I’ve never purchased a complete bike, but since Merida is significantly less than its comp I’d forgive them giving me a pair of training wheels and I would just swap them out on race day. I don’t understand why Cam is surprised, many bikes (if not all) come with substandard wheel sets. What surprises me more is that my 1988 Vitus 979 with Shimano 600 and a pair of Mavic wheels was lighter than all these “pig” aero and semi-aero frames. Shocking honestly. Love the reviews
As a German i have to say, it's clearly pronounced: S C H W A L B E. The "sch" is pronounced like the "sh" in bush for example. The "w" is pronounced soft like in water The "a" is pronounced like in apology, the "l" is soft like in lazy and the "be" is very short and pronounced like a berry.
I had those tires on my Ghost road bike before switching them to Continentals. They actually rode pretty good. I have them on my rack for nostalgia reasons....lol
I haven't been getting suggested videos for the RCA channel vids, really glad you linked us in here. The RCA content is unique and very useful...especially excited as I am 5 kilo's over my ideal weight and who knows how many watts below what I need to be to beat the boys around the block:)
Great to see bright coloured cycling tops! Too many riders wearing "road camo' where they just blend in with the urban environment. It's just madness! Not sure if it's a chicken or egg thing - lots of top manufacturers out there - but most of their colours are black / grey / navy blue / olive green ..
@velo-fanboi just don’t give them an excuse to hit you is all I’m saying, bright tops, daytime flashers front and back, all better things than hitting the deck.
A flashing rear light at all times and bright clothing does make you visible over all black. I've done enough driving in the hills at twilight and in the dark to see it.
I agree that testing all three frames with the same wheels makes the most sense. It would be good to talk about the rider position on the bikes, because if they're any different between bikes, the differences you will measure will probably be from the riding position more than the frames.
I am always entertained and amused whenever I click on one of your videos. I love the bike content, and appreciate the fact that you can be a bit of a wacky nut sometimes! Cheers from Toronto!
I've got a Merida reacto 4000 with some LightBicycle 56mm AR Wheelset - with the wide profile wheels, it really does make a massive difference to comfort too
Can confirm. I have a scultura and swapped out the stock wheels with some 38mm carbons from Lightbicycle, difference is night and day. Rides awesome now.
thanks for the ongoing high quality content and your efforts to equalise the testing protocols ( and the pronunciation!!) interested also to see if the change in wheels has a similar effect on all frames or if the frame/wheel combination has varying effects....i.e to the hypers improve things equally across frames or work better with one rather than another.
Comparison videos performed in the real world instead of wind tunnels are always great to see. One thing I didn't hear during the review was that your position on the bikes was identical. You seem to put a lot of thought into your reviews, so I'd put money on the fact that you got the positioning to be as close as possible, but aero/tech geeks like me are always trying to determine if the differences found in a comparison test are ONLY coming from the bikes / equipment as opposed to things like positioning. If you ARE making sure that your position is exactly the same between the bikes, that's worth a mention in these reviews. Passing vehicles are also a huge variable in these tests, but I'm willing to bet that you've scoped out all of the flat/straight local roads in your area to find a better candidate, so you have to work with what you have. Anyway, keep up the good work with these videos! It's nice to see a reviewer who actually finds faults with the product he/she is reviewing. There is SO much marketing for aero road frames, so testing different frames with the exact same wheels/tires as you are is the only real way to determine how much benefit the frame itself is. There are also other factors, such as how clean the drivetrain is, bottle cages, etc, but now the OCD part of me is taking over!
There's about a 5mm difference in drop to the bars between all three. I try and stay still but no doubt I'm moving around a bit. It's not perfect but better than nothing!
Thanks for the video. This is alot of bike for the money. Just picked up the a new Reacto 4000 yesterday infact. 2700 euros full 105 groupset and upgraded the wheels to HUNT 54 Aerodynamicist wheels for 1000 euros. Cannot wait to take her out once the weather is nicer. Oh and Hunt gave me a set of pro ones for FREE
Jan Frodeno, 3 x Ironman World Champ, holds the KOM on that segment at 57 km/h (on a TT bike I assume)... not too bad. You got some real competition out there ;-) Again a happy Friday now after watching and laughing a lot! Cheers, Chrissi
i feel like meridas being at that lower price point are great bases to upgrade. i have a 2000 dollar scultura 4000 with rim brake @ 8.15kg without pedals with their horrific Expert SL wheels and heavy saddles (which are also found on their budget hybrid bikes might i add). Some Ksyriums and a Fizik saddle later and we're tickling mid 7kg's for not all that much money.
@@jpvdw6178 I put on a set of Ultegra (now called RS rims to my Scultura 5000 (with rim brakes) & a Prologo seat - done 11,000 klms and it's great & has dropped a lot of weight in the process.
Ha! In the same boat, I have the same bike, swapped out the handlebars too, new stem, seat post, saddle and bought a pair of winspace hypers and I’m sitting at 7.2. Love the bike.
At least wheels are an easy upgrade, though. Also, you get so save the stock wheels for use when conditions are garbage. My son's Cannondale Synapse came with obscenely heavy in-house branded Maddux wheels; I put 30mm tyres on them and made them into light gravel wheels. Sub in a set of Mavic Comete rims that with Schwalbe One tyres (and these are still not even all that light) and the bike transforms. Keep one set of light rim brake rims and one set of light disc brake rimes for use on any and all bikes; swap rims, and then you can get a good sense of how the frame can really ride.
My conclusions after these tests are that if on a segment with a length of more than two minutes, changing the bike or expensive wheels gives only 5-8 seconds of difference, it means that we care too much about the equipment. It has a marginal effect compared to our strength and fitness. Cheers Cam!
I have a 2020 reacto and propel SL. Sadly they run slightly different geo so it's hard to compare them. But in terms of build quality and bang for buck the Merida wins, in terms of ride quality and feel, the propel wins. Imo of course.
Cam, great hearing about winspace wheels. Next time youre looking for a different brand, give Hunt wheels a go. I've got them and love them. When I was road and crit racing in the UK , it seemed every 2nd person had them. Best of all, they send to Brisbane from the UK, faster than auspost can get a letter to us from Melbourne ...
@45 fottuto stronzo but u pay for those nice hubs they have. I mean u could get a wheel builder with it and some dtswiss 240s but how much will that run u
Having scoped out the Merida Reacto as a potential new bike, it seems the difference in the models (and price points) are extras like quality wheels, power meters, etc. Don’t like the 4000, go for the 5000, etc etc. This is helpful for those wanting to get the latest reacto but already have nice wheels.
Some of us light weight guys that ride in windy areas like 35mm wheels, sure they are heavy ones on the Merida but would rather pay less and buy the wheels I want than pay the extra for some 44mm wheels that are going to be affected by crosswinds and make my riding experience less enjoyable. That's why I bought the cheaper TCR with the 35mm wheels, they ended up as a 2nd set for my gravel bike and I bought some lighter wheels that I could run any tubeless tire on unlike the hookless 44mm that Giant supply on their more expensive models.
Hi cam, I can concur with the fulcrum wheels, my orro Venturi stc came with the same wheels on aero frame. I’ve just bought new 55mm strada carbon aero wheels with 29mm enve tyres. Saved 300 g in weight and wow what a difference in speed and rolling. , I went for the tan wall bling look, against full black frame. Looks and goes mint now. 👍🚴👍🚴👍
It's pretty much the industry standard for bike companies to spec budget wheels. Shops don't push back as much as they should. They can sell add-on wheels (accessories have higher markup than bikes)
And don't you think there is a reason for that standard, or is everyone stupid? At he higher end, wheels add a lot to the price of the bike, and buyers are likely to already have good wheels when they buy a higher end bike. So it makes more sense to include a cheap wheelset, and don't make buyers pay extra, if they already have a good wheelset.
if the prices were fair, I don't mind as people have diff preferences, but ideally I'd prefer to be able to spec the bike with the wheels of my choosing from day 1. I daily 50mm wheels and I'm used to the wind gusts by now so I kept the stock shallow wheels as 'training' wheels for a while but I never really used them.
I wrote this in another comment but I prefer to get the wheels of my choice and not have the company choose the depth, brand or how high end they are. Having cheep 200 to 300$ training wheels is more than fine.
I have an alloy reacto 400 and its seatpost is definitely a nightmare to me . After few years of riding , the tolerance between the aero shaped seatpost and the frame has become so big that it will constantly slip down in every ride . The worst thing is my local bike store informed me that change the entire seatpost would cost me 300USD , which is almost the second-hand price of the bike itself already!
Its because manufacturers know most riders will end up changing the wheels anyway. I've got a 4000 and already ditched wheels for Mavic Carbon Pro... and the saddle sucks too.
Holy shit.... Phrasing and Timing Cam; "I was using the Eucalyptus & Mint when my wife passed on...." 😨 "...those lovely compliments." 😅 Phrasing and timing. BTW, Shwall - bee for me.
Completely agree on the Marida integrated rear light - its a joke! I’m on the search for a better replacement that fits nicely….Not having much luck. 😢
It is funny how we can talk very seriously about different wheels of 1000 euro and different bikes of thousand’s of euro’s while the differents in time is almost zero. I would say, ride the bike you thinks looks best because your mood will probably make the bike more faster then all other options you can think of.
This is great content, honest reviews comparing like with like. None of this "it's 6% stiffer then last year". Wheels are the most likely swap between bikes. You are going to end up with a Top Gear-esqe times table. As stock vs with say hyper wheels for disc bike. It will give a strong comparison vs price point and actually it already seems that it isn't really worth (for speed) going above the frames in this video.
If I am not mistaken on this video or on one of your other videos you mentioned that its less money for the Merida Reacto 6000 than a Winspace 1500 bike . I believe you are almost wrong . The Reacto 6000 costs in euros ( sorry for the currency ) 2626 euros . The Winspace costed me 1390 euros ( T1500 frame + aero integrated stem and bar ) , 550 euros for the far superior Winspace LUN 45mm rim brakes wheels vs the Reacto 6000 wheels , 140 euros for the pro logo saddle and 90 euros for the conti gatorskin 25mm tyres . Add 800 euros for a complete Shimano ultegra R8000 groupset and direct mount brakes . So in total the winspace costed me 2970 euros Vs the Merida Reacto 6000 2626 with crappy wheels . Once you add the additional price you have to pay for a decent set of rims for the Reacto ( in order to justify the AERO experience ) you will have paid more than the Winspace T1500 package . Correct me if I am wrong
Hey can I check what rear light were you using for your Reacto? Seems like a Cateye Rapid, but which model is it? Looking to run a similar setup on mine, agree with you the stock seatpost light is rubbish!
Hi Cam, Hope you are doing well and keeping sane in lockdown. Great job and thanks for doing the review of the 6000. I’m a proud owner of a reacto 6000 (second merida in the family after a sculptural) but I’ve always used stock wheel sets and never looked at upgrades. Given the numerous comments suggesting to upgrade the wheel set for reacto 6000, could you provide any advice? I’m super fresh to the wheel set game, a video to suggest where to start and all the different options would be awesome. Thanks, Ron
What’s the budget, rim height you want , then identify the few brands and compare. Vision has a few “economical” models, and now a lot of people are talking about Hunt, WinSpace, Ascent. I have a 7000E, was looking at the Vision Metron and also Hunt, but then ends up with Shimano Dura-Ace C60 just because found a great deal almost half price on them.
Hey Cam, just thought that I'd help with the name of the German bicycle tire brand (belonging to Ralph Bohle GmbH) since I currently live in (for 30+ years now) and am fluent in German. The letter "e", is pronounced like the letter a, in English. So the correct pronunciation is actually Schwalb-á. But I'm pretty sure that they won't mind how you pronounce it as long as you continue to purchase their products. 😂
Hmm I've been biking for a few years and I thought that new bikes in the mid price range always have junk wheels like Mavic Aksiums or Fulcrum 7's. I buy for the frame and the groupset and assume I'll change the wheels down the track. I thought everyone else does too?
Hi Cam, how are dealing with the heal stack for a LLD on the assiomas? Also I don't get the rim depth choice on the giant's other than they're concerned about the front wheel's handing in crossed winds. I would have thought the front wheel is the first thing to hit in the wind. Would be worth seeing what the Win Space's do to it Cam.
Quality video Cam , looking forward to the review of the 3 bikes with the Hypers . Have you heard of “ Light Bicycle Carbon Wheels “ ? They are also a Chinese company who claim to make quality wheels . I’d love to know how they compare to the Hypers
How accurate is the Strava segment? Regardless of the length of the segment, the actual performance of the runner is normally within +/- 2 seconds of the results given by the Strava application. In 95% of cases, the measurement error will be less than four seconds. ---- So your test distance/time seems too short to be valid when using Strava segments and GPS. Almoat all the time differences falls in the measurement error range. Which means the difference between those bikes and components is not statistically significant especially if you also take the environment variables into account (wind, tire pressure, rider position, tire model etc.)
Question, I guess most of the bikes you ride are the same size, but how different is the geometry and therefore your position and how much would this affect the test? If you looked at a front profile of you on the bike, surely you are a bigger area than the bike?
Shit these disc bikes are heavy. What is the industry doing to us by putting us on 8.5 kg bikes i thought with advances in technology we should be going forwards not backwards. My Stevens Xenon rim brake wth dura ace 9000 and mavic Ksyrium SLR is 6.9kg including pedals and bottle cages. If i switched to disc now , I'd be downgrading not upgrading. Even the pro's dont want disc when they can choose like Pogacar and lots of riders in the Olympics just recently. Glad i saw this video with Cam measuring these bikes so i don't even think of switching to discs
Hey, I have same bike (2021 Force), obviously the AR58 is not the best Aero in the market but relativley decent one. You still need to pay about $1800 for them if buying separately, so not cheap. Cheers.
Great video. Spot on regarding people buying aero and then not being satisfied and not fully understanding why. For these prices now they should be trying to help people achieve what they think they are paying for. 👍 Out of interest as I have brought the new tcr supposed to be more all round and aero how far would it be off these ? And don’t blame me to the wife so you can buy another bike 🤣🤣🤣
I agree with the light being useless. I have the Force and I’ve coverer the light with black electrical tape. It’s a terrible light - it turns off and on with bumps - and is hidden by even the smallest bag. Also who wants a light when you’re racing?! Merida should give a blank rubber blank as well as making a better light.
Tip to not ruin those nice pedla kits with oil stains. Paraffin waxed chains!! No more greasy hands doing wheel changes. Once I started waxing my chains I wouldn’t go back.
Mate what is your recommendation for a bike that i might be able to get in stock for around 6-7k AUD climbing bike. I live in Brisbane! Any shop recommendations? new to cycling - thanks!
Bike prices have bottomed. That Merida is actually three times the price of a T800 road bike. Shenzhen first technology has this market wrapped up on competition bikes.
Hi Cam, can I get your opinion on the Merida Reacto ride feel V the BMC team slr02? I mean does the Merida feel big & chunky or does it feel long as compared to the BMC SLR02? Being covid I can't go down & test ride so looking for a few different opinions, thanks Allan
BMC is noticeably lighter and more agile. Slightly more comfortable but the Merida wins on speed. Just not up big hills. So think about your riding and what works best. Personally I would go the BMC if money was not an option.
I’ve never purchased a complete bike, but since Merida is significantly less than its comp I’d forgive them giving me a pair of training wheels and I would just swap them out on race day. I don’t understand why Cam is surprised, many bikes (if not all) come with substandard wheel sets. What surprises me more is that my 1988 Vitus 979 with Shimano 600 and a pair of Mavic wheels was lighter than all these “pig” aero and semi-aero frames. Shocking honestly. Love the reviews
Hat Cam spitting out his drink… 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣…. “Scha-wobble"…. 😆😆😆😆
No no no, it's sch-wal-be. :P
Just like the Trek Émonda is pronounced A-Monda. Not E-Monda. Or I-Monda. Probably. Lol
@@JackofNothingess 😆😆😆😆
Hi Cam, You could go to google translate and type in Schwalbe (it's actually a bird) and then listen how they pronounce it. Sounds quite ok 🤣🤣
As a German i have to say, it's clearly pronounced: S C H W A L B E. The "sch" is pronounced like the "sh" in bush for example. The "w" is pronounced soft like in water The "a" is pronounced like in apology, the "l" is soft like in lazy and the "be" is very short and pronounced like a berry.
I agree
I had those tires on my Ghost road bike before switching them to Continentals. They actually rode pretty good. I have them on my rack for nostalgia reasons....lol
SHVAHLBEH
JA ENDLICH SAGTS MAL EINER. END THE CRINGE
Schwalbe schmetterlingen III panzer brigade
I haven't been getting suggested videos for the RCA channel vids, really glad you linked us in here. The RCA content is unique and very useful...especially excited as I am 5 kilo's over my ideal weight and who knows how many watts below what I need to be to beat the boys around the block:)
Been using Native for over a year, awesome stuff. As a stick its not sticky at all. Never thought i would see this on a bike channel LOL
Great to see bright coloured cycling tops!
Too many riders wearing "road camo' where they just blend in with the urban environment.
It's just madness!
Not sure if it's a chicken or egg thing - lots of top manufacturers out there - but most of their colours are black / grey / navy blue / olive green ..
@velo-fanboi just don’t give them an excuse to hit you is all I’m saying, bright tops, daytime flashers front and back, all better things than hitting the deck.
stop hitting people with your car
A flashing rear light at all times and bright clothing does make you visible over all black. I've done enough driving in the hills at twilight and in the dark to see it.
Motorists DO see cyclists ………
they just don’t care if they hit you or not
Yawn
I agree that testing all three frames with the same wheels makes the most sense.
It would be good to talk about the rider position on the bikes, because if they're any different between bikes, the differences you will measure will probably be from the riding position more than the frames.
I am always entertained and amused whenever I click on one of your videos. I love the bike content, and appreciate the fact that you can be a bit of a wacky nut sometimes! Cheers from Toronto!
haha, cheers mate.
I like the idea of using the same wheels (and tyres) for testing.
I've got a Merida reacto 4000 with some LightBicycle 56mm AR Wheelset - with the wide profile wheels, it really does make a massive difference to comfort too
Can confirm. I have a scultura and swapped out the stock wheels with some 38mm carbons from Lightbicycle, difference is night and day. Rides awesome now.
I've got a Reacto 4000 as well, looking for wheels to upgrade, seems like you had a good experience with Lightbicycle wheels, any downside of it ?
@@sherifbadrawy81 I've specced mine with DT Swiss 350 hubs and higher spoke count. Absolutely no issues :)
Cracked up with a mouth full of egg sandwhich. Timing is everything Cam. Thanks for the friday laughs
Haha nice one Damien! Thanks for sharing mate.
The purpose of a stock set of wheels on most bikes is to stop the chain leaving a nasty mark on the carpet
Loving how the channel skit has grown. 🤣🤣
thanks for the ongoing high quality content and your efforts to equalise the testing protocols ( and the pronunciation!!) interested also to see if the change in wheels has a similar effect on all frames or if the frame/wheel combination has varying effects....i.e to the hypers improve things equally across frames or work better with one rather than another.
Cheers mate
"Affordable!" That one cracked me up 🤣🤣🤣
Comparison videos performed in the real world instead of wind tunnels are always great to see. One thing I didn't hear during the review was that your position on the bikes was identical. You seem to put a lot of thought into your reviews, so I'd put money on the fact that you got the positioning to be as close as possible, but aero/tech geeks like me are always trying to determine if the differences found in a comparison test are ONLY coming from the bikes / equipment as opposed to things like positioning. If you ARE making sure that your position is exactly the same between the bikes, that's worth a mention in these reviews. Passing vehicles are also a huge variable in these tests, but I'm willing to bet that you've scoped out all of the flat/straight local roads in your area to find a better candidate, so you have to work with what you have. Anyway, keep up the good work with these videos! It's nice to see a reviewer who actually finds faults with the product he/she is reviewing. There is SO much marketing for aero road frames, so testing different frames with the exact same wheels/tires as you are is the only real way to determine how much benefit the frame itself is. There are also other factors, such as how clean the drivetrain is, bottle cages, etc, but now the OCD part of me is taking over!
There's about a 5mm difference in drop to the bars between all three. I try and stay still but no doubt I'm moving around a bit. It's not perfect but better than nothing!
Thanks for the video. This is alot of bike for the money. Just picked up the a new Reacto 4000 yesterday infact. 2700 euros full 105 groupset and upgraded the wheels to HUNT 54 Aerodynamicist wheels for 1000 euros. Cannot wait to take her out once the weather is nicer. Oh and Hunt gave me a set of pro ones for FREE
I can confirm this is a very FAST bike! Smashing all my PRs on this thing! Even PRs made on a TT bike. 😅
Keep them coming Cam, love the videos...!
Cheers Eddie
Jan Frodeno, 3 x Ironman World Champ, holds the KOM on that segment at 57 km/h (on a TT bike I assume)... not too bad. You got some real competition out there ;-) Again a happy Friday now after watching and laughing a lot! Cheers, Chrissi
Cam - Those cut scenes are absolute gold mate!
Cheers mate
Another great video !!! Keep on with the good work !!!
Cheers Luis
i feel like meridas being at that lower price point are great bases to upgrade.
i have a 2000 dollar scultura 4000 with rim brake @ 8.15kg without pedals with their horrific Expert SL wheels and heavy saddles (which are also found on their budget hybrid bikes might i add). Some Ksyriums and a Fizik saddle later and we're tickling mid 7kg's for not all that much money.
I Have the same bike, thought I was the only one thinking those wheels are horrific. Looking for a solid wheel upgrade for a while now.
@@jpvdw6178 I put on a set of Ultegra (now called RS rims to my Scultura 5000 (with rim brakes) & a Prologo seat - done 11,000 klms and it's great & has dropped a lot of weight in the process.
Ha! In the same boat, I have the same bike, swapped out the handlebars too, new stem, seat post, saddle and bought a pair of winspace hypers and I’m sitting at 7.2. Love the bike.
At least wheels are an easy upgrade, though. Also, you get so save the stock wheels for use when conditions are garbage. My son's Cannondale Synapse came with obscenely heavy in-house branded Maddux wheels; I put 30mm tyres on them and made them into light gravel wheels. Sub in a set of Mavic Comete rims that with Schwalbe One tyres (and these are still not even all that light) and the bike transforms. Keep one set of light rim brake rims and one set of light disc brake rimes for use on any and all bikes; swap rims, and then you can get a good sense of how the frame can really ride.
I’m not sure why but I really like listening to you. Keep up the great work.
Cheers mate, I'm glad there's some of you out there.
My conclusions after these tests are that if on a segment with a length of more than two minutes, changing the bike or expensive wheels gives only 5-8 seconds of difference, it means that we care too much about the equipment. It has a marginal effect compared to our strength and fitness. Cheers Cam!
yep....id ride a barge on rollerskates if i had to.....if its round brothers and sisters it fecking rolls
That's 4 minutes per hour. On 100 km more than 8 minutes.
As a competitor (running, road bike) I can tell you: get that through training!
I have a 2020 reacto and propel SL. Sadly they run slightly different geo so it's hard to compare them. But in terms of build quality and bang for buck the Merida wins, in terms of ride quality and feel, the propel wins. Imo of course.
Great video, super content for somebody like myself who wants a new ride but doesn’t want to remortgage in the process.
Cheers Andy.
Would be nice if when you price up the merida and giant with the ad ons you would give the cost of the windspace bike full package as well
Amazing videos! Can't stop watching!
Cheers mate
Cam, great hearing about winspace wheels. Next time youre looking for a different brand, give Hunt wheels a go. I've got them and love them. When I was road and crit racing in the UK , it seemed every 2nd person had them. Best of all, they send to Brisbane from the UK, faster than auspost can get a letter to us from Melbourne ...
or some farsports with carbon-ti or dt hubs.
You would try to get a hold of a Vitus, It would be interesting to see how that would compare.
In every test i see the Winspace hypers seem to be the best fastest cheapest wheel you can buy and again you have proved it Cam!
@45 fottuto stronzo but u pay for those nice hubs they have. I mean u could get a wheel builder with it and some dtswiss 240s but how much will that run u
To be honest, I was feeling a little down and Cam made me chuckle! 😂
funniest video & best soundtrack thus far!
You get me every time you play the Sale of the Century music
hahaha. Love that music.
Nice ! thanks man ! NOW I know finally where it's from 🙈😂
Cracked myself with the carrots and peas part!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣
Having scoped out the Merida Reacto as a potential new bike, it seems the difference in the models (and price points) are extras like quality wheels, power meters, etc. Don’t like the 4000, go for the 5000, etc etc. This is helpful for those wanting to get the latest reacto but already have nice wheels.
The handlebar system is quite crap too on this bike. Best to change handlebar and wheels and then it's epic
@@CamNicholls i have the reacto 6000 with fulcrum wind 55 upgrade , what handle bar would you recommend
Excellent video Cam , looking forward to part 2 . Are the winspace wheels the 50's ?
Cheers Sean, yes they are the 50s
Some of us light weight guys that ride in windy areas like 35mm wheels, sure they are heavy ones on the Merida but would rather pay less and buy the wheels I want than pay the extra for some 44mm wheels that are going to be affected by crosswinds and make my riding experience less enjoyable. That's why I bought the cheaper TCR with the 35mm wheels, they ended up as a 2nd set for my gravel bike and I bought some lighter wheels that I could run any tubeless tire on unlike the hookless 44mm that Giant supply on their more expensive models.
Hi cam, I can concur with the fulcrum wheels, my orro Venturi stc came with the same wheels on aero frame. I’ve just bought new 55mm strada carbon aero wheels with 29mm enve tyres. Saved 300 g in weight and wow what a difference in speed and rolling. , I went for the tan wall bling look, against full black frame. Looks and goes mint now. 👍🚴👍🚴👍
Thanks for sharing on the thread Keith
It's pretty much the industry standard for bike companies to spec budget wheels. Shops don't push back as much as they should. They can sell add-on wheels (accessories have higher markup than bikes)
And don't you think there is a reason for that standard, or is everyone stupid? At he higher end, wheels add a lot to the price of the bike, and buyers are likely to already have good wheels when they buy a higher end bike. So it makes more sense to include a cheap wheelset, and don't make buyers pay extra, if they already have a good wheelset.
if the prices were fair, I don't mind as people have diff preferences, but ideally I'd prefer to be able to spec the bike with the wheels of my choosing from day 1. I daily 50mm wheels and I'm used to the wind gusts by now so I kept the stock shallow wheels as 'training' wheels for a while but I never really used them.
I wrote this in another comment but I prefer to get the wheels of my choice and not have the company choose the depth, brand or how high end they are. Having cheep 200 to 300$ training wheels is more than fine.
I have an alloy reacto 400 and its seatpost is definitely a nightmare to me . After few years of riding , the tolerance between the aero shaped seatpost and the frame has become so big that it will constantly slip down in every ride . The worst thing is my local bike store informed me that change the entire seatpost would cost me 300USD , which is almost the second-hand price of the bike itself already!
Friday fun!! Love it. Pedla kit delivery next week.
Nice one mate!
@@CamNicholls pity I’ve dropped 15kg and it won’t fit! Haha.
I pronounce it swabol 😁😁. Cheers to you Cam. Have a good weekend !
Its because manufacturers know most riders will end up changing the wheels anyway. I've got a 4000 and already ditched wheels for Mavic Carbon Pro... and the saddle sucks too.
Good call on the Mavic Pro's Mark. Thanks for sharing on the thread
@@CamNicholls the Mavics sound amazing when you remove the rubber sound dampener from the freehub 😍
Here I am, casually watching a Merida mistake video when suddenly I have the worst wheels ever on my Orbea 😢
I'm fine with just the carrots. Never really liked peas. Lol!
Love your content Cam! Looking to get the MY22 Reacto 6000 - if you can get your hands on one at release would love a review/comparison!!
Holy shit.... Phrasing and Timing Cam;
"I was using the Eucalyptus & Mint when my wife passed on...." 😨
"...those lovely compliments." 😅 Phrasing and timing.
BTW, Shwall - bee for me.
Same with my reacto lamp - self turning on/off/flashing. It is not water resistant.
Completely agree on the Marida integrated rear light - its a joke! I’m on the search for a better replacement that fits nicely….Not having much luck. 😢
Totally agree re the bike light. I have the Force edition which is a gorgeous bike but the quality of the light is laughable. Love your channel Cam.
It is funny how we can talk very seriously about different wheels of 1000 euro and different bikes of thousand’s of euro’s while the differents in time is almost zero. I would say, ride the bike you thinks looks best because your mood will probably make the bike more faster then all other options you can think of.
This is great content, honest reviews comparing like with like. None of this "it's 6% stiffer then last year". Wheels are the most likely swap between bikes. You are going to end up with a Top Gear-esqe times table. As stock vs with say hyper wheels for disc bike. It will give a strong comparison vs price point and actually it already seems that it isn't really worth (for speed) going above the frames in this video.
Cheers Rich
If I am not mistaken on this video or on one of your other videos you mentioned that its less money for the Merida Reacto 6000 than a Winspace 1500 bike . I believe you are almost wrong . The Reacto 6000 costs in euros ( sorry for the currency ) 2626 euros . The Winspace costed me 1390 euros ( T1500 frame + aero integrated stem and bar ) , 550 euros for the far superior Winspace LUN 45mm rim brakes wheels vs the Reacto 6000 wheels , 140 euros for the pro logo saddle and 90 euros for the conti gatorskin 25mm tyres . Add 800 euros for a complete Shimano ultegra R8000 groupset and direct mount brakes . So in total the winspace costed me 2970 euros Vs the Merida Reacto 6000 2626 with crappy wheels . Once you add the additional price you have to pay for a decent set of rims for the Reacto ( in order to justify the AERO experience ) you will have paid more than the Winspace T1500 package . Correct me if I am wrong
How do the Hyper wheels compare to the decadence wheels?
They're so different, it's hard to say. I need to get some 50mm disc Decadence
It's sad that you're losing subscribers. But I won't unsubscribe because I love your content
Thanks Karl
😆 That carrots and peas shtick had me belly laughing!
Protect Old Mate at all costs.
Hey can I check what rear light were you using for your Reacto? Seems like a Cateye Rapid, but which model is it? Looking to run a similar setup on mine, agree with you the stock seatpost light is rubbish!
Can you please do a review of the canyon aero!
Like to, I need to buy one first!
@@CamNicholls I will smash that like button for the TH-cam algorithm
Hi Cam,
Hope you are doing well and keeping sane in lockdown.
Great job and thanks for doing the review of the 6000. I’m a proud owner of a reacto 6000 (second merida in the family after a sculptural) but I’ve always used stock wheel sets and never looked at upgrades. Given the numerous comments suggesting to upgrade the wheel set for reacto 6000, could you provide any advice? I’m super fresh to the wheel set game, a video to suggest where to start and all the different options would be awesome.
Thanks,
Ron
Upgrading wheel set for dummies 😅😅😅
What’s the budget, rim height you want , then identify the few brands and compare. Vision has a few “economical” models, and now a lot of people are talking about Hunt, WinSpace, Ascent. I have a 7000E, was looking at the Vision Metron and also Hunt, but then ends up with Shimano Dura-Ace C60 just because found a great deal almost half price on them.
Yeah that light is just a ball-ache, Merida make seatpost inserts without it but haven't been able to wrangle one out of ATA yet.
Sch-vull-ba, sch-vull-ba, I feel inspired.
Sch-vull-ba, sch-vull-ba, I'm getting tyred.
Hey Cam, just thought that I'd help with the name of the German bicycle tire brand (belonging to Ralph Bohle GmbH) since I currently live in (for 30+ years now) and am fluent in German. The letter "e", is pronounced like the letter a, in English. So the correct pronunciation is actually Schwalb-á. But I'm pretty sure that they won't mind how you pronounce it as long as you continue to purchase their products. 😂
Nice one mate, thanks for the tip! haha
You first said the hyperwheels sucked? Which is it? I need to get an upgrade for my madone ...
When did I say that?
Maybe another idea for Schwalbe: in football a Schwalbe is a term used for flopping. You could call them Flops?
Hmm I've been biking for a few years and I thought that new bikes in the mid price range always have junk wheels like Mavic Aksiums or Fulcrum 7's. I buy for the frame and the groupset and assume I'll change the wheels down the track. I thought everyone else does too?
Giant Propel Advanced One (a key competitor) has pretty good carbon wheels. I believe the same is the case for the mid range Canyon Aero model
Hi Cam, how are dealing with the heal stack for a LLD on the assiomas?
Also I don't get the rim depth choice on the giant's other than they're concerned about the front wheel's handing in crossed winds. I would have thought the front wheel is the first thing to hit in the wind. Would be worth seeing what the Win Space's do to it Cam.
Could you pls test ICAN Wheels ? Thanks.
Quality video Cam , looking forward to the review of the 3 bikes with the Hypers . Have you heard of “ Light Bicycle Carbon Wheels “ ? They are also a Chinese company who claim to make quality wheels . I’d love to know how they compare to the Hypers
How accurate is the Strava segment?
Regardless of the length of the segment, the actual performance of the runner is normally within +/- 2 seconds of the results given by the Strava application. In 95% of cases, the measurement error will be less than four seconds.
----
So your test distance/time seems too short to be valid when using Strava segments and GPS. Almoat all the time differences falls in the measurement error range. Which means the difference between those bikes and components is not statistically significant especially if you also take the environment variables into account (wind, tire pressure, rider position, tire model etc.)
This is a late reaction. Merida used in the Paris-Roubaix just won with some mods for the race what do you think?
Amazing! But the legs of the winning wins the day
Idk why but I might choose Aeroad over propel or reacto. Just because these two brands are so common here in Taiwan lol
Question, I guess most of the bikes you ride are the same size, but how different is the geometry and therefore your position and how much would this affect the test? If you looked at a front profile of you on the bike, surely you are a bigger area than the bike?
The bikes a VERY close on most fronts. We'll discuss in detail during the triple header.
Hated my Pro Ones. Switched to Goodyeard Eagle F1's and love them. Cant have GP5000 on hookeless.
Not too fussed on the look of the Hyper wheels but on the Reacto they look pretty ace 👌
Yes agreed
Shit these disc bikes are heavy. What is the industry doing to us by putting us on 8.5 kg bikes i thought with advances in technology we should be going forwards not backwards. My Stevens Xenon rim brake wth dura ace 9000 and mavic Ksyrium SLR is 6.9kg including pedals and bottle cages. If i switched to disc now , I'd be downgrading not upgrading. Even the pro's dont want disc when they can choose like Pogacar and lots of riders in the Olympics just recently. Glad i saw this video with Cam measuring these bikes so i don't even think of switching to discs
Ive got a Reacto force edition with the Reynolds AR58s. Now I'm wondering if they're part of the "crap wheel" category you're referring to.
Hey, I have same bike (2021 Force), obviously the AR58 is not the best Aero in the market but relativley decent one. You still need to pay about $1800 for them if buying separately, so not cheap. Cheers.
I have ridden them, I thought they were pretty good.
Great video. Spot on regarding people buying aero and then not being satisfied and not fully understanding why. For these prices now they should be trying to help people achieve what they think they are paying for. 👍
Out of interest as I have brought the new tcr supposed to be more all round and aero how far would it be off these ? And don’t blame me to the wife so you can buy another bike 🤣🤣🤣
Interesting ...
With the rim brakes vs the disk brakes have you done any computations on those ... objective comparisons I would like to add
No it's a good idea though
Hi, What size do you have for the merida and which size for the bmc? Thanks!
Medium bmc and small Merida
"dare I say this bike is affordable" and then proceeds to add wheels making it more expensive than the others that were not considered affordable.
so I have a merida reacto 7000e from 2019 i know nothing about where to buy wheels or what wheels are suitable, where do I go to learn some info?
TH-cam search!
@@CamNicholls I can't believe I can't think for myself lol. Thanks man enjoy the videos
What's the song used in the background video? Very catchy and good vibes 👌
There's quite a few, I'll try and list them in the future.
@6:40 'You smell nice'!
What she really means:
'Streuth, you don't smell like a dingo's arse'!
Great Vid today, good info with super humour:)
hahaha
what happened to rubber compliance bit on the reacto seatpost?
Got rid of it.
I agree with the light being useless. I have the Force and I’ve coverer the light with black electrical tape. It’s a terrible light - it turns off and on with bumps - and is hidden by even the smallest bag. Also who wants a light when you’re racing?! Merida should give a blank rubber blank as well as making a better light.
How is the cycling in Noosa mate? I’m planning on moving there from Melbourne at Xmas. Cheers
Small but great. Awesome riding. Touch base with me when you arrive.
What’s the weight on merida reacto with hyper wheels?
Just under 8.7
@@CamNicholls is that consider heavy for a aero bike? Or a fair amount ?
400W?! Holy! I can only do 300W for 1 minute until my bpm goes to 183.
5:10 your first joke attempt was actually the correct pronaunciation...
I thought it was pronounced "Shwalbee"
But great video, and hilarious :P
Tip to not ruin those nice pedla kits with oil stains. Paraffin waxed chains!! No more greasy hands doing wheel changes. Once I started waxing my chains I wouldn’t go back.
Hahaha this video was hilarious. Thanks Cam....
How tall are you, mate, looking at getting a M but is it a big frame
Mate what is your recommendation for a bike that i might be able to get in stock for around 6-7k AUD climbing bike.
I live in Brisbane! Any shop recommendations? new to cycling - thanks!
Taylor Cycles 💯 tell him I sent you in and he has to look after you.
Can you do more propel videos cam cheers, planning on buying a propel thank you
Proper sit down review coming soon
Bike prices have bottomed. That Merida is actually three times the price of a T800 road bike. Shenzhen first technology has this market wrapped up on competition bikes.
Hi Cam, can I get your opinion on the Merida Reacto ride feel V the BMC team slr02? I mean does the Merida feel big & chunky or does it feel long as compared to the BMC SLR02? Being covid I can't go down & test ride so looking for a few different opinions, thanks Allan
BMC is noticeably lighter and more agile. Slightly more comfortable but the Merida wins on speed. Just not up big hills. So think about your riding and what works best. Personally I would go the BMC if money was not an option.
Maaate those skits got me hahahah