Merida Reacto 7000

The Merida Reacto 7000 feels exceptionally fast – which is exactly how an aero bike should feel. It comes with a SRAM Rival wireless electronic groupset, deep-section carbon wheels and high-quality finishing kit, which also makes it a very good value super bike.

Our best road bikes buyer's guide rounds up our top choices from a modest £300 to a most immodest 13 grand-plus.

Ride

When it comes to aero bikes, the big-name bike manufacturers pretty much without exception bandy about claims with wind tunnel this, yaw angle that – and Merida isn't exempt from this when talking about its Reacto.

Using the 'moving leg dummy' test the Reacto needs 209 watts effort for 45 km/h speed, which is a whole 1 watt better than its predecessor. This apparently puts it in the leading group of aero road bikes according to the German magazine Tour, which tested different bikes using the same setup.

Okay, so it's aero, which is all well and good – but how does it feel in the real world?

Fast, very fast indeed is the answer. It's one of those bikes that once you get it up and rolling it just wants to keep accelerating and once you are up around 20mph it seems to require less input to keep it there than a road bike with more traditional frame tube profiles.

Okay, so the deep-section wheels will be contributing significantly to the bike's overall performance, but you can definitely feel some input from the frame and fork too.

On long, flat sections of road the Reacto flies along and you can cover a lot of miles very quickly and very efficiently, helped by the SRAM Rival gear ratios, but more about that in a bit.

I've no criticisms when it comes to the Reacto's stiffness. Its chunky tube profiles mean that flex really isn't an issue, so it's easy to keep your speed from the flat when you hit short, sharp climbs or dig in for a little sprint.

At 8.85kg for a bike of this price it's not exactly light, so it's not exactly a whippet when you hit the climbs – though the groupset's low-ratio gears do bail you out when the going gets really steep.

The Reacto's geometry shows that it's very much aimed at the performance end of the road market. Its 73.5° head angle delivers quick handling, it feels very precise at speed and is absolutely bang on when you push it through the apex of a bend, the slightest shift in your body weight changing your line in an instant.

This medium model has a 560mm top tube and a wheelbase of just 990mm, so that it feels nimble and handles direction changes very quickly. Technical descents aren't a challenge either, as the Merida tracks extremely impressively.

As with most aero road bikes comfort is something of a secondary consideration. It's not that the Reacto's harsh or uncomfortable, but it has a firm, or rather, purposeful, ride quality. The Reacto comes with 25mm tyres but it will take rubber up to 30mm wide, so you can pump up the plushness if you desire.

> Lightweight v aero: Which is best?

From a riding point of view, the Reacto delivers the speed and has the handling to go with it, which means it's ideal for fast solo rides, chain gangs or even competitive outings. As I've said, it's not that light, but we know that aero trumps weight, and you're not going to be buying this Merida for its prowess in the mountains.

Frame and fork

Merida grades its frames in terms of the carbon fibre used in their construction, with the top-end Reactos getting CF5 carbon and our Reacto 7000 getting CF3, which is slightly heavier but the frames have the same geometry and design.

This is the fourth-generation model, and following recent design trends this comes with greater tyre clearance than its predecessor and the cable routing is now funnelled in through the headset and head tube for a neater, more aero solution.

It's a smart-looking bike, in my eyes at least, with every tube flowing into the next, and even the fork tucks neatly into the head and down tube junction.

The seatstays sit low for an aero benefit.

The seat clamp is completely hidden in the frame. 

The frame also focuses on stiffness and power transfer too, thanks to its large diameter down tube, the bottom bracket junction designed to accept the BB86 press fit design and massive chainstays to keep the rear wheel planted when you are hammering the pedals.

As a bike with racing ambitions, the only mounts you get are two pairs of water bottle bosses.

When it comes to sizing the Merida is available in six sizes from XXS to XL, with top tube lengths from 520mm to 590mm.

The medium we have has stack and reach figures of 395mm and 557mm, a wheelbase of 990mm and relatively short chainstays of just 408mm.

The head tube is 140mm, the seat tube 540mm and both the head and seat tube angles are an aggressive 73.5° degrees.

Finishing Kit

This 7000 build comes with a Rival eTap groupset, which is SRAM's entry-level electronic wireless groupset.

But don't be fooled by its entry-level status. Mat found that Rival worked very well indeed, and there are actually only minor changes compared with SRAM's higher-end groupsets, for example it features aluminium cranks rather than carbon fibre.

The big difference between SRAM's eTap groupsets and most of Shimano and Campagnolo's offering is that SRAM's chainrings are much smaller.

The Reacto gets a 48/35T pairing rather than the 50/34 or 52/36 you'd see on the equivalent 105 Di2 chainset.

To offset this SRAM's cassette runs from 10 to 36 teeth, which gives a good spread as well as a low bottom gear and a high top gear. I spend a lot more time riding in the big ring than I do when using other manufacturers' setups, which I find to be more efficient as well as suiting my cadence and pedalling style.

The only potential downside is that a wider-ranging cassette will have bigger jumps between sprockets, though as this is really only on the gears you'd use for climbing, I don't feel it's a major issue as it's only really on the gears used for climbing.

The battery life is very good, so you won't need to change them very often, and when you do the batteries don't take long to top up. The shifters use coin cell batteries that are easy to change.

The braking from SRAM's hydraulic setup and 160mm rotors is powerful and well-modulated, offering all the stopping power you need with little chance of locking up.

The cockpit uses FSA's ACR stem, which allows the hydraulic brake hoses to pass from the bar into the frame.

The own-brand alloy bar has a shallow drop that should make all parts of the bar accessible for most of us.

The Merida Team CW carbon seatpost comes with an integrated rear light – a cool touch.

It's Merida for the saddle too, in the form of its Expert SL that has a slender racy shape to it, and I found it very comfortable.

The wheels are Merida-branded SL45s with 45mm deep-section carbon rims and 24 spokes front and rear.

It's a quality aero wheelset that remained true throughout testing.

The Continental GP5000 tyres are some of the best current road tyres on the market in terms of performance and grip.

Bike companies often sacrifice quality tyres when speccing road bikes, so it's impressive to see top-end rubber straight out of the factory.

Value

The Reacto 7000's £4,350 price makes it a lot cheaper than the £5,499 aero Giant Propel Advanced Pro 1 that Mat tested recently. The Giant's a few hundred grams lighter and comes with the same finishing kit level as the Merida.

I rated the Orro Venturi STC Force eTap Tailor Made, which is a similar bike to the Reacto. The Venturi is also available for £4,599.99 with SRAM Rival eTap and deep-section wheels, but it's the Tailor Made Orro Venturi STC SRAM Force eTap model that includes an upgrade to a BLK TEC carbon fibre handlebar and stem for a little bit of extra bling.

Canyon's Aeroad CF SLX 7 also comes with an eTap Rival groupset and costs £4,799, but in addition to that it gets a swanky set of DT Swiss carbon wheels and a carbon cockpit.

Conclusion

The Reacto 7000 is a high-performance bike that certainly highlights its aero design cues when you ask it to get a shift on, and the high level of stiffness means that it performs when you get out of the saddle too. It's a very capable race bike that also does well on price.

Verdict

Real-world aero benefits, a great ride quality and a respectable price