Merida is one of the biggest bike companies in the world, but don’t worry if you’ve never heard the name before; Merida has traditionally spent more time building bikes for the likes of Specialized. In recent years though it’s been keen to establish itself as a brand in its own right.

Much of that push has been within its mountain bike division, with much success on the World Cup and sponsorship of the longest-running enduro series. Its presence on the road, then, is easy to miss, but when a company has such a wealth of experience and manufacturing know-how, it’s worth paying attention. Here’s a look at what it’s got up its sleeves for 2009.

Merida’s small (in comparison with its mountain bikes) road range is headed by the Scultura Evo Team-20. The frame, a full-carbon item made using nano technology and featuring carbon dropouts and ‘Flex-Stay’ chainstays, is claimed to weigh close to 900g. The Featherlight fork is made using ’Double-Chamber’ technology with reinforcing internal ribs for lateral stiffness. The £3,999.99 Team-20 gets a full SRAM RED groupset, Mavic R-SYS wheels and FSA finishing kit.

At a price that won’t break the bank, the Scultura SE 904 offers a Carbon Comp FLX frame and Road Lite fork built up with Shimano 105 components and Shimano RS10 wheels, priced £1,499.99.

For £999.99 the Road 904-20 uses a hydroformed aluminium frameset, carbon fork and Shimano 105 throughout.

Three cyclo-cross bikes feature in the range, with the top of the range CC5 at £1,099 pictured above. The entry-level CC3 comes in at a very reasonable £699.

More at www.merida-bikes.com.