Merlin Malt-G1X Apex 1 Gravel Bike

Merlin Cycles' Malt-G1X Apex 1 sits atop its alloy gravel bike range, and for the money there is a fair bit to like: a decent quality triple butted aluminium alloy frame, a full carbon fibre fork, a full SRAM Apex groupset and Zipp finishing kit. It isn't all show and no go either, as with a decent weight and a fair bit of stiffness it'll have you covering those off-road segments with a grin on your face.

• Pros: Neutral handling and behaviour helps if you are new to gravel; good spec list
• Cons: Not the liveliest bike on the road; colour choice won't appeal to everyone

Ride

Mat tested the Malt-G, the little brother to this G1X model, around this time last year and overall he was impressed, although he did have a few issues, one being the weight. The G uses a Shimano Tiagra groupset, cable disc brakes and costs just £649, so there are bound to be compromises, but in creating the G1X the frame and fork have had a couple of tweaks too, which sees the whole bike shed 800g.

That sort of weight makes a noticeable difference, especially when it comes to acceleration and climbing, which certainly made the Merlin plenty of fun when bashing about on the local gravel tracks.

It's still no lightweight, but it has some sprightliness there and I enjoyed sprinting up the short, sharp climbs, and the rather small bottom bracket shell only gave the smallest whiff of flex when I was absolutely smashing it from bottom to top.

With chainstays around the 440mm mark, helping to create a long and stable wheelbase of 1,050mm, plus a 71.5-degree head angle, the Merlin has a very easy ride to live with on an unstable surface like gravel.

There is some decent feedback going on through the frame and fork, so you can feel what is going on beneath you, and the almost subdued handling (compared with some of the more aggressive gravel bikes I've ridden) can be cajoled into getting you out of trouble if needs be.

This doesn't mean the Malt-G1X is boring to ride if you are a seasoned off-roader, as Merlin has specced a much shorter stem than you would normally find on a road bike of similar size to keep things interesting.

All this means you can have some fun when descending, and it's only when things are really steep or technical that you have to work hard to keep the Merlin hitting each apex.

Our 50cm model (565mm top tube) has a 165mm head tube length which isn't over the top. Take out the spacers and you can get quite an aggressive position if you are used to riding race bikes.

I actually enjoyed the G1X a little more upright; it's a relaxing ride and I enjoyed cruising for miles on the gravel just enjoying the scenery.

The Merlin will even take mudguards and racks if you want to tackle a bit of light adventure work or touring on the road.

Speaking of the road, sitting on the tarmac probably isn't the G1X's strongest area as that steady and neutral handling on the gravel finds it a little uninspiring for quick road work. Although, with the tyre clearances and mudguard mounts it'd make a decent winter commuter, where you could find yourself on dodgy road surfaces in less than ideal weather conditions.

Frame and fork

The Malt-G came with a double butted 6061 aluminium alloy tubeset, but for the G1X that has been upgraded to a triple butted setup, which not only removes a small amount of weight but also ups the comfort by promoting flex where stiffness isn't critical.

It's a decent quality frame and apart from the welds looking a little bit agricultural, I like the overall finish, even if I'm not totally sold on the green/orange paintjob.

Up front you get a tapered head tube to add stiffness to cope with the forces from the steering and hydraulic discs.

The rest of the tubes aren't massively profiled like some frames we see, but you still get a chunky down tube as it heads into the threaded bottom bracket shell.

Like I said, the bottom bracket junction isn't exactly massive and I could get a little bit of flex out of it when really going for it, but I'm really looking for it – if you're concentrating on other things you probably won't even notice.

The chainstays are swooped along their length to offer plenty of heel clearance but Merlin has managed to do it in such a way that it doesn't affect tyre width. It recommends a maximum of 38mm for a 700C tyre but there is plenty of room there and on the fork, and I managed 42mm with ease, which were the biggest tyres I had knocking about.

The Merlin is also 650B-compatible and a set of 47mm WTB Byways went in without issue.

Apart from rack and mudguard mounts you also get two sets of bottle bosses, plus the G1X has internal cable/hose routing for the front half of the frame before it exits near the bottom bracket and then runs along the outside of the frame.

It's good to see a full carbon fork for this money, and the model fitted is plenty stiff enough for dealing with the brakes while also having enough compliance to take the sting out of the gravel.

For this model it is good to see that Merlin has switched to flat mount for the disc callipers, and 12mm thru-axles are catered for as well. It's the same when it comes to the frame.

Sizing

There are four sizes in the range, all labelled in relation to their seat tube length – 50cm, 53cm, 56cm and 59cm – but the effective top tube lengths are 56.5cm, 58.5cm, 60cm and 61.5cm. They sound a lot bigger than they really are, as the stack and reach of this model, at 580mm and 390mm respectively, is about where I'd expect it to be for something with a 55cm top tube.

With Merlin speccing that shorter stem as well, it does mean that the bike doesn't feel overly stretched out at all.

Groupset

The Malt-G1X comes with a decent build, most notably that full SRAM Apex 1x hydraulic groupset.

Going for a 1x or 2x chainset on a gravel bike divides opinion, and while I prefer a double if I'm going to be using the bike a fair bit on the road or the local long flowing gravel trails, there is no denying that 1x does have its advantages on the shorter, sharper technical stuff.

The Merlin comes with a 42-tooth chainset paired with an 11-speed 11-42t cassette. It lacks the top end if you like to pedal downhill, but you get plenty of bailout gears down in the basement.

The shifting is pretty good once you get used to the action and the way it responds to a light or firm touch for an up or down shift. It works well under load, too, something that happens a fair bit on unknown tracks and trails.

Compared with Shimano's 105, Ultegra or Dura-Ace hydraulic levers, the Apex units have quite a large and tall shape but they are still comfortable, and it does give a good platform to grip when the terrain is rough.

The SRAM brakes are great as well, with loads of power and plenty of modulation giving you excellent control on a loose surface without locking up a wheel unless you want to.

Finishing kit

On bikes at this price you'll pretty much find basic own-brand finishing kit but Merlin has upped the bling factor by fitting a seatpost, stem and handlebar from Zipp. The post is a Service Course Alloy while the stem and bar add an SL to that moniker. It's good kit, offering plenty of stiffness, and the shallow drop of the bar offers plenty of hand positions.

Merlin does provide the saddle and it's a shape that suited me, with padding that is firm enough for support but allows a bit of squidge to soak up the vibration from below.

Wheels and tyres

Stick a set of Schwalbe G-One tyres on a bike as standard and you are on to a bit of a winner, especially if you are expecting the bike to be ridden on and off-road.

The slightly knobbly G-Ones roll really well whatever the terrain, and as long as the going isn't too muddy they have excellent levels of grip, although the 35mm width fitted is quite slim by current gravel standards.

These aren't the tubeless-ready options, so if you want to ditch the inner tube you're going to be looking at an upgrade, but for straight out of the box tyres you can't complain. Puncture-proofing works well enough and I certainly didn't have any issues during the test period.

Nor did I with the Mavic XM 319 wheels. Built with 32 spokes front and rear, they are some tough wheels and coped with everything I put them through, including high-speed descents on large rock-strewn gravel tracks and whacking tree roots through the local singletrack.

They are a bit weighty, though, and an upgrade to some slightly lighter wheels would make a big performance boost to the Merlin, but again, on a bike at this price they are perfectly adequate.

Value

We always review bikes on their full RRP, but since its release the Malt-G1X has been discounted from £1,499 to £1,099 and Merlin has confirmed that it will remain at this price, so that is what we are basing it on.

Looking back through the gravel bikes we've tested recently on road.cc and off.road.cc, not a lot comes close to the Merlin when it comes to kit and price.

> Buyer's Guide: 22 of the best gravel and adventure bikes

Mike Stead really liked the Merida Silex 300, which comes in at £1,200 and a smidge over 10kg. The only compromise is that you get cable-operated discs rather than hydraulic.

Or there is the Saracen Levarg SL, which has a mix of mechanical/hydraulic setup for £1,350.

The only bike that really does challenge on the value front is the limited edition model of the Triban RC 520 Gravel model tested here. It'll set you back just £849.99, if you can find one in stock. It has an Apex 1x groupset but again uses TRP Hy/Rd brakes.

Conclusion

Overall, the Merlin is a decent quality gravel bike that is fun and easy to ride, especially off-road. It may not be the most responsive bike out there, but that will be its charm for many.

Verdict

A fun and stable bike on the gravel backed up with a decent frame and a quality spec list for the money