Merida eFloat CC 400

The eFloat CC 400 EQ, sold in the UK as a high-step frame, is Merida's case for owning one bike instead of two: a properly equipped commuter that also copes with gravel lanes, towpaths and rougher bridleways without needing a separate off-road bike. It's built around a full-power Bosch motor rather than a lighter city-focused unit, and the frame already carries mudguards, lights, a rack and a lock, so the everyday usefulness is built in rather than added afterwards. Merida places it in what it calls Category 2 Cross use, which is a useful shorthand: capable across mixed surfaces, not a technical mountain bike.

If you're weighing it against a pure city e-bike, the difference is really about ambition. A city bike gets you to work and back reliably; this one is aimed at riders who also want enough motor and tyre underneath them for a gravel loop at the weekend, or a properly hilly commute, without switching bikes to do it.

Power, battery and what the ride numbers actually mean

The motor is a Bosch Performance Line CX, set up from the factory to deliver a stock 85Nm of torque - the kind of output that matters most on loaded rides and steady climbs rather than flat cruising. It draws from a 600Wh Bosch PowerTube battery that removes from the frame, so charging doesn't depend on finding a plug wherever you happen to store the bike. A Bosch Purion 200 display handles picking assistance modes and checking remaining charge, kept deliberately simple rather than packed with ride metrics.

Battery capacity figures are easy to misread as a guaranteed mileage promise, and they're not. The most useful real-world data point available is a single independent test ride: on a 30km off-road route with 500m of climbing, ridden on full assistance throughout, the tester came home with just under a third of the battery left. That's one ride under fairly demanding conditions rather than a claim about what you'll get on your own route, but it's a reasonable pointer that a hilly, off-road-heavy ride at full power will draw the 600Wh pack down noticeably faster than a flatter commute in a lower assistance setting.

Built for daily riding, capable off it too

The 120mm SR Suntour XCM34-Boost coil fork and 29 x 2.4in Maxxis Metropass AT tyres are what let this bike step off tarmac without feeling out of its depth; Merida's stated maximum tyre size with the mudguards fitted is that same 2.4in, so there's no real scope to go wider without losing the guards. Gearing comes from Shimano's CUES range, a nine-speed 1x setup running a 38-tooth chainring against an 11-46-tooth cassette, wide enough that the CX motor makes most hills a non-event rather than a workout. Braking is Shimano MT-200 two-piston hydraulic discs on 180mm rotors front and rear, a sensible spec for a bike that'll often be carrying commuting loads.

Where it's genuinely dressed for daily use is the accessory list: mudguards, integrated front and rear lights, a kickstand and an Abus frame lock all come fitted, alongside a MIK HD rear carrier ready for panniers. What you don't get is a chainguard or a dropper or suspension seatpost - the seatpost fitted is rigid - so trouser protection and quick saddle-height changes at junctions aren't part of the package the way they are on some dedicated commuter bikes.

If an online listing's short bullet points ever describe different parts to these, the detailed specification here, Shimano CUES U4000 running that 11-46 cassette, Maxxis Metropass AT tyres and Shimano MT-200 brakes, is what the UK high-step build is actually specified with; it's worth checking the full spec sheet rather than the headline bullets if something looks off.

Sizing and how much you can load onto it

Merida's published height guide splits into four sizes: S for roughly 155-170cm, M for 161-180cm, L for 171-190cm, and XL for anyone over 185cm with no stated upper limit. These bands overlap deliberately and there's no published inseam figure to narrow things down further, so if your height sits where two bands meet, say around 168cm, it's worth thinking about which size feels more natural rather than assuming the taller option is automatically correct. Stem length shifts with size too: S and M get a 70mm stem, L and XL a longer 90mm stem, which affects reach more than the frame size number alone suggests.

On load, the Category 2 Cross rating carries a 150kg total system weight limit - bike, rider and everything you're carrying, added together, not a rider limit by itself. The rear carrier has its own separate 27kg maximum, which sits inside that total rather than adding to it, so loading the carrier close to its limit with a heavier rider can use up the system allowance faster than it first appears. The MIK HD interface also means an approved, compatible child seat can be fitted as an upgrade - it isn't supplied - so its weight needs factoring into that same 150kg total if that's the plan.

Sorting out which eFloat this actually is

Two labels are worth untangling before you buy. Merida also catalogues a CC L 400 EQ, a low-step version of this frame aimed at riders who want an easier step-through; whether that frame reaches UK retailers isn't established, so everything above describes the high-step bike and shouldn't be assumed to carry over to a low-step listing you might come across elsewhere. You may also see this generation labelled as both a 2025 and a 2026 model - that's Merida's model-year naming for the same 2025/26 platform rather than a sign of two different specifications, so a differing year number on two otherwise identical-looking listings isn't a reason for concern on its own.

Merida's stated UK RRP for the CC 400 EQ is £3,250, though retailer prices move around that figure in both directions, so it's worth treating as a reference point rather than what you'll actually pay today.

One ownership date worth flagging early: eFLOAT's handbook asks for an initial check-up after the earliest of 100-300km, 5-10 riding hours, or four to six weeks, and by three months at the very latest. Given how quickly commuting miles add up on a bike doing double duty as transport and weekend explorer, that first service is likely to come round sooner than the calendar suggests.