Pro Bike: Rui Costa's Merida Reacto Evo

World Champion Rui Costa riding out with Lampre-Merida in 2014 and his Reacto Evo has been suitably decked out in the rainbow stripes to celebrate.

Lampre-Merida have opted to use the aerodynamically oriented Reacto Evo rather than the lighter Scultura SL in 2014 as the principal team bike; team management believe slipperiness trumps lighter weight as a competitive advantage in the majority of road races.

The tubes are a truncated aerofoil shape and are borrowed from Merida's Warp TT frame and the fork blades are spaced wide apart to stop dirty air turbulence interfering with the wheel. The rear brake is mounted on the underside of the BB shell (it takes a BB386 evo). The front brake is Shimano's well-regarded dual mount Dura-Ace option which is finding plenty of favour on high end road bikes. The seat stay cluster has been moved low down the seat-tube to reduce frontal area.

The Italian squad are Shimano sponsored, so it's no surprise to see Dura-Ace Di2 gear shifting as standard. Chainrings and crank set are slightly more exotic units from Rotor who also collect power data for the 27-year-old Portuguese World Champion.

The wheelset is aerodynamically complementary set of Fulcrum Racing Speed XLRs.

 

Complete bike specifications

Frame: Merida Reacto Evo World Champion. M/L with custom geometry
Fork: Merida Reacto
Headset: FSA
Stem: FSA OS115 130mm
Handlebars: FSA Compact 42cm
Tape/grips: Prologo
Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-9000 Direct Mount
Rear brake: Shimano Dura Ace BR-9000 Direct Mount
Brake levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 ST-9070
Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace FD-9070
Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace RD-9070
Shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 ST-9070
Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace CS-9000
Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace CH-9000
Crankset: Rotor Q-Rings
Bottom bracket: Rotor
Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace
Wheelset: Fulcrum Racing Speed XLR
Front tire: Continental Competition
Rear tire: Continental Competition
Saddle: Prologo X Zero CPC
Seat post: Merida Reacto S-Flex
Bottle cages: Elite
Computer: Garmin


Critical measurements
Rider's height: 183cm 6ft 0in
Rider's weight: 63kg (138lb)
Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 762mm
Saddle setback: 53mm
Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (next to stem): 556mm
Head tube length: 159mm


 

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Sam started as a trainee reporter on daily newspapers in the UK before moving to South Africa where he contributed to national cycling magazine Ride for three years. After moving back to the UK he joined Procycling as a staff writer in November 2010.