This was probably a huge surprise for Matej Mohorič. Road pros dominated the action at the second edition of the Gravel World Championships last year. But the fact that the Slovenian, who rides for the Bahrain-Victorious World Tour team, took first place in his first off-road race came as a surprise to him too. And for Merida.
Mohorič rode the Merida Silex - a gravel bike that the Taiwanese manufacturer only officially unveiled a few days after the World Championship victory as a "reliable companion for bikepacking and cycling adventures". Merida also normally markets the Scultura Endurance GR as an off-road bike with racing ambitions, which made its debut at Eurobike 2023. So why did the Bahrain pro opt for the revised Silex? Are the two gravel bikes possibly more similar than their positioning on the market would suggest?
Merida Silex and Scultura in comparison
Apart from the frameset, the Merida Silex ridden by Mohorič doesn't have much in common with the Scultura. Rather, the structure with road-ready components, wheels and cockpit is similar to the Scultura Team, which the 29-year-old pilots in the road peloton. Nevertheless, racing on the Silex was hardly conceivable until the Gravel World Championships in northern Italy; the model, which had been on sale for five years, was clearly designed for comfort and the handlebars were so high that you could hardly lean over the cockpit like a racer.
The update of the Merida Silex now puts the rider in a more stretched position, comparable to that on current marathon bikes. Surprisingly, you sit a little more upright on the Scultura Endurance GR 8000, as the frame including the handlebar/stem combination is shorter. The off-road offshoot of the Endurance model of the same name rolls more manoeuvrable over gravel tracks. The explanation can be found on the geometry test bench of our sister magazine TOUR: While the Scultura achieves typical values of a road bike suitable for long distances, the Merida Silex has extreme key figures for the fork trail (79 millimetres), steering angle (69.5 degrees) and wheelbase (1080 millimetres), even for bikepacking models that follow the track.
Comfort of the Merida bikes
The agile handling of the Merida Scultura is also due to the narrow tyres. The 38 millimetre wide knobbly tyres from Continental roll faster than the voluminous Maxxis on the brand brother. Nevertheless, the Silex absorbs bumps in the terrain more confidently and copes better with soggy ground. The ten millimetre wider tyres are also mounted tubeless, which allows a lower tyre pressure and makes the bike noticeably more resilient. Both bikes, which make full use of the permitted tyre clearance, offer a good level of suspension overall.
The comfort measurements of the framesets are almost identical, with the Silex even being slightly firmer at the rear. The reason for this is that Merida has installed a radio-controlled Sram dropper post in the top model, which increases riding safety in technical terrain, but offers slightly less flex than the carbon post with 15 millimetre offset in the Scultura.
Equal weight
There is a stalemate in terms of weight. The adventure-ready Merida Silex is one of the lighter bikepacking experts. The robust bikes with many mounting points for luggage and mudguards often weigh well over nine kilograms. The Scultura, on the other hand, is quite heavy compared to similar race models. In the still young special category of racing gravel bikes, the competition is already producing bikes weighing less than eight kilograms.
In addition to the robust carbon frame, the weight of the simple aluminium handlebar/stem combination is also noticeable on the scales. The Merida wheelset with its flat carbon rims is also relatively heavy in comparison. Although drivetrains with a single chainring have established themselves in the off-road sector, Merida has opted for the Force AXS from Sram, an electronic dual-speed road groupset, for the Scultura. Compared to gravel bikes, the gear ratios are higher, which makes for faster rides on gravel roads.
In contrast, the Silex has a Sram component mix that combines a road bike crank with a mountain bike rear derailleur and an MTB cassette, which enables a wide range (called a mullet setup). This makes it possible to tackle even steep climbs with luggage. The pedalling power can be controlled thanks to a power meter integrated in the crank spider. The gear steps are quite large, and a higher cadence is required in the highest gear to keep up with the Scultura.
Merida Silex: the adventure talent
However, the Merida Silex is not primarily designed for maximum speed, but rather as a bikepacking specialist. Its adventurous talents are emphasised by six mounting points for bags, toolboxes, mudguards and water bottles. These are located on the down tube, equipped with a magnetic Fidlock mount. The revised models with aluminium frames also allow the attachment of a pannier rack. The carbon frame set is designed for a maximum load of 120 kilograms.
To ensure that the Merida Silex 10K comes to a standstill quickly even when fully loaded, brake discs with a diameter of 180 millimetres are fitted - MTB (out) dimensions and a unique feature in this bike category. Cooling fins are designed to protect against overheating, which can also be found on the Scultura. Another common feature is a mini-tool under the saddle, which often gets stuck in its holder after a muddy ride and becomes unusable. Apart from that, the Scultura GR 8000 is spartan, only mudguards can be retrofitted.
Twelve-way GRX soon to be electronic?
After the test rides, not only a lot of mud sticks to the wheels, but also the realisation that both bikes enable exciting off-road riding and cover a broad spectrum with their different orientations: The Silex handles challenging terrain with aplomb and is a reliable travelling companion. Despite its slightly higher weight, the Merida Scultura enables faster progress on different surfaces. With a price of 5499 euros, the all-road bike, which is now only available in a silver finish, is comparatively fairly priced.
The Merida Silex 10K costs 4100 euros more. However, the significant price premium has not deterred many potential buyers: according to Merida, the limited edition has already sold out. The next equipment variant, the Silex 7000, is considerably lower in both technical and price terms at 3249 euros. The press kit provides an interesting piece of information: it lists a Silex 8000 (price: 5499 euros) which, according to the manufacturer, cannot yet be presented as "the parts are still under embargo". After the mechanical twelve-speed GRX, this suggests that the electronic version of Shimano's new gravel groupset is about to be launched.
Both bikes allow entertaining off-road rides. The Silex is clearly more versatile than the Scultura. - Julian Schultz, TOUR test editor.
An overview of the two gravel bikes
Merida Silex 10K
- Price: 9599 Euro
- Weight of complete wheel: 8.9 kilos
- Frame sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
Geometry*
- Seat / top / head tube: 499 / 580 / 171 millimetres
- Stack / Reach / STR: 617 / 402 millimetres / 1.53
- Stack+ / Reach+ / STR+: 669 / 580 millimetres / 1.15
- Wheelbase/caster: 1080/79 millimetres
Equipment
- Drive/gear shift (1.5): Sram Red/X01 Eagle AXS (1x12; 42, 10-52 t.)
- Brakes (1.0): Sram Red (180/180 mm)
- Tyres (1.0): Maxxis Rambler 45 mm (eff.: 48 mm)
- Impellers: Reynolds Blacklabel G700 Pro
- Impeller weights: 1563/1959 grams (front/rear)
Measured values
- Driving stability (2.0): 7.64 N/mm
- Rear comfort (2.0): 129 N/mm
- Comfort front (2.7): 92 N/mm
- Ride/ bottom bracket stiffness (1.0): 60 N/mm
Overall grade: 2.2
Merida Scultura Endurance GR 8000
- Price: 5499 Euro
- Weight of complete wheel: 8.9 kilos
- Frame sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
Geometry*
- Seat / top / head tube: 512 / 555 / 177 millimetres
- Stack / Reach / STR: 594 / 376 millimetres / 1.58
- Stack+ / Reach+ / STR+: 660 / 565 millimetres / 1.17
- Wheelbase / caster: 1005 / 57 millimetres
Equipment
- Drive/Circuit (1.0): Sram Force AXS (2x12; 46/33, 10-36 t.)
- Brakes (1.5): Sram Force (160/160 mm)
- Tyres (1.0): Continental Terra Speed 35 mm (eff.: 38 mm)
- Impellers: Merida Team GR 30
- Impeller weights: 1373/1966 grams (front/rear)
Measured values
- Driving stability (1.0): 9.56 N/mm
- Rear comfort (2.0): 121 N/mm
- Comfort front (2.7): 92 N/mm
- Ride/ bottom bracket stiffness (1.0): 61 N/mm
Overall grade: 2.1
* TOUR is the sister magazine of BIKE and tested the two Merida bikes in its own test system.
Julian Schultz
Editor
