Merida Scultura 8000 - 2024

High end carbon road bike with Reynolds carbon wheelset and 2 x 12 Shimano Ultegra Di2 transmission.

Team Bahrain Victorious put the fifth generation Scultura thoroughly through its paces, winning mountain top stages of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana before the bike was even launched. Gen 5 keeps the Scultura's fabled lightweight, agility and rider comfort focus and even manages to improve on both measures. The Scultura now incorporates learnings from the Reacto in terms of aerodynamics; they now share the same race proven geometry. Improving weight, comfort and aerodynamics requires plenty of engineering ingenuity. Round tubes are lighter than aero profiled tubes, fatter tyres are more comfortable but less aerodynamic. There are always compromises to be made. The new Scultura is the most aerodynamic ever and shows outstanding compliance, providing class-leading rider comfort. The marketing blurb suggests this helps keep the body fresh for the final sprint or ascent. A couple of mountain top, grand tour stage victories underline that point quite well!