Take16 hours ago
Merida Reacto One barely scrapes the top 10, tested in the drops
Cyclingnews' wind tunnel test of the Merida Reacto One ended with the bike barely scraping the top 10, remarkably short of the Factor One and Cervélo S5. The cockpit is 22.5cm between the hoods but 42cm at the drops, and the bike was tested with hands in the drops. Cyclingnews says that position did not let the narrow bars show their benefit, and that a hoods position would likely have made a difference.
What this means
Cyclingnews says the narrow bars could cause issues in racing. The UCI said it would consider measuring bar width at the drops rather than the hoods, and it was unclear whether the current drops measurement would continue.
Merida put the narrow cockpit at the centre of the Reacto's aero case: the brand claims the new Reacto is around 5% faster than its predecessor, with the wing-shaped cockpit said to supply half of that. The Team CW 1P bar, supplied by Vision, is the part that makes the Reacto One UCI-illegal, together with its one-by groupset. Cyclingnews tested with hands in the drops and says a hoods position would likely have made a difference. Merida claims 196W of drag at 45kmh in Tour Magazine conditions, ten watts better than its predecessor. Cyclingnews also found the Reacto One better than the older Reacto it tested in 2025. The reviewer still calls it a bike that should have been a prime candidate for the top spot. Cyclingnews scored it 72% and calls it subjectively enjoyable to ride.
Sources
Wind tunnel tested: The UCI-illegal Merida Reacto One was designed to beat the wind tunnel tests – it failed, but that's only half the storyThe new Merida Reacto’s UCI-illegal cockpit is its key to aero gainsNew UCI Gear Rules Incoming: Rim Height Limits, Minimum Bar Widths, and a Tech Fraud Crackdown
Analysed 3 sources, written and summarised with AI · How we work