Nicola Rutzou
The new Mission gravel bike is described by Merida as the sportier and more aggressive companion to its Silex gravel bike, “predestined for fast ‘European-style’ gravel races and sessions as well as for speed-focused multi-surface outings”.
But one of its more interesting features is that the maximum tyre width is 40mm, which sounds generous, but most other brands, even on their racier models, are getting wider and wider. For example, the racing gravel bike Cervélo Áspero-5 we reviewed recently accommodates up to 45mm, and many other gravel bikes are capable of taking up to 50mm wide tyres.
Merida says it aimed to create a fast, road-inspired bike and chose not to lower the seat or chainstays in order to keep compatibility with a double chainset—features that can often be sacrificed when making room for larger tyres.
The company says the focus for the product development of the Mission was to create a gravel race-ready bike purpose-made for the rising popularity of gravel races and events such as the UCI Gravel World Championship and UCI Gravel World Series, providing both gravel enthusiasts and Team Bahrain Victorious with a fast, responsive and off-road capable machine.
Nicola Rutzou – a long-time contributor and, most recently, the editor of Bicycling Australia. Nicola is a keen Sydney-based road cyclist who writes reviews, news, and destination pieces, as well as the weekly e-newsletter for BA online.
