TAKE A STEP UP TO THE THREE OR FOUR GRAND MARK AND YOU’RE TALKING SERIOUS BIKE UPGRADE TERRITORY. BUT ARE THESE TWO STEEDS WORTH THE MONEY?
WORDS ASHLEY QUINLAN, OSCAR HUCKLE IMAGES RUSSELL BURTON
The difficult thing about value is it’s subjective. You might consider an £8,000 bike good value if you normally lust after the growing spread of superbikes commanding five figures. Or you might still hanker after the days when a race-ready road bike with Shimano 105 cost around £1,500.
Sadly, bike prices have been on the steady increase for a few years now, not helped by intervening global crises. Here we explore what race-ready road bikes are currently on offer in the mid-price performance bracket, ranging from £3,000 up to £4,400.
What can you expect at this price point? Well, your money won’t go as far as it used to. In this price range, you can expect pared-back frame materials and groupsets, ranging from the venerable Shimano 105 R7000 up to the latest Shimano 105 Di2 R7100 (plus equivalent SRAM offerings, too). In time-honoured style, brands can scramble for value by trading off certain components.
You might find a lower-spec groupset but a better wheelset, the touch points might be lower-spec than flagship bikes and finishing kit like tyres is a common area where brands might try to cut costs. When compromises are made in bike builds, often this means you need to leave some cash aside to upgrade. Key areas to pay attention to include tyres, wheels (often, a mid-level alloy wheelset can offer better performance than a cheap carbon wheelset), cockpits and seatposts. You may also want to think longer term about your groupset – will you want to upgrade from mechanical to electronic down the line? If so, a frame with universal cable routing is your friend here.
While they are not flagship race bikes, the two options tested here have much to offer for both training and racing, particularly if you’re looking to take a step up from a cheaper bike you’ve been making do with. Now, let’s get on with the reviews…
Merida Scultura Limited
The Merida Scultura is an all-rounder, blending an aggressive race-bred geometry with a frame looking to balance low weight and aerodynamics. It scales back the spec from the Scultura 9000 and comes in at half the price. Overall, it’s not flawless but does offer upgrade potential.
RACY GENETICS
It uses Merida’s carbon mix known as ‘CF3’, which Merida says is near-comparable in stiffness and compliance to the pricier CF5 and comes with a minor weight penalty (997g in medium compared to the 861g CF5).
The frame and for
