Merida scultura or Canyon Ultimate

RyanBrook

I've recently got the bug back and at the grand old age of 32 I've decided I finally want to try some racing. My old Trek 1500 with a triple has served me amazingly all these years but its time for an upgrade. I'm looking for a lightweight climbing bike with some aero qualities and Dura Ace Di2.

I'm a long time admirer of Canyon bikes and after finding the 2015 Ultimate CF SLX Dura Ace Di2 at a price I would have been willing to pay I thought I'd found my bike. Unfortunately it was already sold out in my size. I couldn't bring myself to spend the extra for this year's model so the search is continuing.

I might be lucky enough to get a substantial discount on Merida bikes which might make the Merida Scultura bike affordable for me. So far I can't seem to find a size above 56cm. As a 185cm (6 2) 87cm (34) inseam I would usually go with a 58cm bike. Any idea why they have stopped at 56? Many of their other bikes do 59cm instead of 58cm which is quite bizarre.

Back to the original question Canyon or a discounted Merida (say 40%)? If I went Canyon I guess I'd have to go down to Ultegra.

StillGoing

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19702216#p19702216]RyanBrook[/url] wrote:

I've recently got the bug back and at the grand old age of 32 I've decided I finally want to try some racing. My old Trek 1500 with a triple has served me amazingly all these years but its time for an upgrade. I'm looking for a lightweight climbing bike with some aero qualities and Dura Ace Di2.

I'm a long time admirer of Canyon bikes and after finding the 2015 Ultimate CF SLX Dura Ace Di2 at a price I would have been willing to pay I thought I'd found my bike. Unfortunately it was already sold out in my size. I couldn't bring myself to spend the extra for this year's model so the search is continuing.

I might be lucky enough to get a substantial discount on Merida bikes which might make the Merida Scultura bike affordable for me. So far I can't seem to find a size above 56cm. As a 185cm (6 2) 87cm (34) inseam I would usually go with a 58cm bike. Any idea why they have stopped at 56? Many of their other bikes do 59cm instead of 58cm which is quite bizarre.

Back to the original question Canyon or a discounted Merida (say 40%)? If I went Canyon I guess I'd have to go down to Ultegra.

Merida frames size big. I'd go and try one before discounting one as an option.

supermurph09

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19702216#p19702216]RyanBrook[/url] wrote:

I've recently got the bug back and at the grand old age of 32 I've decided I finally want to try some racing. My old Trek 1500 with a triple has served me amazingly all these years but its time for an upgrade. I'm looking for a lightweight climbing bike with some aero qualities and Dura Ace Di2.

I'm a long time admirer of Canyon bikes and after finding the 2015 Ultimate CF SLX Dura Ace Di2 at a price I would have been willing to pay I thought I'd found my bike. Unfortunately it was already sold out in my size. I couldn't bring myself to spend the extra for this year's model so the search is continuing.

I might be lucky enough to get a substantial discount on Merida bikes which might make the Merida Scultura bike affordable for me. So far I can't seem to find a size above 56cm. As a 185cm (6 2) 87cm (34) inseam I would usually go with a 58cm bike. Any idea why they have stopped at 56? Many of their other bikes do 59cm instead of 58cm which is quite bizarre.

Back to the original question Canyon or a discounted Merida (say 40%)? If I went Canyon I guess I'd have to go down to Ultegra.

I don't think you'd be disappointed with Ultegra so don't let that be a factor.

thegreatdivide

When you say ‘racing’ do you mean proper Cat 4 racing and above, or do you mean sportives? If it’s the former then you’ll need to factor in crashes and insurance – because there’s a very high probability you will come off. Do you really want to take an all singing all dancing bling bike into a crash prone pack? If it’s the latter then all good.

timothyw

Yeah, the Merida has a compact geometry, which means that by design it has a shorter seat tube and so more seat-post visible for a given fit - in short you'll be fine on the 56cm frame.

Because of the various differing geometries available, and the fact that it's usually easy to bring the saddle up/down/forward/back as required, you're usually best off comparing different bike sizes by their 'Reach' and 'Stack' geometry measurements which record the horizontal and vertical distance from the bottom bracket to the top of the headset.

StillGoing

http://www.mbike.ru/image/data/merida2013/size_chart_merida.jpg

RyanBrook

Thanks for the replies, especially the last one. My old Trek has Ultegra and it has served me incredibly well.

I did mean trying my hand in some Cat 4 races. I considered the potential for crashing a very expensive bike. And no, I couldn't afford to just go and buy another one but I guess this is the same for the majority of people. In my head I'd already decided I'd take the Trek to the first few races. Perhaps all of the rides I ride in crash prone packs will be on the old bike. I will also ride some sportives and I'm going to attempt to enter the Marmotte.

Cheers for the tip on reach and stack height.