Merida (Taiwan) – Merida's air slicing REACTO road bike was originally launched in 2011 and gradually improved over the coming years, the biggest step up being the 2013 launch of the REACTO II. Now it gets a complete redesign for 2018. The original version launched the concept of the S-FLEX seatpost to the world but was not yet a 100% dedicated aero bike, while the 2013 launched REACTO II (MY 2014) was their first pure aero-road-frame, dedicated for sprinters and breakaway riders and therefore perfect for their then new partnership with TEAM LAMPRE-MERIDA. Interesting aero-values, great head tube stiffness and outstanding power transfer made it the most used bike of the team and managed to rack up an impressive amount of top results in its history.

But after three years in the range and strong movements in the aero market it was time to go back to the drawing board to create the REACTO III – the lightest, fastest and most aerodynamic road bike in MERIDA’s history.

As one of the main bikes in the stable of the BAHRAIN MERIDA Pro Cycling team and known for its power delivery as well as comfort (for an aero bike), it was a tall order to improve the REACTO.

However, Merida was able to further improve the aerodynamics by 5% while also reducing weight through a new carbon layup. Simplicity was also a main objective as overly complex solutions create a nightmare for mechanics and resulting in costly workshop bills.

And they have added a disc brake option to the REACTO range with the difference in aerodynamic efficiency between calliper and disc being less than one watt. With all that speed on tap, disc brakes make real sense for high speed descending.

Improving Aerodynamics:
Merida could improve the aero performance over the previous model by around 8 Watts which equals somewhere around 5%. This was achieved by slimming down the tube shapes, introducing a lower seat stay connection and adding a one piece cockpit with integrational features to their bike. To put this in perspective: If you do a solo ride with the new REACTO over 100 km, you save as much energy as riding the same distance with a traditional round-tubed road bike but drafting 30 km of the whole distance.

Improving Confort:
Comfort could be improved by redesigning the seat stays and the S-Flex seat post with a slimmer cross-section and a bigger window. Improvement here is around 10%.

Improving Wheight:
The total weight improvement of the complete frame kit including seat post is:

• REACTO (old version) rim brakes: 2046 g
• REACTO (new version) rim brakes: 1695,5 g

The weight reduction of 17.13% has been achieved by slimming the tube diameters and using different layup combinations.

Keeping Stiffness:
Due to its oversized BB area and huge cross-sections, Merida was able to keep the great stiffness of the previous version.

Taking Advantage of New UCI Rules:
Modified seat stays with a bigger bend towards the cassette lead to a greater aerodynamic performance.

Added Disc Brake Option:
As technology develops, Merida's REACTO bikes are ready to run the latest technology. More control, less noise and improved safety.

Integrated Cockpit Design:
The head tube and top tube section are designed to match with the FSA Metron 5D Cockpit, offering the perfect balance between gains in performance without sacrificing the serviceability of the cockpit and cable routing.

Geometry:
The REACTO CF4 frame shares, for the most part, the well-accepted race geometry of Merida' SCULTURA CF4. This means a short head tube and a relatively long reach, which will make the bike quick and nimble. The REACTO can be thrown into hard corners without losing control. The CF2 geometry follows a more relaxed position where the rider sits in a slightly more upright position. This is mainly due to the taller head tube. This geometry suits people who are not used to a more racy geometry perfectly. The major difference is the head tube length and the slightly shorter reach.







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