ADVENTURE, EVERY DAY. GET LOST, FIND YOURSELF.
Function has a style all of its own. When we introduced the Silex, people didn’t know what to make of this quirky-looking bike designed for riding something called ‘gravel’. Then they rode it - and the awards and positive reviews started piling up. The Silex turns any ride into an adventure, opening up fresh possibilities for fun, whether you’re doing the daily commute or a multi-day bikepacking trip.
CALM AND COMPOSED
Now, it’s even more off-road capable, and we’ve revised the looks to be more modern and elegant - even if we do say so ourselves. We’ve kept the versatility that made the first version of this bike a success though, but with greater tyre clearance and a slacker head angle, it’s more comfortable and composed, while refined cable routing and styling means it’s sleeker and slipperier than ever. That’s all without compromising the ability to run a 1x or 2x drivetrain or run whatever combination of guards, racks and luggage works for you.
MOUNTAIN BIKE ABILITY
The Silex has always been an off-road machine, first and foremost, it's not just a road or ‘cross bike’ with a few tweaks. With mountain bike-inspired geometry, it breaks free from the confines of what a drop bar bike should do, tempting you to explore the road less travelled. Take the next turn off-road, head down that singletrack, see what’s over the next hill or load up your gear and turn it into an overnighter. It blends drop-bar speed on hardpack surfaces with mountain bike ability and calm, composed handling.
The Silex isn’t just for big adventures in the middle of nowhere, it’s an incredibly practical everyday machine too. Whether it’s fitted with pannier racks to carry the shopping or mudguards to keep you clean on the commute, it’ll get you there in comfort with a relaxed, upright riding position and composed character, on any surface.
DESIGNED TO EXPLORE
Gravel riding has increasingly split into different disciplines with distinct identities. On the one hand, there is a competitive race element, focusing on endurance competition events where outright speed is the priority and the terrain is generally more groomed.
Alternatively, there is adventure biking, where camaraderie is key and the only competitive aspect is between an individual rider and their own limits, pursuing long-distance ride or trips into the unknown. For these riders, comfort and carrying capacity are more important than outright speed and it's essential the bike can take on unpredictable and constantly changing surfaces.
The Silex continues to be spiritually closer to adventure riding so we have added more off-road capability without impacting the handling and versatility of the previous generation. In the process, we’ve also created the option to add gravel-specific equipment such as dropper posts and suspension forks but we know that when you’re on a trip in the middle of nowhere, simplicity is key. That’s why we’ve steered away from gimmicks and overcomplicated design features and focused on what really makes a difference for riders.
SLEEKER, SMOOTHER, SLACKER
The head angle is the only significant change to the geometry and is now 1.5° slacker at 69.5°, improving stability at speed on rough terrain or when heavily laden. The handlebar position is at a very similar height but there is now a much shorter headtube length paired with a longer fork that’s compatible with the latest generation of gravel suspension forks. This means the new Silex offers the same riding position that made it such a hit but with much more aggressive looks and an aesthetic that is much more closely aligned to the dynamic look of the Reacto and Scultura road ranges.
INCREASED TYRE CLEARANCE
The longer fork allows a significant increase in tyre clearance. It is now possible to fit a 45 mm tyre on a 700c rim at both the front and rear of the bike, giving a massively increased tyre volume that benefits both comfort and grip. The significantly larger overall rolling diameter provides a smoother, more stable ride without the need to resort to heavy, complicated suspension systems.
We believe that this extra clearance makes the 650b wheel size obsolete; there is no advantage to this smaller wheel except for having a larger volume tyre. It is still possible to run up to a 700x42 mm tyre when running mudguards.
CLUTTER-FREE COCKPIT AND SLEEKER LOOK
As well as the shorter headtube improving the looks of the bike, we also made a number of other small but key changes. We have switched to our well-proven Wire Port cable management system, with control cables entering via the headset before being fully internally routed onwards for a less cluttered cockpit and sleeker look. This also has the benefit of much-improved integration when running a bar bag or bikepacking roll.
FIDLOCK BASE MOUNT
We have also added an integrated Fidlock base mount for the CF frames that can be run with any Fidlock-compatible accessory or an optional blanking plate.
Merida Silex Geometry:
