Merida Silex 6000 £2,250 |

8.68kg Paul Norman feels the off-road pull of an mtb-inspired gravel bike

“Chainstays f lare out to offer loads of tyre clearance”

Most gravel bikes still look like road or cyclo-cross bikes but for the carbonframed Silex, Merida has gone for the slacker 71° head tube angle and steeply sloped top tube of a mountain bike.

This means a lot of seatpost extension. The seatpost itself is 30.9mm diameter — wider than the post on many road-going bikes, but compatible with a dropper post — another off-road feature ported over to the Silex.

The sloping frame also leads to a tight rear triangle for good power transfer. And another mtb-inspired feature is the chainstays, which flare out behind the chainrings to provide loads of rear wheel clearance. Merida says that you can fit 42mm 700c tyres or swap to 650b and there’s space for 50mm.

The frame also sports Merida’s finned heat sink attached to the rear brake caliper (but not the front). It’s designed to reduce heat build-up in the brakes on longer, steeper descents, and it’s likely to be particularly useful when fully loaded.

The head tube of the Merida Silex is longer than on many gravel bikes — 180mm on the small-sized frame tested. Merida says that it’s designed to avoid a stack of spacers, leading to more front-end stiffness and a tauter off-road ride. It also makes it easier and more comfortable to use the drops when descending.

There’s a long reach to the frame too, offset by fitting a shorter stem and zerosetback seatpost — again typical of an mtb. Merida specs an all-carbon fork with massive tyre clearance.

With the stem slammed, the ride position on the Merida Silex is pretty neutral, so it’s easy to throw your weight around to balance over obstacles and hop branches.

Apex 1 is the bottom level of SRAM’S 1x groupsets, but shift quality feels just as good as SRAM’S higher-spec groupsets, as does braking. The wide-range gearing gives you bags of bottom-end grunt for off-road climbs unloaded, although if you’re bikepacking you might want something a little lower to get you up steeps.

The Maxxis Razzo tyres have a faint file tread and fairly low-profile side knobs. Although fast-rolling on tarmac, I was expecting a slippery ride on the typical muddy surfaces coated with a veneer of leaves you find in autumn.

But they held on remarkably well and were skid-free even on damp dirt climbs under trees. I’d probably want to swap them out for something more aggressive once winter really gets going, though.