games in Athens, Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå and José Antonio Hermida leave their impressive mark on the 2004 Athens Olympics by winning the Gold and Silver medals, respectively. While Gunn-Rita relies on her magnesium hardtail to clinch the victory, José uses the all-new CARBON FLX frame to secure his medal. The event in Athens marks the end of magnesium and the beginning of carbon fibre as the material of choice when it comes to race-winning equipment. 

2004

MERIDA GETS INVOLVED IN WORLD CUP LEVEL MTB BY FOUNDING THE MULTIVAN MERIDA BIKING TEAM ALONGSIDE PARTNER VOLKSWAGEN.

Following the success of the MERIDA MTB team that was founded a few years prior, MERIDA joins forces with Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge to create the MULTIVAN MERIDA BIKING TEAM. The team is one of, if not the most successful mountain bike teams, winning more than 30 World Cups, two Olympic medals, 15 European titles and altogether 15 World Championship honours across the cross country, marathon and eliminator disciplines in its 13-year existence.

2003

SABINE SPITZ WINS XCO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ONBOARD HER MERIDA MAGNESIUM HARDTAIL.

Following on from successfully debuting her MERIDA magnesium hardtail at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Sabine Spitz takes the story to the next level by winning the XCO World Championships on MERIDA’s magnesium technology. 

2003

MERIDA IS ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE A-TEAM

MERIDA, alongside its rival Giant, founds the A-Team, a Taiwan bicycle industry alliance that focuses on enhancing the production efficiency and product quality for bikes produced in Taiwan. In addition, other key component manufacturers join the team and what it stands for, delivering consistent quality and further helping to shape the global bicycle industry we know today. While the team was disbanded in late 2016, the spirit of cooperation between the members remains.

2002

GUNN-RITA DAHLE WINS HER 1ST XCO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Still a relatively fresh face within the MERIDA MTB team that was only launched a year ago, Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå finds the support and backup she needs to perform at the highest level. While her career is unrivalled, the year 2002 certainly stands out as she is able to secure her first XCO World Championships for herself and the MERIDA brand in Kaprun, Austria. Over the years, countless championship and World Cup titles will follow, making Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå and MERIDA one of the most successful partnerships in the world of cross-country racing.  

2001

MERIDA R&D CENTRE TO OPEN IN MAGSTADT, GERMANY

With the production facilities improving in terms of quality, consistency and productivity and the international presence constantly expanding, the team at MERIDA notice the growing need for creative input from within its core markets. With this in mind and a strong relationship with one of its key distributors, MERIDA Centurion Germany, the steps towards a dedicated R&D centre are taken. After gathering a team of some of the most experienced and knowledgeable people in the business, a new R&D centre is opened in Magstadt, Germany.

2000

SABINE SPITZ RIDES MERIDA MAGNESIUM BIKE IN THE SYDNEY OLYMPICS

With such a strong pool of riders in the recently formed team and the ambition to test the latest products under the most gruelling conditions, Sabine Spitz rides a MERIDA magnesium-framed mountain bike in the Sydney Olympics, finishing the almost 2-hour long race in 9th position.

1999

ALL FEMALE MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP TEAM IS LAUNCHED

MERIDA and the team around Ike Tseng always had a close interest in racing. So, an all-female mountain bike team is launched to expose the MERIDA brand to the broader world of cycling and test products under the most demanding conditions. The team starts out with Sabine Spitz in 2000, with Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå joining in 2001, and Irina Kalentieva riding in MERIDA colours from 2002 onwards.

1998

MERIDA INTRODUCES MAGNESIUM BIKES

Always on the search for new innovations and materials to work with, MERIDA comes across magnesium. While magnesium is challenging to work with, it offers impressively low weight and stiffness, characteristics many racers are looking for.

1996

MERIDA BECOMES THE FIRST ISO CERTIFIED BIKE MANUFACTURER IN TAIWAN

From the early days of MERIDA onwards, Ike and his team always strive to create some of the best bikes in the world by introducing and maintaining the highest standards of quality, safety and efficiency, which is rewarded with MERIDA becoming the first ISO certified bike manufacturer in Taiwan. This certification shows that MERIDA’s products and processes are world-class in their quality, safety and efficiency.

1996

MERIDA INTRODUCES ROBOT WELDING

Unknown in the cycling world, Ike Tseng introduces robot welding into the production process to further improve welding consistency and maintain outstanding product quality. The robots are incorporated to supplement the team of very highly skilled and experienced welders to give MERIDA the cutting edge.  

1995

MERIDA INITIATES ITS FIRST-GENERATION PEDELEC, THE E-BIKE

Well ahead of its time, MERIDA creates its first-generation pedelec (e-bike), which lays the foundation for some of the much more successful, test-winning and awarded bikes in MERIDA’s history.

1995

MERIDA ALUMINIUM TIG-WELDING TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM IS INTRODUCED

Always improving manufacturing methods and looking at ways of refining the product, MERIDA introduced and perfected the aluminium tig-welding technology in bicycles production, which remains a key manufacturing element and also provided the name for one of the longest-running MTB platforms – the MATTS (Aluminium Tig-welding Technology System) – which is still part of the line-up today.

1992

MERIDA BECOMES THE FIRST PUBLICLY-TRADED BIKE MANUFACTURER ON THE TAIWANESE STOCK EXCHANGE

MERIDA carries on growing, with more distributors being added, processes and production methods being constantly refined, and the range available to its international distributors being extended to capture the latest trends. All this results in MERIDA becoming the first publicly-traded bike manufacturer on the Taiwanese stock exchange, further laying down the path for a successful future.

1988

FIRST MERIDA DISTRIBUTOR ESTABLISHED IN NORWAY

While initially purely focusing on producing bikes for other brands, in 1988, founder Ike Tseng goes one step further and creates the MERIDA brand. It doesn’t take long before the first distributor joins the early stages of what will become the 'MERIDA family'. Norway is the first MERIDA distributor that joins forces with the factory in Taiwan and starts the international journey of MERIDA Bicycles.

1980

MTB PRODUCTION FOR US MARKET GETS UNDERWAY

At the beginning of the 1980s, a new style of bike starts to emerge – the mountain bike. MERIDA is there from the very beginning, producing MTBs for the US market.

1974

BMX & 10 SPEED ROAD BIKE PRODUCTION MAINLY FOR US MARKET

In the early days, MERIDA concentrates on offering quality production facilities to established bicycle brands. One of the first mass-production projects is BMX & 10-speed road bike production, primarily aimed at the US market - the market that started Ike’s ambition to produce some of the best bicycles in the world.

1972

MERIDA INDUSTRIES IS FOUNDED

During a business trip to the US, Ike Tseng comes across the reluctance of many bike shops to handle or repair bicycles that were 'Made in Taiwan'. Deeply affected by the somewhat negative perception of bikes made in his home country, Ike returns to Taiwan with the clear goal to change this. His determination and vision make him start up his own bicycle company in 1972 - MERIDA INDUSTRIES is born.