merida cyclocross 500 vs ribble.cgr 2017

The Merida is only thru-axle on the front, and it's a somewhat obsolete 15mm axle - most drop bar bikes have settled on 12mm front and rear. Might cause an issue for wheel upgrades in the future.

Been running hydraulic brakes for years. They don’t leak. Might need bleeding every two years. 

I also have a bike with mechanical discs. Constantly fiddling with the pad adjust, and the rear cable is in the right place to fill with water and seize. 

Ribble CGR has carbon fork too. Buy it.

Talking of mudguards I have SKS longboards on it. They are really good. Really do keep the crap off and even my feet keep more or less dry. I had them fitted from new. Well worth the cost when it's peeing down.

The Mud Wrestlers are horrible tyres, swapped mine for GravelKing SKs as soon as possible. So many punctures with the Mud Wrestlers, even on the road

Regarding gears and shifters- I’d recommend learning to do this yourself. It’s something that you will want to regularly maintain, and will cost a few leu for cables every now and again.

I always use a chain checker on any second hand bike. A very cheap gadget, and lets you know when the chain is worn before it inflicts serious wear on the cassette and chainrings. 

Don't know about the Merida, but I have a Ribble cgr with full 105 grupo including hydraulic discs.

It's a good bike. Lots of pannier and mudguard bosses. Rides well and handles well. Had it nearly two years now and it has had no attention apart from new cain/sprockets/rings. Have ridden 70 miles a day on it several times.

I'm happy with it.

I have a cyclo cross 500 that I use as a commuter/gravel bike. It’s a great bike, really versatile. Built my own wheels for it over the stock items and with Schwalbe G-One speed tyres it is really quick.

I stuck RS505 hydraulics on it with a 105 crankset and did 30 miles a day on it (when I could be bothered!). It’s a lovely shade of blue, the finish really is nice in the flesh.

Ive since adapted it to 1x Di2 after running out of gears on the Moors and Shores adventure cross rode last year

That Merida looks well looked after - it's had new bar tape at some point but everything else on that bike is as it left the factory. Chainset is RS505 46/36 - 105-level chainset for CX.

Was always a lovely, well-finished bike, and I actually preferred the look of that chainset to the stock 105 version.

By the way, for fitting mudguards there's a mount under the fork crown to direct mount the mudguard. The stays attach halfway up the fork. A bit fiddly as a DIY job, if you're going to use mudguards get your bike shop to fit them.

I had the Merida, fantastic bike. But yes, no rack mounts, and only cable discs. It was a genuine do everything bike - I commuted on it (15-25 miles a day), rode it on sportives, and even did RideLondon on it. Lovely ride, probably my favourite bike. Only sold it because I didn't want to be associated with Merida following the Bahrain sponsorship.

If the CGR is cheaper, it's definitely a better spec in terms of wheels and brakes. What chainset does it have? The Merida was a proper CX bike so was 46/36 - I'm guessing that the CGR will be a 50/34. Not that I ever spun out on the Merida but might be a factor.

Ribble. Hydraulic brakes beats cable  discs every time.