The 2024 season is approaching and, like most seasons, it will begin with a short period of acclimatization for fans to get used to Proton’s new kit and bikes.
There are also transfers to get used to and new names for riders who have just come off the conveyor belt. Finlay Pickering will be one of the young stars to take to the WorldTour in 2024, swapping his Trinity Racing colors for the new white team of Bahrain Victorious and swapping his Specialized bike for a Merida.
We got an up-close glimpse of the Merida Skultura climbing bike that the young Brit will be using in several races in his debut season at World Tour level.
Bahrain wins, switch to white
At this point, virtually every team changes their uniforms ahead of the new season, usually accompanied by a big unveiling video. Changes are often subtle and in some cases almost imperceptible, but for Bahrain Victorious it will be a complete makeover for the 2024 season. Gone are the old red and orange colors used in the white ensemble, which was carried over to his 2024 bike for the team.
The white hue that adorns the bike is not entirely new, having been used by the team on special edition kits for the 2023 Tour de France. Its ‘Pearl White’ color was inspired by the pearl fishermen of Bahrain, and the team has adopted the same color again.
It’s not something that appears right in front of you, and let’s be honest, it’s not something that jumps out of the depths of the peloton, but it doesn’t have to be. The delicate design is complemented by the pale blue and gold hues of the top tube, and overall we’re big fans.
Dedicated climbing bike from the superbike era
Dedicated climbing bikes have become rare, with many brands consigning them to the scrap heap in favor of one do-it-all superbike. Although there was a backlash against this trend in 2023 by certain brands such as Orbea, the WorldTour peloton is gradually being replaced by these do-it-all machines.
Merida is another brand that has traditionally eschewed the bike-only route, splitting its road offerings into a dedicated aero Reacto and lightweight Scultura.
While the Reacto has typical aero characteristics with a deep tube profile, the Pickerings Scultura is a traditional climbing bike, given by its slacker geometry and thinner tubes. It has some modern tweaks, including dropped seatstays and full aero integration.
This bike was released in 2021, so given the latest release cycle, the latest evolutions aren’t many years away.
Shimano, Vision, Prologo components
Like the majority of teams at World Tour level (14 out of 18 teams, if you count me), Bahrain Victorious uses Shimano groupsets. In the case of Pickerings’ Scultura, this was a 54/40 Dura-Ace chainset. Although it’s on the large side for an amateur bike, it’s a popular choice for professionals.
The Vision Metron 45 SL wheels are on the shallow side, as you would expect on a climbing bike, at least when compared to the 60 SL version we encountered on Matej Mohoric’s Merida React. At the front of the bike, more Vision components have been added in the form of a Vision Metron integrated bar and stem.
Once assembled, a Prologo Scratch M5 saddle was mounted atop an FSA K-force seatpost.