Merida have not held back with their Juliet 94 bike, the frame is hydroformed 6066 aluminium with some beautifully designed tube shapes.

Not all women’s road bike frames in this price bracket offer internal cable routing however the Merida Juliet does. Internal cable routing not only provides sleek and clean lines, it also protects cables from muck and wet, making maintenance nice and easy. The same goes for a tapered headtube, not necessarily an essential requirement, but a definite perk that improves stiffness and precise handling, something the Merida includes too.

Components are mostly Shimano 105 with Merida Road Comp brake calipers and Merida has opted for a double compact chainset giving a total of 20 gears. Merida’s home-grown bars and stem complete the contact points with a carbon seatpost adding further luxury.  More carbon is found on the fork, in fact it’s a full carbon fork, rather than having a cheaper alloy steerer which is generally more common.

All in all, a well specced option, with well thought through components.

Merida Ride Alloy Juliet 94 2014 women’s road bike
PRICE: RRP £999