Merida Crossway Urban 20D (2018): ChooseMyBicycle.com Expert Review

The Merida Crossway Urban 20D comes with a full aluminium frame. The Racelite 6061 aluminium is used in an exact amount to make sure the frame is both lightweight as well as stiff. The bicycle weighs 13kgs which means that this is a lightweight bicycle and this is mainly because of the impressive techno forming system which helps mould the tubes in an efficient manner. The Urban series of bicycles from Merida come with rigid aluminium forks.

The hybrid bicycle which I test rode came in a full green primary colour with a lighter shade of green in a few places on the frame. The first thing which catches your eye in this bicycle is the shiny gloss paint job. The quality of the paint coating is top notch and makes the bicycle stand out in a crowd. This bicycle comes only in this 1 colour variant.

This Crossway Urban 20D (2018) comes with a Shimano Tourney front derailleur and Shimano Acera-X rear derailleur. These derailleurs were smooth in transmission during the test ride. The Acera at the rear was quick and instant in falling into the respective chain ring. The Shimano EF 505 24 speed shifters were easy to use in both the thumb and trigger.

The stopping power on the Crossway Urban 20D is taken care of by Shimano EF505 hydraulic disc brakes with 160mm centerlock rotors. These hydraulic disc brakes were the best in quality when it comes to braking amidst traffic and also on highways. These brakes were perfectly balanced at the front and back and the Shimano EF505 brake levers was easy to engage using just 2-3 fingers.

The Merida Speed 660mm stock handlebar is standard in the 2018 Crossway range of bicycles. The wide handlebar also has a slight 30mm rise, which gives the rider a comfortable body position. The ergonomic padded handlebar grips were super comfortable and helped absorb vibrations of the surface.

The Kenda K1024 38C wire beaded tires were fast on urban roads and provided enough traction to grip both wet and dry surfaces. Along with Merida aluminium rims, this wheelset was lightweight and that in turn helped ride faster.

The Merida Crossway stock saddle was ergonomically designed in size and also had a slightly rough grip patch on the widest parts of the saddle to keep the sit bones in place. The overall ride quality on the Crossway Urban 20D was fast and comfortable on urban roads.