Home > Bike Types > Gravel Bikes

Hit the gravel with Merit Plus & unique semi-custom water transfer finishes

9 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

So we actually were turned on to the small bike brand Merit while out on the road & trail testing some much more expensive bikes. This bike above was the one that I did a bit of wheel sucking behind on the ride home, as I tried to figure out what it was. At first it looked like a one-off camouflaged prototype paint job, but it turns out to be an expertly crafted water transfer finish. This bike itself is actually the predecessor to Merit’s new adventure gravel bike the Merit Plus, which gets updated to 700c/650b Road Plus wheel sizing and even offers rack & fender mounts in a relatively affordable carbon frameset…

We don’t have photos of the new Plus bike yet with the optional full water transfer, so here are a couple more shots of the prior bike decked out in black on white skulls. You don’t see many frames with water transfer paint jobs, as it’s really is difficult to pull off well. Merit has a guy on their team who is an expert though, and with a lot of careful pattern optimization, precise masking, and patience they do some impressive work.

Merit Plus

Merit is a small brand run out of a tiny Czech workshop and starts with what are essentially standard catalog bikes made in Taiwan. They are not shy about that, working with producers who also make some of the top-end bikes in the industry. Merit works with the factory to make modifications like carbon updates, axle options, braze-ons, etc. before shipping the framesets to the Czech Republic where they do their unique finish customizations. All with the goal of delivering something special to customers.

The Plus unabashedly follows the recent all-surface, multi-wheel size trend we’ve seen from brands like Open and 3T. Merit calls it One frame. More Bikes., the ability to set the bike up for road riding, cyclocross, or even proper mountain bike trail rides. At around 1110g the full carbon Plus pairs quick handling road geometry and clearance for road cranks with room to run up to either 700c x 40mm or 650b x 2.1″ tires.

The bike uses an asymmetric dropped chainstay design for the clearance to run those fat tires with the 42cm chainstays and a standard road double crankset. It gets a press fit BB86 bottom bracket, tapered 1.5″ steerer tube, hidden aero seatpost clamp, and flat mount disc brakes for either 140 or 160mm rotors.

The Plus gets thru-axles front & rear, with a nod to the mountain side it opts for 15×100 & 12×142 spacing. The bike can be set up with either 1x or double drivetrains with a removable bolt-on front derailleur hanger, and the modular internal routing can adapt to mechanical or electronic transmissions.

Fairly unique in this type of bike, the Plus has braze-ons for either racks or fenders on both frame and fork.

 

The Plus is Merit’s most expensive frameset and sells for 1450€ with frame, fork, aero seatpost, and QR axles. The bike is available in four stock geometries from the 50cm seattube of the S to a 59cm XL.

Merit sells framesets direct from their e-shop where you can also pick from almost 40 stock water transfer patterns – everything from skulls to Hello Kitty – for a 185€ up-charge. Or you can just get in touch with them direct to sort out a complete bike build.

MeritBikes.com

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

9 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
jBoi
jBoi
6 years ago

Are these frames available in the US?

Heavyn
Heavyn
6 years ago
Reply to  stevedil

it is not the same – different seat tube, Plus has aero shape. There is and different rear fork too,….

riley martin
riley martin
6 years ago

that is probably true stevedil…as the article already mentions–starts with what are essentially standard catalog bikes made in Taiwan. They are not shy about that. its an open mold frame that anyone or any company can buy……Looks badass nonetheless

Matt
Matt
6 years ago

WTFs eh? They look really cool. Want one!

Steve
Steve
6 years ago

It certainly looks similar to the Space Chicken, thought the Merit website lists the largest 700C tire as 40 while Planet X list the Chicken as have a 48 max tire size… Interesting bike though.

Heavyn
Heavyn
6 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Tire clearance is similar
Plus – max (650b x 50) and (700c x 40)
Chicken – max (650b x 47) and (700 x 38)

Peter Herath
Peter Herath
6 years ago

Hi,
What size is pictured above?

Thanks,

Pete

Don Anderson
Don Anderson
4 years ago

Its literally a tideace frame you can get from China through Ali express, etc. for $400-500. Comes with fork, through axles, bb, seatpost, clamps and headset. Hell of a mark up for adding a few stickers.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.