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Merida simply launched an all-new Mission gravel race bike that appears much more like their street racing lineup than it does most adventure-focused gravel bikes lately. That basically boils all the way down to the truth that their bikepacking-ready Silex had already received a gravel world championship. So, Merida didn’t want one other all-rounder. They didn’t even want a fats tire gravel race bike. What they needed was a UCI Gravel World Sequence-tuned race bike that felt as quick as a street bike, it doesn’t matter what floor you have been racing on – paved or not.
At first look, the Mission appears to disregard the modern trade stress that larger tires are higher. However journey this bike, and the advantage of a quick, race-tuned bike turns into instantly clear.t
2025 Merida Mission prioritizes race pace over tough gravel
The brand new Merida Mission is an ideal reminder that gravel bikes have begun to be more and more segmented – even when versatility appears to be a gravel by way of line. So after Sea Otter Europe, I headed outdoors of Girona to hit some acquainted gravel roads on the brand new bike to see the place it sits.
All-road/gentle gravel bikes exist at one finish of the endurance road-evolved spectrum, typically missing actual off-road capabilities. Versatile on a regular basis gravel bikes fell into the center with extra consolation & stability. Then ultra-long, slack journey gravel bikes emerged on the opposite mountain bike aspect of the class, able to haul a lot of gear over longer distances and rougher terrain.
Gravel racing bikes have tended to exist in that center floor. However as many racers have moved from 40mm to 45mm to even 50 & 55mm tires in current seasons to take care of ultra-distance races and tire-shredding racecourses, the strains have turn into more and more blurred.
Since their Silex has already proven itself able to dealing with fats tires and racing, for his or her new gravel race bike, Merida determined to double down on pace and a well-known street racing pace. So, they leaned extra closely to their street racing Scultura, skipping over its endurance street sibling. The ensuing Merida Mission will get comparable easy aero street bike shaping, responsive dealing with, a low body Stack peak to make roadies joyful, and simply sufficient tire clearance to journey any kind of paved or unpaved roads.
Is 40mm tire clearance sufficient for gravel at the moment?
On paper, sticking with 40mm tire clearance appeared short-sighted. In actuality, it’s a bit extra advanced. That’s partly as a result of Merida is fairly conservative in stating that max tire width. For them, that’s the gorgeous customary minimal 6mm of clearance between the tire and any a part of the body. However since Merida specs the 2 prime builds with these ultra-wide 32mm inside Zipp 303 Xplr wheels, which means you’ve much more room than the max tire width suggests – particularly should you purchase one of many extra inexpensive full bikes.
Merida’s personal R&D group are driving 45mm Schwalbe tires on 24mm inside DT wheels. And their Bahrain Victorious sponsored riders are racing 45mm Continental tires on 21-23mm inside Imaginative and prescient wheels. Each of which seemed to supply loads of clearance, even after we did loads of moist and muddy gravel testing.
Similar to 2023 UCI Gravel World Champ (and 2025 third place finisher) Matej Mohorič informed me, “Formally it’s 40mm, however most clients will put 45mm tires” on their new Mission to go well with their very own terrain.
Driving the Mission: What actually makes this bike work?
So was the selection to stay with a most 40mm tire clearance limiting? The reply is a little bit of sure and no.
After all, limiting max tire measurement is at all times going to restrict the place you’ll journey the bike. However for its gravel race intentions, 40mm (with precise 45mm real-world clearance) is sufficient to have the ability to journey any terrain you are attempting to actually cowl at racing speeds. Plus, unsurprisingly, Merida did an excellent job with the carbon layup to make a light-weight bike that’s loads stiff from the headtube, although the downtube, BB & chainstays into the UDH dropout whereas staying forgiving up prime.
Tire measurement is only one facet, although. What actually makes this bike work is Merida’s capability to suit these adequately massive gravel tires into a light-weight, stiff & responsive carbon body that has geometry and match extra akin to a street race bike than to a do-it-all gravel bike.
A giant a part of that’s the nonetheless surprisingly brief 419mm chainstays. They’re 11mm shorter than Merida’s do-it-all gravel bike, however solely 1mm longer their endurance all-road bike that maxes out at 35mm tires, and simply 11mm longer than the devoted Merida street race bikes.
Highway-inspired match
The road-like match although, makes one of many greatest variations.
The medium Mission that I examined has a body Stack peak of 569mm. That’s a full 38mm decrease than the gravel Silex, 15mm decrease than the all-road Scultura Endurance, and solely 12mm larger than the World Tour street racing Scultura. Its 391mm Attain can also be 4mm shorter than the Scultura, 7mm longer than the Scultura Endurance, and 21mm shorter than the Silex – so once more nearer to that basic street match on the bike, since all of them get very comparable seat angles.
In case you are on the lookout for an aggressive street racing ‘slam your stem’ place on the bike, that is the gravel bike for you.
Highway-inspired geometry, too
When you’ve received your bars in a roadie-familiar place, extra racing-ready street geometry actually ties all of it collectively.
The 72° headtube is a full 2.5° steeper than the Silex. However nonetheless 1-1.5° slacker than the Scultura Endurance & Scultura, the Mission remains to be loads secure off-road and thru unfastened gravelly corners.
However the greatest distinction between the Mission & Silex provides up whenever you have a look at total wheelbase size. At 1013mm for my Medium take a look at bike, that’s 69mm shorter than the Silex. That’s a lot larger than the 12mm between the Mission and the marginally shorter all-road Scultura Endurance, and even the 23mm shorter wheelbase of the street racing Scultura.
In the long run, Merida actually squeezed these 40-45mm tires in tight to create a way more responsive gravel bike that gives a street race really feel with out sacrificing an excessive amount of of its all-terrain functionality.
Precise weights from 7.72-10kg
Mild weights don’t harm both, particularly when the bike doesn’t break the financial institution. The mid-range Silex 7000 & 700 that I examined a pair years again, every weighed greater than 10kg. Now, even the entry-level ~2700€ Mission 4000 is that gentle.
And the top-tier Mission 10K that I spent essentially the most time driving weighed simply 7.72kg in a measurement M with out pedals. That bike isn’t low-cost. However at ~8400€ with a full SRAM Purple Xplr AXS groupset, an influence meter crankset, 1-piece carbon cockpit, and ultra-wide Zipp 303 Xplr SW carbon wheels – it truly seems like a reasonably killer deal. Possibly nearly 20% cheaper than the equally spec’d Silex when it debuted in 2023.
Ultimate Ideas
That mixture of road-inspired match & geo resulted in one of many quickest-accelerating bikes I’ve ever thrown a leg over. Every time I’m on a dropbar group journey, I’ve turn into fairly accustomed to chasing after a lot fitter, quicker riders. And I can’t keep in mind driving a motorbike that so rapidly and effectively turned my brief burst of sprinting energy into ahead movement to shut gaps.
On the finish of my second large day driving this bike (with a number of new PRs on Strava), my parting thought was that this bike was harmful. Not harmful within the sense that it was incapable or unstable. However as a substitute, it is a bike that egged me on to go quicker. Even when the opposite cyclists have been driving the identical bike, the Mission inspired me to journey quicker than I usually would journey. And once I felt like I used to be at my restrict whereas sitting and pushing the pedals as laborious as I may, a fast burst of out-of-the-saddle effort was in a position to get me again into the slipstream of the rider forward of me.
In the long run, Merida created a lightning-fast gravel bike, excellent for somebody coming from the street aspect of issues. It feels so quick that would mount some fats slicks onto it and have a killer all-road bike. Or stick some correct 40-45mm gravel tires to fit your native driving, and set some new gravel street Private Information.
Learn concerning the full tech particulars on the bike right here, together with fashions, pricing & availability.
Merida-bikes.com
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