Merida Scultura 7000-E 2017

The Merida Scultura 7000-E is a lightweight and reactive race bike that combines high frame rigidity with plenty of comfort. Merida also boasts that it offers good aerodynamic efficiency.

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The Scultura is a great bike. I've said it before (probably) and I'll say it again (almost certainly): as a road bike brand, Merida is underrated here in the UK. The Meridas that we review on road.cc almost invariably impress us highly, and the Scultura is among the best of 'em.

Why? It performs superbly and feels great from the moment you climb aboard until the end of your ride.

In what way? Okay, I'm coming to that.

The first thing to say is that the Scultura accelerates and climbs well. Our size 56cm review bike, built up with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset and DT Swiss R23 Spline alloy wheels, came in at 7.3kg, or 16.1lb for those who still call a Snickers bar a Marathon. I mean, we get plenty of lighter bikes passing through these parts, but that's a highly respectable figure.

Weight is far from everything, though. In fact, it doesn't mean all that much over the course of most rides, but during seated climbing the Scultura heads uphill with the minimum of fuss. Climbing steep inclines is always hard work – of course it is – but you feel like this bike is giving you a helping hand up the slopes rather than weighing you down.

The compact chainset (with 50/34-tooth chainrings) helps out on the really tough stuff. On the whole I'd rather have a standard chainset with 53/39-tooth chainrings, especially on a performance-orientated bike like this, although I did take the Scultura 7000-E to the hilly island of Elba (on me holidays, like! Humble brag) and was glad of the tiny 34-28 combo (it's a 32in gear) on a few occasions. If you ever go yourself, make sure you head up Monte Capanne and then have a coffee in Marciana Marina... But I digress.

When you get out of the saddle to deliver a bit more oomph through the pedals, there's little sideways movement at the bottom bracket. The Shimano Ultegra chainset has a 24mm axle rather than the 30mm axle of some other options, but the chunky down tube holds everything firmly in place through the centre of the frame.

It's a similar story at the front end. Merida has taken the lower headset bearing down from 1 1/2in to 1 1/4in on the latest incarnation of the Scultura in order to reduce the head tube's frontal area slightly, but it still feels solid to me when up on the pedals and throwing the bars around with abandon.

Merida offers the Scultura in two different geometries: CF4 and CF2. The 2017 7000-E is CF4 and, as mentioned, we have the 56cm model here with a 560mm seat tube and a 575mm effective top tube. The head tube on this one is 170mm. If you work in stack and reach, they're 571mm and 399mm respectively.

This all means that the 7000-E puts you into an aggressive riding position when you get down on the drops. You know, flat backed, head down, gritted teeth, that kind of thing. A CF2 frame has a head tube that's a touch taller and chainstays that are a little longer; still performance-focused but just a bit more relaxed.

I find it much easier to get over the top of a low front end and browbeat the bike up a really steep section and, of course, a low position allows you to hunker down and attack on flat sections and descents. That's the whole idea!

When our man Stu Kerton reviewed the Merida Scultura 6000 he was super-impressed by the handling, describing it as 'direct and quick but never twitchy'. I completely agree. It's a fast-reacting, well-balanced bike that inspires confidence whether you're negotiating your way through a bunch of riders or pinning it through a tight turn, and it's an absolute joy if you're ever lucky enough to find yourself on a long, flowing, swoopy descent.

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Stu also praised the Scultura's comfort and I'd agree with him there too. Merida says that the lack of a brake bridge between the seatstays – the rear brake being positioned on the underside of the chainstays – allows it to extend the potential flex zone upwards and that the inclusion of its Bio Fiber Damping Compound helps back there too. This is a layer of organic flax fibre that's designed to filter out high-frequency vibration. I couldn't tell you how much influence either of these two elements has, but I can tell you that the Scultura won't rattle you to pieces over poor surfaces.

The 6066 aluminium FSA Gossamer Compact Wing handlebar comes with a shallow (125mm) drop and a flat section on the tops that fills your palm to reduce pressure, and the bar tape is rubbery and tacky, offering a decent amount of cushioning and plenty of grip.

For what it's worth, I really liked the Prologo Scratch 2 T2.0 saddle too, with titanium rails, quite a flexible carbon-fibre injected shell and variable thickness padding. We all know that saddles are a matter of personal preference but I'd think that this one is going to win far more friends than enemies. There are certainly bikes out there, particularly endurance bikes, that offer a plusher experience but all of these factors mean the Scultura smooths things over well without totally divorcing you from the road beneath your wheels.

I mentioned that the rear brake sits on the underside of the chainstays. It's direct mount and, like the rest of the groupset, it's Shimano Ultegra. A lot of people are firmly against siting the rear brake down there because it's awkward to get at, gunk from the road can accumulate, especially in damp conditions, and the sometimes convoluted cable routing can affect performance, and those people often have a point.

I can't say it has been a big issue for me during testing of the Scultura, though. In truth, I've hardly noticed any difference from the norm. Like most other roadies, I use the front brake far more than the rear, but when called upon the rear brake just felt... standard. One-finger braking is absolutely fine. Personally, I'd not let it influence my buying decision either way, although I know other people who feel differently.

One of the Scultura's other key features is its aerodynamic efficiency. The Reacto is the true aero road bike in Merida's range but the Scultura, the lightweight model, features tube profiles that are based on the NACA aerofoils. Rather than using deep tubes, Merida cuts off the trailing edge to save weight. We're not in a position to verify Merida's aero claims so you can take 'em or leave 'em.

The Scultura 7000-E is built up with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset – Ultegra 6870 rather than the recently announced R8050 that'll be on 2018 bikes. Check out our separate review for all the details on that. All I'll say here is that it puts in an exceptional performance and I didn't get any issues at all during testing. You won't be disappointed.

The DT Swiss R23 Spline aluminium wheels have proved equally trouble-free. They're tubeless-compatible and are well built with 20/24 bladed spokes, although the shallow rim depth makes them better suited to training and endurance rides than racing. A quick check shows they've stayed true through several weeks of riding and two flights (I had to come home too, sadly).

Summary

The Scultura 7000-E makes a strong case for itself. You can find Shimano Ultegra Di2-equipped road bikes out there considerably cheaper – the 2018 Focus Izalco Carbon Ultegra Di2 is £2,599, for example – and there are plenty that are much more expensive, such as Trek's £6,500 Madone 9.5, but it's the quality of the frameset that makes this a winner.

It's lightweight but not at the expense of frame rigidity, it responds well when you up the wattage, and the ride quality is high. You'd probably want to whack on some higher end wheels for racing but, as it stands, this is an excellent performance-orientated road bike.

Verdict

Lightweight and efficient road bike that offers fast responses and an excellent ride quality