The prototype we spotted at Gravel Worlds was actually an entirely new gravel platform, the Merida Mission.
We first spotted what appeared to be a new Merida gravel bike at the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships under the legs of Slovenian Matej Mohorič (where he secured a third place). Despite Merida referring to it as a prototype Silex on its website, the bike was, in fact, an entirely new platform hiding in plain sight—a sportier, more aggressive model designed to complement the Silex. It’s called the Merida Mission, and its focus stems from aerodynamics and speed.
Matej Mohorič, a bronze medal and the Merida Mission
(Image credit: Merida)
Merida describes the Mission as “bridging the gap” between the Silex and the Scultura Endurance GR, a gravel adaptation of its endurance bike, with the purpose of creating a gravel race and multi-surface bike with “improved off-road capability” while still maintaining the outright speed needed to compete.
(Image credit: Merida)
So how has the brand sought to achieve its aims?
First up its positioned the Mission’s tyre clearance smack between the 35mm offered by the Scultura Endurance and the 45mm of the Silex; it describes the 40mm clearance as “the sweet spot between ample tyre clearance for high-speed off-road use and the sleek silhouette we all know from the world of road racing”.
(Image credit: Merida)
Using its experience in designing the Scultura platform, Merida has applied some of its aerodynamic know-how to the tube profiles of the Mission’s frameset. Combined with the Team SL GR1P aero cockpit, Merida says the Mission has a clear advantage over the Silex when it comes to reducing drag.
(Image credit: Merida)
Given its desire to perform both on and off-road, the Mission’s geometry also sits in between the Scultura Endurance and the Silex. Aiming to maintain the handling and acceleration associated with a road bike alongside the capability to handle a variety of gravel conditions, it combines a 569mm stack height with a 391mm reach in a size M; this stack is lower than both the Scultura Endurance and the Silex, highlighting the Mission’s race-orientated focus and likely pointing some potential customers back in the direction of those two models as a result. However, a 72 degree head tube angle and low bottom bracket height are used to add some control and stability over rough surfaces.