No matter whether ten kilometres to work, three to the rail station or only 800 metres to the bakery, the Merida E-Spresso 410 EQ was with different users in everyday use for almost one year and doing good service without failures in winter. Good feature for short stops: the wheel lock mounted to the frame. To park it at the rail station or for longer stays you should, however, afford a more sturdy lock. Too much design with reduced function was provided by the flat, too short front mudguard. We replaced it by another one which encircled the tyre more. At the beginning the chain repeatedly dropped off the chainring when riding over bumpy field tracks. With an aluminium guide plate offered as accessory (however not from Bosch), this annoyance could be remedied. The fastening ring of the front chainring had to be retightened twice.
The disc brakes are a blessing, in particular in dirty weather: No more grey aluminium mud due to rim wear, no removing of dirt from the brake pads, as is usual with rim brakes. One disadvantage is the minor rocking of the fork in direction of motion during braking occurring from time to time. The drive proves to be strong and finely dosed. With a maximum of 120 kilometres the bicycle reaches proper ranges, the battery had lost no more than five percent of its loading capacity after the first test year. With a little fine adjustment the Merida was a reliable companion over about 3,000 kilometres. The chain drop issue has reportedly been remedied with the new generation of Bosch drives.
Endurance test rider David Heil: "With its strong drive and reliable brakes the Merida brought me properly through the winter. Compared to the motors which I have used to date, the Bosch is a class of its own".
