 So welcome back to the 22nd edition of the RCA Training Tip Show where today I will be reviewing the all-new Merida Reacto. This is the 8000e edition which is the exact same frame external to the colors as used by team Bahrain McLaren in the Pro Peloton and I'd say this bike is arguably at least from an Aussie market perspective the best value for money road bike in the Pro Peloton and I'll explain why I'm saying that coming up. So before we get started today I should be pointing out in this review and all the reviews on this channel I'm not sponsored or getting paid or whatever you want to call it they're completely independent. So what we have here is the fourth generation of the Merida Reacto which was first pioneered in 2011 and has recently been upgraded to become slightly more aerodynamic but perhaps more importantly in my opinion it's become more comfortable and it's now sporting a sleeker looking package in many ways which we'll be delving into. Now we're going to split this review into four main parts and I just want to point out for the on-bike footage that you're going to see where I am riding. I normally use the GoPro Black Hero 7 but in today's video I'm going to be using the Insta360 ONE R here. So the four points are let's talk about numbers including the price point and the weight. Number two let's talk about the aesthetics and the overall look and how Merida have made their aero bike more aesthetically pleasing. Number three we'll talk about the ride quality including my rating system to give this bike a definitive score and number four we're going to talk about the overall package that you will get with this Merida Reacto right here and while discussing the overall package I'll share with you what it's been like to get back on disc brakes you see I'm a bit of a rimboy fan and I'll conclude with who I think this bike best suits from a riding perspective but before we get into those four main points I wanted to share with you the Merida story it's quite an interesting or compelling story to share and the more I dig the better it gets. In fact Merida completely own the manufacturing process and are touted as one of the biggest bike manufacturers in the world. Specialized would not want you to know but according to Wiki and many of my independent sources Merida own 49% of specialized bikes and thus are the manufacturing powerhouse behind one of the most highly regarded bike brands in the world and I assume it's that relationship with specialized that restricts Merida from being sold in North America you can't buy it in the US at all unless of course you go to a black market you can pick yourself up a couple of wild tigers and a couple of Merida Reactos and the Merida brand while it is Taiwanese all their product design and engineering is done out of Stuttgart in Germany which is renowned for quality engineering and product design so they have a blend of German engineering Taiwanese manufacturing and manufacturing process that they own it's pretty powerful stuff right so let's get into point number one which is let's discuss the price and weight of the Merida Reacto so we have to start with price or should I say value for money it is clear when you compare the Merida Reacto or the Merida brand to other bikes in the same category that one of the key strengths of Merida and the Merida Reacto in this instance is price particularly from an Aussie market perspective let's quickly take a look at a few competing brands and how they price at a similar level to this model let's look at the giant propel advanced pro zero disc with Shimano Otegra di2 that's $7,999 AUD but wait a sec this isn't their top of the line frame like I have here with the Merida 8000e so we really should be looking at the propel advanced SL1 disc with SRAM Force etap access yes a slightly more expensive group set but coming in at $9,299 AUD the BMC time machine road 013 with Shimano Otegra di2 that comes in at $10,199 AUD and the Venge Pro which I know they're no longer making but it was coming with Shimano di2 that's $9,400 AUD and then the Merida Reacto 8000e with Shimano di2 that's $7,799 AUD now I am conscious we could get into a tug of war between the different wheels and handlebars systems etc that are included across those different ranges but let's face it they're all using high quality stuff and there is roughly a $2,000 plus difference between this bike here and competing bikes at a similar level when you think about that price point that's another bike you could probably buy it's a high quality indoor trainer it's a lot of cash now let's talk about weight and this bike here the Merida Reacto this is a medium and let me point out for the Merida brand a medium is a 56 centimeter top tube which is actually not what I would typically ride although I can ride a 56 I would normally be on a 54 or in the case of Merida that's a small which is a 54.5 centimeter top tube so the weight of this 56 centimeter top tube Merida Reacto with Shimano Ultegra di2 and Reynolds AR58 disc wheels came in at 8.18 kilograms that is with my 200 gram speed plate pedals attached and thanks to Keith from Trilogy Cycles they're weighing the Merida but if we go a step further here to round things up relating to Merida and it should be noted that Merida will offer the new Reacto in two tiers of carbon frames the premium CF5 which is on this bike I have here and the mid-priced CF3 Merida claims that aerodynamics ride comfort and stiffness are unchanged between the two with the key difference being on the scales the new CF5 level frame is quoted to weigh 965 grams for a painted medium with the matching fork at 457 grams and the cheapest CF frame is quoted at 1145 grams while the fork sits at 490 grams so let's move on to point number two and that is aesthetics or the look of the Merida Reacto and this is actually quite an important topic for the Merida Reacto because it appears Merida have gone to some lengths to I'd say almost clean up the new Reacto when comparing it to its predecessor to make it look as precise as possible some notable iterations as you can see looks pretty clean at the front end there with complete cable integration according to Merida this not only improves the aesthetics of the bike but also generates a two watts saving according to their virtual wind tunnel testing done at 45 kilometers per hour and where most of Merida's competition has achieved the scenario through proprietary systems Merida has gone for FSA's ACR system something already used by the likes of Bianchi and DeRossa Merida have also revised or updated their disc coolers which are now further integrated into the frame and the fork another revision worthy of mention is the tire clearance you can now get 30 millimeter tires into the Merida Reacto you might be asking yourself isn't that the type of feature you be looking for on like an endurance road bike so you could take a gravel riding or something like that but what you need to think about is by putting 30 millimeter width tires in an aero race bike and reducing the tire pressure a little bit call it 80 to 90 psi you're going to increase or improve the comfort factor so if you are looking to achieve some big miles on an aero race bike this feature will come in handy and inadvertently as a result of the bigger tire clearance I've had to make the fork longer and in order to maintain the same geometry the same aggressive geometry as its predecessor they've got a shorter head tube there now some other final iterations worth mentioning are as follows we have a direct mount gear hanger a new hidden seat post clamp new front through axle with removable through axle lever and lastly Merida have maintained from its predecessor and I believe updated the S flex seat post to maintain comfort in the rear and is a welcome feature on an aero bike which is often very harsh on the rider and to extend further on comfort which was clearly a key kpi when creating this Merida Reacto they've dropped the seat stays even further I don't think you can get much lower than that and apparently that makes the bike more aerodynamic but if we use some common sense here you can see what happens when the road bars and vibrations travels through the frame it hits the seat tube a lot lower which gives the seat tube more opportunity to flex to reduce the amount of road bars and vibrations that goes into the rear of the rider and I think if we talk about the Merida at a high level the aesthetics it's definitely a good looking bike I think it's definitely a level above its predecessor which has an unusual almost polarizing top tube shape I'm talking about the section that led into the head tube so up next we have a gender item number three and that is the ride quality including my rating system to give this bike a definitive score and the rating system that I will share with you includes scores out of 10 for six critical factors which are speed handling practicality stiffness comfort and value for money now before we get into the rating system I need to share some context with you up front I realized it had been some time since I had ridden an aggressive aerodynamic race bike you see right now I'm currently getting around on a BMC team machine with heavy wheels and tires so I had to start to reflect and consider how this bike compares to other aero race bikes that I have ridden I'm talking about the likes of the BMC time machine the venge the Cervelo S5 and of course the chapter 2 rero and as a result of this reflection I started to paint a picture in my head of how this bike compares to competing bikes and I don't like to regurgitate marketing spin or things that are articulated on a manufacturer's website but I think I actually have to agree with what Merida actually say about this bike right here and they say with the new reactor we have created a great performing all-rounder with class-leading aerodynamic performance and that was this summation that I had come to before I had actually laid eyes on the Merida website and what they had to say about their aero bike right here and that is this is the best all-round aero race bike I have personally ever ridden and when I think about my rating system there are three categories where aero race bikes typically fall down number one is value for money or price number two is practicality and the third one is comfort and that's quite a big one and that is why I took this bike right here on a couple of three and a half four hour rides because it's typically not until you get to that three hour mark where you really get to appreciate or understand the impact that the stiffness of these bikes have on your body is the road bars and vibrations hitting your lower back neck and shoulders etc and with the Merida I personally didn't experience any discomfort and found it to rival the time machine from a comfort perspective which I found interesting because some reviews I've read online say otherwise practicality wise while this integrated cockpit area does have some limitations it does provide more agility than many others that play in the aero market space and the inclusion of the removable thru axle lever add further to its practicality and price or value for money as I've already stated at the start of this video I just don't think you can beat it if you think there are better ones out there on the market please let us know in the comment section below now in terms of the other sections of the rating system when we talk about handling I have the vinge as the best handling and that probably has a little bit to do with the weight and obviously the way it was designed in terms of aggressiveness or stiffness I had the Cervelo S5 but this machine isn't far behind on either of those categories and when it comes to speed let's face it they're all bloody fast machines I guess the only disadvantage that I found with this bike right here was the acceleration from a lower speed to a higher speed generating that speed quickly and I think that has to come down to the weight that this bike has because of the di2 compared to the other bikes that I tested in the same category but had better componentry it's hard to split the descending characteristics of all aero bikes I have personally but the Merida will not disappoint in this area I am sure and please note I don't use aesthetics in my rating system because that really is a personal preference thing so let's get into the rating system now to the fourth point I'd like to discuss and that is the overall package you get with the Merida Reacto including what it's been like to get back on disc brakes so there are currently six options available here in Australia from the Merida Reacto 4,000 at $3,499 AUD with mechanical 105 disc to the team E frame set only at this point although I believe there will be a super top-end Reacto with this frame set coming shortly with a power meter for just under $12,000 AUD and back to this Reacto here I must say that it has been a pleasure to be back riding disc brakes the performance is unparalleled compared to my good mate RIM however there has been a little bit of that annoying meat cleaver sound creeping in let's have a listen and I am certainly looking forward to not having to manage any frustrating sounds and maintenance requirements when I jump back onto my trusty RIMbrake BMC what I've actually enjoyed a little bit more when I consider the componentry of this bike over disc brakes has been the electronic shifting getting on the Shimano Ultegra Di2 has been a pleasurable experience the Reynolds wheels are a great looking addition to the Merida and in my opinion if you're going to have a mean looking aero bike you really need carbon wheels that are around the 60 millimeter in depth which is what we have right here with the Reynolds AR58 wheel set or some of the content online that I saw about these wheels spoke highly of them while they look great that was stiff enough I was a little bit disappointed with the way they moved around in crosswind conditions particularly say if I compare them to the MV 6.7s that I have but to have these wheels included at the price point I've discussed is pretty unbelievable in terms of the tires we have some Continental Grand Sport Race 25 millimeters which rolled nicely and absorbed the road well I had 100 psi on the rear 95 psi at the front and it worked nicely for me as a 79 kilogram rider so who's this bike gonna suit I think anyone that wants to purchase an aero race bike tick particularly if you're looking for something that is good or exceptional I should say value for money and then secondly if you're an amateur racer if you're doing road races I wouldn't use this bike for hilly road races I think that's kind of stating the obvious with aero race bikes but I think you could definitely use this on some longer flatter road racing courses because of the way it absorbs the road well you're not going to be battered and bruised after a hundred and twenty hundred and fifty hundred and sixty kilometers on this bike right here definitely if you're into criteriums this thing is stiff and fast but I think to conclude if you're a recreational amateur cyclist and there are more of those out there than racers if you're looking to beat your mates around the block you want a bike that's good for bunch rides good for rolling turns with your mates but you also still want to do the 160 kilometer or 100 mile Fondo event then you can have this one bike it's going to fit both of those purposes well so that's it now you've heard my review what do you think of this bike let me know below and I'll catch you in the next video