"Merida's new Mission gravel race bike is a distinct departure from the 'bigger tires is better' crowd. This isn't a 'ever-chunkier American-style gravel' bike, but rather more of an embodiment of the mixed-surface 'all types of roads' ethos that makes gravel bikes the most versatile dropbar bike option. Instead, the Mission feels a lot like an aero road bike that can fit fatter tires for real mixed-surface capability. And they're intentionally not super wide tires, either."
"Their Silex already has that covered. In fact, with a road race-inspired fit & geo, and conservatively-measured 40mm tire clearance, this really is a lightning-fast bike that you can ride on any road surface. While many new gravel race-oriented bikes keep growing longer to expand ever-wider tire clearance, Merida said they had already done that. In fact, their adventure-ready Silex bikepacking gravel bike was already raced to a UCI Gravel World Championship title just before it launched a couple years back."
Merida's Mission is an aero-influenced gravel race bike with road-leaning geometry and a road-race-inspired fit. The frame offers conservatively-measured 40mm official tire clearance suitable for UCI Gravel Series racing, while riders may run slightly wider tires in practice. The Mission fills the gap between the Scultura Endurance and the Silex, prioritizing speed on smoother gravel and mixed surfaces rather than ultra-wide tires or extreme bikepacking capability. The Silex remains Merida's adventure-focused model with larger clearance. The Mission produced strong race results, including Matej Mohorič finishing third on the new platform.
Read at Bikerumor
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