I am trying to decide on what to buy as my bike upgrade and there are obviously lots of bikes out there,but pound for pound it seems that Wheeler or Merida seem to have the best specs for around the 20-25000 baht mark..They include, Shimano 27 deore gears/Hydraulic breaks,lightweight frames..

I would appreciate any thoughts feedback from anyone who has one or knows these brands.

Plus if I have missed one do let me know..

Thanks

Merida has a good package but I had frames with cracks in the head tube.

Was it a one off ? what model was it ? I have they have just recalled a number of their bicycles...but then again Toyota had a big recall recently so they all make mistakes .!

What do you ride now ?

Send you a PM.

Regards,

I've got a Merida which I bought in BKK from the distributor about three years ago and have found it faultless. IMO you've got to test ride or research the model you want ....different sized people sometimes suit different frames. IMO 20-25k bikes should get you a decent bike also you could buy a 10/ 09/08 bike at a nice discount. The low spec disc brakes aren't worth it compared to good v brakes I reckon.

Yes Merida everytime. They really seem to be making some inroads on the big US and European manufacturers, and now that several larger brands like TREK are having bikes made to their specs in Taiwan, quality bikes will become cheaper again. Taiwan quality control unlike China is very good in many products.

Mr. Tim wake up, the Merida's I had where made in China and the qc was indeed bad.

They used a grinder to cut the spokes for example.

Some of them had almost no grease in the head set etc.

The hubs where no name Shimano copies.

Taiwan export manager was very helpfull but the local Thai importer, well.....

Merida is OK, but Trek also makes decent bikes in that price range.

I own a Merida and a Kona, I have done miles and miles of off-road on my Merida….Great bike, I love it, sorry don’t know anything about the Wheeler. The Merida gets my thumbs up!!

But am looking at a bouncer now, I am too old for hard tails I’m starting to shake myself to bits, I would have gone Merida again but the Trek EX5 has such a good write up I can’t ignore it.

Hey ‘nickthegreek’ Just remember bikes are like girlfriends and wife’s, no matter how much you love the one you’re decided on, you’ll always have that nagging doubt that your mates is better.