Merida Reacto Disc 5000 2020

The Reacto is Merida's aero race bike with this 5000 model sporting the majority of a Shimano Ultegra groupset. It is rapid on the flat and a fun bike to ride hard, although its boxy frame errs on the side of firmness over comfort, and it's just screaming out for some deep-section wheels to really exploit the aerodynamics.

Ride

I kind of like the way the Reacto presents itself. It's an honest sort of bike, stood there with its chunky, almost square tube profiles going, 'Yeah, I'm not going to treat you to the most cosseting ride you've ever had, but if you want to go fast stand on the pedals and I will deliver!'

And that's it in a nutshell really. On the flat or punchy, rolling terrain this is basically a time trial machine with drop bars.

At 8.97kg (19.77lb) it isn't that light for a two-and-a-half-grand bike, but everywhere other than the hills, aerodynamics will always win out over weight, and this is where the Reacto excels.

Get yourself hunkered down into the drops and once this thing is rolling, it flies. The reasonably stretched out position allows you to get long and low to get the power down, and with the geometry sitting somewhere between a race and endurance machine you don't need to be a supple racing whippet to exploit it.

The Fulcrums aren't a bad set of wheels, but with a steady flow of deep-section hoops passing through my hands for testing, a change to something of at least 50mm deep really highlights just how well this frameset cuts through the wind, while also dropping a bit of weight.

The ride is quite firm, there are options out there that take much more of the road buzz and vibration out before it reaches your contact points, but it doesn't exactly make the Reacto uncomfortable.

I enjoy quite a firm, stiff frame and the Reacto definitely suits the majority of my riding. With time for being on the bike often being at a premium, especially at the moment with home schooling and the like, the Reacto was great to grab for a couple of hours so I could just smash out the tension and enjoy the escape from monotony.

With the semi-relaxed geometry of the CF2 frame, it is a surprisingly easy bike to ride fast too. The steering is slightly to the quick side of neutral and you can really push it hard through roundabouts and flowing bends without having to scrub off any speed.

The overall weight, while taking the edge off acceleration, does give a very good feeling of security at speed. It feels planted – if you hit an unexpected patch of rough road or get pushed off your line by an impatient close pass, the Reacto never feels nervous or twitchy in your hands.

If you hit some hilly terrain the Reacto 5000 doesn't exactly fly up the climbs, but then again neither do I! What it carries in weight is more than offset by the huge levels of stiffness from the oversized tube sections, so if you are like me – a climber trapped in an off-season sprinter's body – you can get out of the saddle and really smash the Merida to the top.

On the whole, if you are looking at an aero bike then speed is probably your priority, and the Reacto isn't going to let you down.

Frame and fork

The Reacto range is available in a number of material and braking options.

Entry-level models are made from aluminium alloy and come with rim brakes, although this does spread into the carbon fibre options too, like the super-bling 8000-E with its more aggressive and lighter CF4 frameset and Shimano Ultegra Di2 components.

The majority of the models are disc brake, and the 5000 uses the CF2 frame and fork. The geometry is slightly slacker and more relaxed than the CF4 but the claimed weight is pretty impressive: 1,150g for the M/L size that we have.

Up front you are getting a tapered head tube which blends into one with the front section of the top tube and that huge down tube. There is also some aero integration with the fork into the front of the frame too.

As you can see from the photos, aerodynamics have been considered everywhere, with flared sections behind the head tube and down tube, and the seat tube with its cutout to bring the rear wheel as close as possible.

All the cabling is fully internal, too, for a clean look.

Merida has gone for a press-fit bottom bracket on the CF2 frame. This means the bottom bracket shell can be wider than with a threaded version as the bearings are pressed into the frame rather than screwed onto the outside; it's 86mm wide rather than 68mm.

There are setbacks, like if tolerances aren't adhered to then water and grit can get in and cause creaking, or if the position of the openings for the bearings aren't lined up properly during manufacture then the bearings can wear unbelievably quickly, but over recent years of testing press-fit-equipped bikes through the winter months I've seen fewer and fewer issues.

The wider shell has allowed Merida to go wider with the down tube, seat tube and chainstays, which means the Reacto is very stiff indeed. Acceleration and climbing definitely benefit.

Other neat touches are the integrated seat clamp for the aero seatpost. It certainly gives a smooth look and I had no issues with slippage.

The seatpost has a large notch cut out of the rear which is usually filled in with a rubber section to give a little bit of damping against the vibration, but our test model came with a rear light that fits inside the elastomer. It's a simple light – a single static LED that runs off an AA battery – but it's quite effective.

Battery life is pretty short, especially if you use cheap supermarket batteries like I was, but it's ideal for those times when you misjudge what time you'll be home or if bad weather comes in.

I probably don't need to highlight the fact that the Reacto comes with flat mount calliper mounts and thru-axles, as that is pretty much the standard these days. One addition that you don't see often, though, are the disc coolers: grooved aluminium sections that sit under the callipers and allow heat to dissipate through the fins.

Merida claims they reduce temperatures by about 35%, though this is probably more relevant on long Alpine descents than the short, steep ones we have here in the UK.

Groupset

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, the Reacto 5000 comes with the majority of a Shimano Ultegra groupset, which is pretty much par for the course for the money. I say majority because the crankset is a non-series RS 510 model which, for me, does cheapen the look slightly as I prefer to see a complete groupset if possible.

The shifting isn't affected, though, as the chain happily skips across the 52/36-tooth chainset, and paired with an 11-30 cassette gives the Merida a decent spread of gears, probably better than most aero bikes – that 36x30 bailout gear helping offset the weight on really steep hills.

Shimano's hydraulic brakes are some of the best in the business, and I certainly had no issues with the setup fitted to the Reacto.

The RT64 rotors don't have quite as much bite as Shimano's Ice Tech rotors, although I never really found myself struggling for power or modulation, I'm just being picky.

Finishing kit

When it comes to the contact points, they are all Merida branded and they do a very good job.

The Expert CW handlebar is typical in its dimensions to most compact bars on the market, with the drops easily accessible for the majority of riders, and the stem of the same name varies in length depending on the size of the frame.

The Expert CC saddle is thinly padded and firm, just like a race saddle should be, and I liked it a lot.

A neat addition is the multi-tool hidden underneath in a small case that comes as standard. It's positioned in a way that you can still attach a saddlebag, which is a bonus.

Wheels and tyres

The Fulcrum Racing 900 DB are quite a belt and braces approach for the Reacto 5000; it really deserves something lighter and more aero. Saying that, they're a good set of training wheels as they'll take plenty of knocks and abuse.

Tyre-wise, the 25mm Continental Grand Sport Races strike a good balance of grip, puncture resistance, rolling resistance and longevity without really setting the ride alight.

Basically, the tyres and wheels do a decent enough job, but the frame and fork really deserve something better.

Value

The Reacto 5000 has an rrp of £2,500 which isn't too bad considering the quality of the frameset and kit level, non-series crankset aside.

Something like the Fuji Transonic 2.5 Disc comes in at £2,899.99. It's heavier than the Reacto by a couple of hundred grams and comes with, in the most part, a 105 groupset, swapping out the crankset for an Oval model.

> Buyer’s Guide: 21 of the best and fastest 2020 aero road bikes

Another option though could be the Orro Venturi Evo 105 at £2,099.99. True, it might be a closer match to the Reacto 4000 with its 105 groupset (again, minus the crankset), but it is only a few grams heavier than the 5000 and offers a very good ride quality.

Conclusion

On the whole, I like the Reacto 500. It has a quality frameset and while some might find the ride on the firm side, it is one of those bikes where you can just get out and smash it around a bit.

The overall quality is impressive and it is certainly a fun bike to ride, and with a few component tweaks it could be very good indeed.

Verdict

Not the lightest or most comfortable, but if speed is your main goal then the Reacto delivers