Merida Speeder 900 2020

The Merida Speeder 900 lives up to its name as a supremely fast and efficient flat-bar road bike. The combination of its smooth and eager ride, impressive Shimano Ultegra spec and excellent Deore hydraulic disc brakes means that it's a whole lot of fun and not short on quality.

• Pros: Fab all-round performance, impressive spec, perfect for giving roadies a fright at the lights
• Cons: Maxxis Detonator tyres are rubbish in the wet

Because I spend much of my time testing commuter and flat-bar bikes, I generally hop aboard with flat mountain bike shoes and flat pedals rather than going down the route of clipping in. However, even in this rawest of states, the sheer speed and efficiency lurking within the Speeder 900 is hard to ignore. This is a very fast bike.

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But more than just excellent straight-line speed and effective power transfer – so good, in fact, that I managed to rather upset a Lycra-clad roadie on a training ride – the Speeder's frame and fork offer a very enjoyable and involving ride experience. Front-end control at low and high speeds is fantastically accurate, which makes for a fun time in the saddle. It's so well balanced, in fact, that it really does feel like a well-sorted drop-bar road bike.

Once up to speed, cruising and descending can be kept relatively calm, though. I'll come to tyre choice later, but in wintry conditions I've have a few close calls with grip that's gone MIA, but the Speeder never seems to overreact. Because you can't get quite as low as on a drop-bar model, coming downhill on any flat-bar bike never seems quite as invigorating, but this is about as good as it gets with that compromise.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was with climbing. Going uphill is not my natural forte and I've discovered that I'm allergic (sweats, difficulty breathing, etc) to anything over about 5%, but the Speeder offers as much fun going uphill as any flat-bar bike I've tested. It's agile and stable enough to be flung around out of the saddle, and every pedal stroke seems to be returned with the expected amount of forward and upward momentum.

Frame

Without doubt, the heart of the Speeder's excellence is its classy – and obviously very road-orientated – 6066 aluminium frame. It's not just in performance terms that its quality is to be found. With a smart if perhaps slightly passé gloss finish and all-round internal cable routing – including through-fork routing for the front brake – there's little to complain about with aesthetics. Tubes are a mixture of shapes, although the rear triangle is round tubed throughout and a particularly pleasing study in svelte-ness.

Geometry is on the money, too. The long-ish wheelbase and slacker head tube accounts for the Speeder's stability, while the tapered steerer and carbon fork contribute to that direct front-end control. Reach/positioning is particularly good, with a slightly more stretched-out feel than on most hybrid-style bikes, meaning just a little more head-down enthusiasm.

If you'd be thinking of using it as a commuting bike, though, there is at least one speccing issue to take notice of: no rear rack mounts. With a rucksack-shod rider, it would be a fast light commuting machine, and for some reason the carbon fork features rack mounts if you want bags up front. But if you have ideas of fitting panniers you'll have to think again, which is a bit of a shame. On the upside, it will accept up to 37mm tyres or 32mm tyres if you want to take advantage of the mudguard mounts.

Groupset

The frame and fork's fast road bike tendencies are certainly not hindered by the groupset. If you've got complaints about Shimano Ultegra then you've been spoilt. Shifting is light, fast and accurate, and the choice of compact 50/34t chainset with an 11-32t cassette gives plenty of top-end speed with enough options lower down to get up most climbs.

Braking is equally secure, with Shimano MT-500 (Deore) hydraulic disc brakes taking good care of stopping duties. As I mentioned, I've been testing this bike in fairly inclement conditions and even with less-than-grippy tyres, these brakes have offered good overall power. More importantly, they provide really effective modulation, so you can adjust your braking input to best match the available traction.

Wheels

If I was really splitting hairs, I suppose the own-brand wheels could be seen as an example of slight under-speccing. In action, though, they don't hinder the ride experience. While the Joytech hubs and own-branded rims aren't the last word in performance, and they certainly can't match fellow Taiwanese manufacturer Giant's own-brand hoops, they roll well enough and even look quite sexy with their 28-spoke lacing.

However, there is one definite area of criticism: tyres. Initially, I was quite excited by the 32mm Maxxis Detonators. Because they can be pumped up to 100psi, it means you have exactly the same contact patch with the road as skinnier tyres at 100psi, yet enjoy just a little more comfort.

On dry roads, they are excellent. But with a bit of dampness on the floor, and maybe some slidey surface mulch, you'll want to swap to something with a bit more bite because these lose grip very quickly in poor conditions.

Components

Rounding out the package is the sort of finishing kit you'd expect to see on a decent mainstream road bike: alloy stem, seatpost and handlebar. The 600mm bar and Merida Expert EC grips are interesting only insofar as they have left very little impression on me, which means they do their job adequately well.

More memorable is the Merida Comp SL saddle, which looks suitably svelte and serious but offers just a little bit of cushioning. For experienced riders, it will hold no concerns and suits the speedy nature of the Speeder far more than some over-stuffed leisure bike pillow.

Value and conclusion

We haven't tested many bikes at this end of the flat-bar market although Specialized does have a £1,400 carbon-framed model in its Sirrus hybrid range (I tested the £425 alloy model last year), but, as you'd expect considering its carbon frame, the spec on that is otherwise noticeably down on the Speeder 900.

> Buyer's Guide: 6 of the best new-generation hybrids

Considering the Speeder 900's zest for speed, perhaps more apt comparisons lie among drop-bar road bikes. Jon at off.road.cc loved the £1,399 Ribble CGR AL Shimano 105 and thought it was great value, which reflects very well on the Speeder 900 and its Ultegra setup. The same is even more true when compared to another drop-bar all-rounder we liked, the £1,325 Forme Monyash 1 with its Tiagra drivetrain. Against the background of bikes like that, the Speeder looks very good value indeed.

> Buyer's Guide: 22 of the best commuting bikes

In fact, you don't need to do much research to understand just how good a bike the Speeder 900 is: one ride should be more than enough. With its fantastic power delivery, handling, overall enthusiasm – and not forgetting its very decent drivetrain and brakeset – this really is a bike that delivers on the road. It does pose one question, though: who needs drop bars?

Verdict

Excellent fast flat-bar road bike with awesome performance, fantastic spec and great price