Merida Mission Road 7000-E 2020

For those of you who want a bike that is quick and fun handling on the road but also able to take knobbly tyres for a bit of off-roading action, the Merida Mission Road 7000-E is a very good choice. It's pretty light, it's comfortable and it offers plenty of versatility. I reckon it's a looker, too.

Liam rode the Mission CX 8000 cyclo-cross bike back in 2018 and one of the things he was impressed with was that on the tarmac it felt just like a normal road bike. Now, Merida has delivered that frameset in a roadie setup: the Mission Road.

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Ride

I spent the majority of January and February riding the Merida and they were certainly some wet and windy months, but the Mission Road was spot on for the job.

With a 1,016mm wheelbase, a slack 71.75-degree head angle (size medium) and wide 32mm tyres, the Merida certainly gives you a sense of confidence and security when the road surface is pretty rubbish.

The handling is neutral on the road and it feels really positive. There is loads of feedback from the frame and fork, which really lets you know what the tyres are up to, allowing you to push on into the bends carrying plenty of speed.

It's only in the most technical of corners that you'll find the Mission Road wanting, but then again, that's not really what it's about.

Stiffness is plentiful as well, thanks mostly to the tapered head tube and the chunky down tube that leads into the oversized PF86 bottom bracket area before finishing off with box section chainstays.

Some of you might be rolling your eyes at the thought of a press-fit BB, but considering all of the rain and crap I rode the bike through, I didn't have a single creak or moan from it. Nor did Liam after using the Mission CX for plenty of cyclo-cross races and the jet washing that often followed.

The Mission Road bikes are Merida's Endurance line-up and it is big miles where they stand out. The geometry is pretty aggressive, with the short 125mm head tube, but if you take into account the taller fork for added tyre clearance, it means that the stack height is just over 15mm less than the equivalent sized Scultura, Merida's race bike. Reach is practically the same, but taking overall length into account from the saddle, Merida actually fits a stem to the Mission Road about 20mm shorter than on a standard road bike.

The compact frame design gives you the ability to run plenty of seatpost, which adds to the comfort, and I found the whole riding position setup very good indeed.

I could achieve a relatively aero shape thanks to the saddle to handlebar drop without it being too extreme, and could make full use of the drops for those harder efforts or tapping away into a headwind.

Thanks to all of this, and the comfort of the carbon fibre layup, I was very comfortable riding the Mission Road for long stints. The longest ride was about five hours and it was fun rather than a chore.

Frame and fork

For the Mission Road, Merida has gone full carbon fibre and it's very well finished. The paintwork looks great in the sunlight.

In a bid to stave off the stiffness from the bottom half of the frame, the top part of the Mission Road is rather slender, with the top tube shrinking once it's left the head tube, before flowing seamlessly into the slender seatstays.

As you'd expect on a modern carbon fibre frame, all the cabling/hoses/wires run internally for a clean look, and depending on which build you go for, various 'Smart Entry' plates are used to guide them into and out of the frame.

The 7000-E uses Di2 so there is just one wire entering the down tube, and the redundant entry port on the other side is blanked off with a smooth insert that stops the bike looking as if it has bits missing.

You'll find the Di2 battery inside the seatpost.

The full carbon fork also has internal routing for running the brake hose to the flat mount calliper. Wheel retention is taken care of by a 12mm thru-axle, and the frame follows suit at the rear.

Fitting full mudguards is an option, with the carbon fibre models of the Mission Road range coming with a removable 'brake bridge' joined to the seatstays. With the guards in place, the frame and fork will still take up to 35mm tyres, while going without sees 42mm tyres possible.

There are five frame sizes to choose from, with the XS/47 having a 520mm effective top tube and the XL/59 coming with a 580mm top tube. Stem lengths are 80mm (XS/S), 90mm (M/L) and 100mm on the XL.

There's a full geometry page on Merida's website, if you follow the 'contact' link up top.

Groupset

The 7000-E model is based around a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset, with the only parts deviating from that being the KMC chain and Shimano 105 cassette to keep costs down.

All the Mission CX bikes come with a 1x groupset but, being road-orientated, the Mission Roads come with a double chainring and front mech.

Merida has gone for a compact 50/34-tooth option, which I reckon works well for the type of riding the bike is aimed at, paired to an 11-30 cassette. You've got some high-performance ratios there and a couple of bail-out options should you need them.

Braking is taken care of by 160mm Shimano RT-800 rotors front and rear which work a treat, even if they do squeal a bit in the wet until they have bedded in.

Performance-wise you can't really fault Ultegra. The braking is absolutely spot on with loads of progressive feel to them when applying the power, and riding in all conditions bar ice and snow I've never locked up a front tyre through applying them too aggressively. Even emergency stops are carried out without fuss.

Shifting is much the same: the latest Di2 groupsets on the market are so much more refined than the early versions – and they were pretty good anyway.

The new Ultegra changes between the sprockets quickly and cleanly, and there is more feedback at the lever so you can actually feel when the shifting is taking place, so you can back off the power on the pedals a touch when shifting to a lower gear under load.

Finishing kit

The finishing kit comes from Merida's own parts bin, all with Expert moniker. The handlebar and stem are both aluminium, while the Team SL seatpost is made from carbon fibre in a 27.2mm diameter with 15mm setback.

It's all decent quality kit and doesn't detract from the frameset.

The Expert CC saddle is very slimline, like you'd expect on a performance road bike, although its minimal padding still manages to be very comfortable, helped by a little bit of hull flex.

Wheels and tyres

Merida has specced DT-Swiss P1850 CL 23 wheels, a solid set of all-rounders. They're light enough for fast paced riding but also strong enough to take a fair bit of abuse from rough roads. I have ridden on loads of DT Swiss wheels and have always been very impressed.

These are 23mm deep, so they work well in the hills as well as on the flat, and their 18mm inner rim width, while not being the widest out there, works well with the 32mm tyres.

Speaking of which… the DT Swiss wheels are shod with Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons: highly respected and tough enough for riding through the winter weather while offering plenty of grip in the wet and dry.

For quick riding in the dry I find them a little 'dead', and for the warmer months I'd definitely be swapping them out for something with a softer compound or more supple sidewalls for a bit more feedback from the road.

Value

One thing Liam criticised the Mission CX 8000 for was the price. He felt it was a little bit expensive at £3,600 with a SRAM Force 1x groupset and DT Swiss ER1400 wheels.

The Mission Road 7000-E costs exactly the same but with an electronic groupset, and I actually think it looks to be better value – you're getting double the chainrings for a start!

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Consider the opposition: if you want a lightweight, fast, carbon frameset that'll take wide tyres then something like the 3T Exploro Pro is an option – Mat was pretty impressed with it.

It's priced at £4,000, though, with a GRX groupset and Fulcrum Racing 7 DB wheels, so the Merida certainly out-specs it.

Salsa's Warroad is a bike that can cross over from road to off-road but is aimed more at the former. The Merida is not only much more fun to ride, it comes in under the £3,750 price tag of the Salsa – and the Salsa only gets Shimano 105 for the groupset.

Conclusion

Overall, I really enjoyed riding the Mission Road 7000-E. It's a pleasurable place to be and it just gets on with the job. It's ideal when commuting or riding long distances because you just don't really notice it, but then when you want a bit of fun it's there waiting for you to just stamp on the pedals.

Verdict

Hugely versatile road-cum-gravel bike that is very comfortable to ride – and quick too