Video: the new Merida Silex adventure bike

Merida say their new Silex is built for anything you can throw at it: gravel, bike-packing, commuting, even road racing... the bike is versatile enough to cope with it all. 

The bike has a longer top tube and big head tube with a short stem, said to offer the rider a more comfortable position when riding in the drops. A lot of riders looking for a more relaxed geometry will never ride on the drops, but Merida say the build of the Silex allows riders who would usually never go near them to ride in a more aggressive position without sacrificing too much comfort. 

As shown in the video, there are numerous attachment points for mud guards, racks and panniers, and Merida even offer their own bespoke cage that bolts onto the forks so you can stick a bag on each side. As shown in the video the Silex has 35mm tyres, but it can take 650b wheels and up to 42mm tyres for specific off-road riding. At the other end, Merida say it's perfectly capable of taking on the club ride with 28mm tyres on the standard 700c wheels. 

Though pricing hasn't been confirmed, this top-end version with a 1x Sram force groupset and full carbon frame will be around £3,600, and the aluminium entry level bike starts at £1000 - there will be five models in total. The Silex will be ready to buy towards the end of October. 

Keep your eyes peeled on road.cc for a review of the Silex soon