Raleigh Bikes Merit 3 Endurance Road Bike

Great bike! I love it so far and allows me to keep up with my friends who have FULL carbon frames that weigh 16lb's etc. This weighs a bit more but as another reviewer said the bike is only 1/2 the equation, your skills, accessories, clothing and core strength are the other half. If your not comfortable tuning your own bike I recommend bringing it to a place like REI and for under $50 they will make it run perfectly. Some reviewers are unhappy with the tune out of the box but I have read almost no bike from the factory is tuned perfectly so either do it yourself (yourtube) or have a bike shop do it. After my tune the gears shift like BUTTER! I actually tuned it myself first but wasn't completely happy so I took it to the shop. I should have done that in the fist place.Note: Previously I purchased a cheap"er" electric bike (Sub $1000) to keep up with my road bike friends since my previous bike is a mountain bike and it just couldn't keep up! If your eclectic bike cannot go 20 - 25 MPH its useless to try and keep up with road bikes ridden by very in shape humans :-). Once I got the road bike it blew me away how efficient it is. I actually was so impressed I felt like it had a motor in it! I returned the electric one and I'm so happy I did because this Merit 3 goes WAY faster and is so much fun to ride!UPDATE: MY Merit actually fell off my trunk bike rack after my tune because I never secured the top straps!! Yes I know STUPID! It happened while merging onto a highway and the top of the bike fell backwards but the bottom stayed locked in so the top dragged against the ground for 50 feet at 40mph :-/. It bounced around but stayed connected.... I was horrified BUTTTTT the good news is even after that and bringing it back to REI all I needed was grip tape and some small parts for the break handles that got "shaved" off. THIS IS AMAZING that the bike essentially took a 40mph fall and nothing broke! The purpose of this is to say this is a well made and if this didn't break it not much will.Only issue is that since this bike is so new REI is having a hard time getting these small plastic parts from the break manufacturer. The breaks still work so I'm ok with a little scuffs but would be nice if they were more readily available.Good luck with your bike!

I have had the Merit 3 since April 2017. I've ridden about 900 miles on it. Love it. I chose the bike for the 105 group-set and disc brakes. It rides pretty good for a beginner/intermediate and while I'm in group rides I can do as good or better than anyone with more expensive bikes. (Well its not the bike alone that makes you a good rider. Good clothing, seat, gloves, nutrition, core strength etc)I love the smooth shifting levers for the gears. I upgraded to Shimano pedals and it has been good to go. Only downside is that when I had a minor fall, I damaged the rear derailleur and it took Raleigh a month to get the parts to my LBS. That's one of the downsides of riding a non-mainstream bike as far as spare parts availability goes! Great value for money nevertheless :)UPDATE: October 2019! Still going great after 2100 miles! Changed the tires to the Continental 5000's and it is smooth. I'm debating on buying another Merit 3 and relegate my current one to the basement to ride on a trainer I plan to buy soon.