Matej Mohorič had least expected this. The road pros also dominated the second edition of the Gravel World Championships last year. But the fact that the Slovenian, in the service of the Bahrain-Victorious World Tour team, made it to the top step of the podium in his first off-road race came as a surprise to him too. And for Merida.
After all, Mohorič had the Merida Silex under his bum - a gravel bike that the Taiwanese manufacturer only officially unveiled a few days after the World Championship coupas a "reliable companion for bikepacking and cycling adventures". In addition, the Asians actually market the Scultura Endurance GR, which saw the light of day at Eurobike 2023, as an off-road bike with racing ambitions. So why did the Bahrain pro choose the revised Silex? Are the two gravel bikes more similar than their positioning on the market would suggest?
Mohorič won with Merida Silex
The Merida Silex ridden by Mohorič doesn't have much in common with the Scultura apart from the frameset. Rather, the build with road-ready components, wheels and cockpit resembled the Scultura Teamwhich the 29-year-old pilots through the road peloton. Nevertheless, until the Gravel World Championships in northern Italy, racing on the Silex would have been almost inconceivable; the model, which had been on sale for five years, was clearly designed for comfort and the handlebars were so high that it was almost impossible to lean over the cockpit in a racing position.
The update now puts the rider in a more stretched position, which is comparable to that on current marathon bikes. Surprisingly, you sit slightly 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 (see TOUR 1/2021) rolls more manoeuvrable over gravel tracks. The explanation can be found on the geometry test bench: while the Scultura achieves typical values of a road bike suitable for long distances, the Merida Silex achieves extreme key figures for the fork trail (79 millimetres), steering angle (69.5 degrees) and wheelbase (1080 millimetres), even for bikepacking models.
Comfort of the Merida bikes
The agile handling of the GR 8000 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. On the other hand, the Silex absorbs bumps in the terrain more confidently and copes better with soggy terrain. The ten millimetre wider tyres are also mounted tubeless, which allows for low tyre pressure and noticeably better suspension. Overall, both bikes, which make full use of the permitted tyre clearance as standard, offer a good level of suspension.
The comfort measurements of the framesets are almost the same, with the Silex even being slightly firmer at the rear. The reason: Merida has fitted the top model with a radio-controlled dropper post from SRAM, 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
The stalemate comes down to weight. The adventure-ready Merida Silex is one of the lighter bikepacking experts, and the weights of the robust bikes with many mounting points for luggage and mudguards often run well over nine kilograms. The Scultura is also quite heavy compared to similar race models. In the still young special category of racing gravel bikes, the competition is already putting bikes under eight kilograms on the tyres.
In addition to the robust carbon frame, the simple aluminium handlebar/stem combination is noticeable on the scales. In view of the flat carbon rims, the Merida wheelset is also comparatively heavy. Although single chainring drivetrains have established themselves in the off-road segment, Merida has gone its own way with the GR 8000 and fitted the Force AXS, an electronic dual-speed road groupset from SRAM. Compared to bikes with gravel components, the gear ratio is higher and invites you to chase speed on the gravel motorway.
In stark contrast to this is the SRAM component mix on the Silex, which combines a road bike crank with a mountain bike rear derailleur and cassette with a huge range. This means that steep climbs can be mastered even with luggage. Thanks to a power meter integrated into the crank spider, you can control how much pressure you put on the pedals. The jumps between the gears are quite large, and in the highest gear you need a higher cadence to keep up with the Scultura.
Merida Silex: Adventure talent
However, as a bikepacking specialist, the Merida Silex is not at all geared towards maximum speed. Instead, six mounting points for bags, toolbox, mudguards and water bottles - with a magnetic Fidlock mount on the down tube - emphasise the adventure talents of the Silex. A pannier rack can also be attached to the revised models with aluminium frames. The carbon frameset is approved for a maximum weight of 120 kilograms.
To ensure that the 10K decelerates quickly even when fully loaded, brake discs with a diameter of 180 millimetres are fitted - an absolutely unique feature in this wheel category. Cooling fins protect against overheating. A detail that also characterises the Scultura. Another common feature is a mini-tool under the saddle, which gets stuck in the holder after a good ride through the mud and becomes unusable. Otherwise, the GR 8000 is spartan, only mudguards can be retrofitted.
Twelve-way GRX soon to be electronic?
Apart from a lot of mud on the wheels after the test rides, the realisation remains that both bikes allow entertaining off-road rides and cover a wide spectrum with their different orientation: The Silex also takes challenging terrain under its tyres and is a loyal travel companion. Despite its somewhat high weight, the Merida Scultura allows a faster pace on varying surfaces. At 5499 euros, the all-road bike, which is now only available in a silver colour, is comparatively fairly priced.
The Silex costs 4100 euros more. However, the hefty surcharge has not deterred many potential buyers: According to Merida, the limited edition has already been sold out. There is a huge gap to the next equipment variant, the Silex 7000 (3249 euros), both technically and in terms of price. However, the press kit provides an interesting detail: it lists a Silex 8000 (5499 euros) which, according to the manufacturer, cannot yet be presented as "the parts are still under embargo". After the mechanical twelve-speed GRX, the electronic version of Shimano's new gravel groupset seems to be waiting in the wings.
Both bikes allow for 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
- TOUR overall grade: 1.9
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
- Cadence/bottom bracket stiffness (1.0): 60 N/mm
Merida Scultura Endurance GR 8000
- Price: 5499 Euro
- Weight of complete wheel: 8.9 kilos
- Frame sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
- TOUR overall grade: 2,1
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
- Cadence/bottom bracket stiffness (1.0): 61 N/mm
In an initial version, the Merida Silex 10K received an overall TOUR score of 2.2, which was incorrectly based on the rating of a marathon bike, resulting in a lower individual score for weight. With the evaluation as a gravel bike, the Silex achieves an individual score of 2.7 for weight and thus improves to a TOUR score of 1.9. We apologise for the error.
Julian Schultz
Editor
