Six buckets of one liter of water are heavier than this car. Don't be shocked, just calm down. If you add two more bottles of water, it will weigh about two pounds, which is about 20% heavier than Scultura9000. That's crazy, isn't it?

Six barrels of one liter of water are heavier than this car. Don't be shocked, just calm down. If you add two more bottles of water, it will weigh about two pounds, which is about 20% heavier than Scultura9000. That's crazy, isn't it? But what’s even crazier is that this is not the lightest version of Scultura. The Scultura Superlight Ltd is more than one kilogram lighter than the 9000, and is as light as 4.52kg. It is light enough to steadily solve all your climbing problems. Both

Ltd and 9000 use a frame of about 680g. This frame is simply the pinnacle of modern carbon frame technology. It's light enough to make you wonder if it can stand up to the rigors of the road, especially potholes. This weight is so crazy that it makes us wonder where the limit of the carbon frame is. Not to mention, when you ride a road bike with a frame that is not much heavier than a bottle of Coke through a road full of small potholes, you'd better not think about how light it is, otherwise this series of The thought makes it impossible for you to corner or brake properly. But I still have to say "scared the baby to death".

Part of my reservations about this car stem from our dear editor. He had a cordial conversation with Merida product manager Jurgen Falke at last year's Scultura SL (Superlight) launch. Jurgen Falke told him the reason why the Lambo Merida team does not use the CF5 level frame (Merida's top carbon frame, focusing on lightweight) It is because they are afraid that the CF5 frame may not be able to withstand the tossing in some specific situations, such as clamping the car on the roof of the team car, encountering roadblocks at high speeds, or even the behavior of team members sitting on the top tube before starting. . I feel that if even the professional players who are almost 20 pounds lighter than me and have better skills are cautious, then I'd better be like them and not be stupid and bold.

(The top tube of the CF5 frame, Merida advises consumers not to sit on it before setting off. Of course, it is best not to sit on it at all times)

On the other hand, this is the only opportunity to experience this bike for now. . So I tied it behind my opel first. I drove for two hours through the village for a test ride. During the two-hour journey, the wind blew non-stop. And this one-way street is also riddled with potholes. After all, this trench also costs 7,500 pounds. It is also an important condition to survive in the harsh transportation environment. Long story short, thankfully when I took it off the car, it was intact. I guess Merida is also happy that their pride will not end in my Opel. All right, ready to ride!

To be honest, when I started to test ride the Merida Scultura 9000, my heart was pounding. After all, this is a road bike with a flying car, and the complete set of equipment was so expensive that I had to look at my pockets. Scultura9000 is equipped with a basically complete set of SRAM RED 22-speed kit. This kit can be said to be the lightest transmission kit on the market, and it is almost a must-have kit for all light road bikes. However, SRAM’s chain was replaced with KMC X11SL DLC. This KMC chain is basically the lightest chain on the market (the whole chain weighs 243g, which can be said to be the lightest).

Merida has also put a lot of effort into the wheelset. They chose DT SWISS’s latest RC28 Spline Mon Chasseral wheelset. The clincher version of this wheelset is only 1250g, yes, the clincher version. And I can tell you, this wheelset is just as beautiful in person as in the photos! Fortunately, it seems that there is one area where Merida has not tried to reduce weight, and that is the tires. Please note that the Continental GP4000S II tires are not only not light but quite heavy. Although the Scultura 9000 uses a 25mm wide version of the tires, consumers still want the tires to last longer, rather than those paper-thin competition versions. Of course, it seems that the vast majority of consumers will not buy a road car that costs almost 8,000 pounds.

DT SWISS’ latest RC28 Spline Mon Chasseral wheelset weighs only 1250g, making it an excellent choice for ultra-light road bikes.

From the above, FSA provided the handlebars, and their K-Force drop bars look to match the style of the bike very well. The drop of this handlebar set is 25mm smaller than the FSA Ergo version, which is more friendly to amateur riders.Scultura9000 uses Selle Italia's SLR Kit Carbonio seat bag, which is very similar to the Selle Italia seat bag on my car, so I have great trust in the quality of this seat bag. These top-notch accessories show that Merida did not cut corners and is completely worthy of the price of this car.

However, another strange thing about the design is that the rear brake seat of the Scultura9000 is at the bottom of the bottom bracket. This brake seat is a direct-mounted brake seat, but SRAM does not have a direct-mounted brake, so Merida must use something else instead. The biggest problem with the bottom bracket brake is that it is particularly easy to get stuck in mud, which can easily cause the brake to fail. I have to say that while these are predictions, honestly, the brakes are best served in traditional mode. Especially if your carbon blades and brakes are in contact with each other, if you are lucky, there will be no problems. But apart from that, placing the brakes at the bottom of the bottom bracket can make people sit more comfortably on the car. This is indeed a major reason to improve the riding experience.

So, what is it like to ride an ultra-light road bike like the Scultura 9000? The feeling is really light and can be a little unsettling. However, when you get off the saddle and stand up to ride, it accelerates very quickly. But I have to say, the riding experience of this car is really good. By comparing the riding experience of the Scultura with Merida’s other wind-breaking model, the Reacto, I clearly understand why the Rambo Merida team chose this car to compete on the classic track.

The brakes are placed at the bottom of the bottom bracket for better riding comfort.

This bike is rigid enough and the force is very direct. But since I mainly ride on the roadside, riding comfort is also important. One area where I think the Scultura isn't good at is bursts of force, such as sprinting or short climbs. I found myself sitting on the Scultura's saddle for longer than I would on my own bike because the Scultura didn't give me the same feeling when I was trying to push through about 10 percent forward lean. But don't get me wrong, I don't feel any less effort, I just feel like Scultura is missing something when it comes to exerting force.

Handling is a particularly interesting aspect. The car is so light that you feel like you can throw the car wherever you want. However, when riding, the car's control will be very sensitive. This may be a bit "frightening" for novices, because small movements and balance changes during riding can easily affect the state of the bike, so it is best to be careful when going downhill and have sufficient confidence, otherwise it will It's easy to crash.

The descent of this bike is prepared for professional downhillers. A better downhiller would turn this bike into a real treasure. Although there is no guarantee that it will be the best in various road conditions, like the Bianchi Specialissima, it is already good enough.

The brake at the bottom of the bottom bracket is very easy to get muddy, but since it doesn’t need to be wiped off, I didn’t deal with the mud.

Conclusion:

First off, this bike rides really well. This really is a high-quality road car - if you don't mind the price of almost £8,000. But to be honest, if I were to buy one, I would choose a CF4-level frame, such as the team version of Scultura, rather than CF5. But it’s really tempting to have a road bike that’s lighter than 6kg. If you choose a heavier version of the frame - which actually only weighs 100g - you may not have to worry about the car being clamped on the roof of the car and going through road potholes. Of course, being lighter is undoubtedly attractive, but this is often not what is most needed. Before buying a road bike, it’s best to think about what you need most.

Advantages:

1. The lightest frame created with the highest specifications

2. Better maneuverability makes riding more exciting

3. Lighter than 5.8kg, needless to say

Disadvantages:

1. Too light a frame brings about durability Worry about the degree of worry - Merida itself also confesses this

2. The general bottom bracket brake

3. Maybe the frame is really too light?