Crossover bikes usually compromise in one direction or the other. The eFloat CC 400 EQ leans firmly towards capability: 29 inch wheels, 2.4in Maxxis Metropass AT tyres and 120mm of front travel on a sturdy aluminium frame, which is a specification that would not look out of place on a light trail bike. What changes is the intent. This one is built to get you to work, then let you carry on down a bridleway on the way home rather than sticking to the road.

A Bosch Performance Line CX drive unit does the work, fed by a 600Wh PowerTube battery integrated into the down tube. CX is the trail-focused motor in the Bosch range and the one to have if the terrain is not flat: it reacts quickly to how hard you are pushing and holds its assistance on a long climb instead of fading. The drive unit is quoted as upgradeable to 120Nm, so there is headroom to increase torque later through a software update. A Purion 200 display sits neatly on the bar and keeps the controls simple.

Suspension is an SR Suntour XCM32 LO Boost coil fork with 120mm of travel and a lockout you can shut off for road sections. The frame runs a 148 x 12mm rear axle with Boost spacing front and rear, and Shimano TC500 hubs are laced to tubeless ready Comp TR II rims at a wide 28mm internal width, so those 2.4in tyres sit with a proper profile rather than being squeezed onto a narrow rim. Shimano MT200 hydraulic discs give consistent braking with a load on board, and the quoted frame clearance of 29 x 2.4 is measured with a mudguard in place.

Gearing is a Shimano CUES 1x9 with an 11-46 Linkglide cassette and a 38 tooth FSA direct mount steel chainring on wide 165mm e-bike cranks. Nine speeds sounds modest, but the spread is wide and the thicker Linkglide sprockets are the sensible choice on a bike putting motor torque through the chain. The bar is a 720mm Expert CC with a 10mm rise, and the stem is 70mm on the smaller sizes and 90mm on the larger two, which keeps the reach sensible right across the size range.

Features

• eFloat CC Lite II aluminium frame with in-tube battery, 148 x 12mm rear axle
• Bosch Performance Line CX drive unit, quoted as upgradeable to 120Nm
• Bosch PowerTube 600Wh integrated battery
• Bosch Purion 200 display
• SR Suntour XCM32 LO Boost coil fork, 120mm travel with lockout
• Shimano CUES 1x9 Linkglide drivetrain, 38 tooth chainring with 11-46 cassette
• Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc brakes, 2 piston
• Maxxis Metropass AT 29 x 2.4 tyres on tubeless ready Comp TR II rims, 28mm internal width
• Shimano TC500 Boost hubs, 15 x 100mm front and 12 x 148mm rear
• Merida Expert CC 720mm bar, 70mm stem on S-M and 90mm on L-XL