Long-running flat-bar road bike gains bigger tyres, extra mounting points and tweaked geometry for greater comfort and off-road versatility, while the Speeder 100 drops to 800

There are riders who need years to find their place in the pro peloton, and others who, when the right chance comes, look destined to seize it from day one. Guillermo Thomas Silva clearly belongs to the second group. At 24, the Uruguayan is delivering an outstanding 2026 season, emerging as one of t...

Mikel Landa will line up at the Vuelta a Espaa 2026 with extra motivation. The veteran Basque rider from Soudal Quick-Step began his Tour of the Czech Republic on Thursday, August 13th, a race he will use to sharpen sensations and arrive with guarantees at the final Grand Tour of the season. It wil...

There are some big savings to be had this week with discounts on Merida bikes, Pro tools, Quoc shoes, Oakley sunnies, GoPro action cameras, and loads more

Wout van Aert will be back in racing action just a week before the 2026 Vuelta a Espana, but not on his road bike. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider is primed to compete in the Belgian Gravel National Championships this Sunday, August 16th. After dominating the Tour of Denmark and putting his Tour de F...

Merida has redesigned the Speeder, but says it has retained the bike's simplicity and versatility. Previously a fitness hybrid bike, the new Speeder increases the tyre clearance to 50mm from 35mm, equipping it for use as a flat-bar gravel bike, as well as for commuting duties on poor surfaces. Prices start at 800 / 900.There are step-through and classic frames, the latter now with an increased slope to the top tube, and there are two frame grades.The AL-A frame used in the top-spec, 1,500, Speeder 500 has a more finished look with smoothed welds and is equipped with a carbon fork thats shared with the Silex II drop-bar gravel bike. The AL-C frame used for the Speeder 300, 200 and 100 is less finished to keep the bike prices down and these specs are fitted with an alloy fork. The Speeder 500 frame has smooth welds and there's cable routing into the front of the head tube. Other changes include a narrower 27.2mm seatpost for a smoother ride and a slacker head tube angle, now 71 degrees for all but the XS frame, for off-road stability.With the specced 45mm tyres, the Speeder can also be fitted with mudguards for all-weather use. Although no specs come with these, Merida will sell a Speeder EQ kit, which you can purchase separately to add mudguards, a rear rack and a frame lock mounting point. Lower-spec frames have less weld smoothing and are fitted with an alloy fork. In keeping with the gravel orientation, most specs are now 1x and theres a collection of bag mounts, with bolts on the fork legs of the Merida 500, as well as the underside of the rear of the top tube for all specs.The top-spec bike has a mixed SRAM 12-speed groupset, while other specs are Shimano-equipped, with 11-speed or 9-speed CUES options, as well as the less frequently seen 8-speed Essa.All specs come with hydraulic disc brakes and 23mm internal-width wheels to support the wider tyres.Merida Speeder specs and prices The top-spec Speeder 500 has a mixed SRAM drivetrain and a carbon fork with bag mounts. The new Speeder will be available in four models, in top-tube and step-through variants. There are five mens sizes, from XS to XL, as well as XS, S and M womens sizes.Merida Speeder 500 Frame: Speeder AL-A IV Fork: Silex II CF2 carbon Groupset: SRAM Apex XPLR 12-speed mechanical / Eagle shifters / Rival crankset Gearing: 42T, 11-44T Wheelset: Merida Expert SL III on Joytech hubs Tyres: Schwalbe G-One Allroad 45mm Brakes: Tektro Orion M6020 hydraulic disc SRP: 1,500 / 1,699Merida Speeder 300 Frame: Speeder AL-C IV Fork: Speeder AL Groupset: Shimano CUES U6000 11-speed mechanical / Merida Expert TR II crankset / SunRace cassette Gearing: 42T, 10-50T Wheelset: Merida Comp SL III on Shimano hubs Tyres: Schwalbe G-One Comp 45mm Brakes: Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc SRP: 1,000 / 1,150Merida Speeder 200 Frame: Speeder AL-C IV Fork: Speeder AL Groupset: Shimano CUES U4000 9-speed mechanical / SunRace cassette Gearing: 40/26T, 11-36T Wheelset: Merida Comp SL II on Shimano hubs Tyres: Kenda Piedmont 45mm Brakes: Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc SRP: 850 / 975Merida Speeder 100 Frame: Speeder AL-C IV Fork: Speeder AL Groupset: Shimano Essa U2000 8-speed mechanical Gearing: 40T, 11-45T Wheelset: Merida Comp SL II on Shimano hubs Tyres: Kenda Piedmont 45mm Brakes: Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc SRP: 800 / 900

Good looking rotors that perform well and save you a few grams

Only eight riders in history have managed to complete stage racings ultimate challenge: winning the Tour de France, the Giro dItalia and La Vuelta a Espaa at least once. The latest is Jonas Vingegaard, who in 2026 added the Giro to his previous Tour and Vuelta titles. The Dane thus became the ei...

Former champions, Tour de France Femmes Femmes avec Zwift stage winners, and teenage amateurs are all set to line up at this year's Lloyds Tour of Britain Women. The five-day race, the only annual UCI WorldTour event held in the UK, begins next Wednesday 19 August in Cockermouth, Cumbria and finishes in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire on Sunday 23 August. Ahead of the race, the organiser, British Cycling, has been drip feeding names on the start list. Among those already announced are the defending champion Ally Wollaston (FDJ United-Suez) and 2024's winner Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), a two-time world champion. Kopecky will be joined in SD Worx's six-rider squad by star sprinter Lorena Wiebes, who won two stages of the Tour de France Femmes earlier this month, and wore the yellow jersey. Also fresh from winning at the Tour de France Femmes is Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), who said in a press release she is "looking forward to coming back [to the Tour of Britain Women] and making this edition a good one from start to finish". Earlier this week, British Cycling announced the names of 12 British riders who are set to compete in this year's event; these include the current British road and time trial champion Zoe Bckstedt (Canyon-Sram) and her national title-winning predecessors Millie Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech), Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic PostNL) and Alice Towers (EF Education-Oatly). As her EF Education-Oatly team is not competing, Towers has been called up to represent the Great Britain national squad, which also counts track Olympians Anna Morris and Jess Roberts, club cyclists Amalie Cooper and Ruby Oakes, and 18-year-old Rebecca Gardiner. "We are absolutely delighted more world-class cyclists are on the provisional rider line-up for the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women 2026," said race director Alice Wood. "Their presence underlines the growing stature of the race in the global cycling calendar, and guarantees fans the opportunity to see some of the biggest names in the world competing on British roads." Nineteen teams are set to take part in this edition of the Tour of Britain Women, each allowed a maximum of six riders. A list of all the riders named provisionally to compete is below. Cycling Weekly will update this list when more names are confirmed. For more information about the five-day route, visit our route guide. Start listFDJ United-Suez Ally Wollaston Lauren DicksonUAE Team L'IMAD Elynor BckstedtSD Worx-ProtimeLotte KopeckyLorena WiebesVisma-Lease a Bike Canyon-SramZoe BckstedtLidl-TrekFenix-Premier TechMillie CouzensFlora PerkinsAG Insurance-SoudalKim Le Court-Pienaar MovistarLiv AlUla JaycoGeorgia BakerHuman Powered HealthUno-X MobilityPicnic PostNLPfeiffer GeorgiHitec Products-Fluid ControlDAS-HutchinsonHandsling Alba DevelopmentO'Shea RedChilli BikesSmurfit WestrockGreat BritainAlice TowersAnna Morris Jess RobertsAmalie Cooper Rebecca Gardiner Ruby Oakes