The Merida Silex has always been about the road less travelled, that spirit of exploration and camaraderie that gravel riding captures better than any other discipline.
As the sport has grown and split into two distinct directions, racing and loaded touring, Merida bikes have responded accordingly.
The newer Mission platform picks up the racing brief, while the Silex stays true to its original character: a gravel bike built to take you further, whatever the terrain, whatever the load.
And it's no slouch when the pace picks up either. A week before its official launch, Matej Mohoric won the 2023 Gravel World Championships on one. Worth keeping in mind.
The Silex was designed from scratch rather than adapted from a road bike or cyclocross frame. Merida drew on modern MTB geometry from the outset: long top tube, slack head tube, short stem.
The result is a bike that feels planted and confidence-inspiring when things get rough, the kind of handling that encourages you to push harder on technical ground rather than back off.
This second-generation frame brings a revised fork design, so you can swap in a suspension fork down the line without upsetting the geometry.
All frames come with five sets of bottle bosses and rack mounting points, giving you plenty of carrying options for bikepacking or multi-day touring.
Internal routing for a dropper post and even a dynamo system is also possible, which opens things up considerably for longer self-supported rides.
Hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors come as standard across the Silex range (except the 200), with calipers flat-mounted on the chainstay for a clean, efficient setup.
On carbon models, CNC'd aluminium Disc Cooler fins reduce operating temperatures by up to 35%, which matters when you're descending fully loaded.
The Merida Silex 700 is one of the most well-rounded gravel bikes for sale in the UK right now, and the Elegant Wildberry/High Cream colourway makes it one of the better-looking options in the range too.
If you're still working out which type of bike fits your riding style, our guide to different types of bikes is worth a read before committing. For fit, the Merida size guide takes the guesswork out of choosing the right frame size.