Friday, April 29, 2005
1979 Mercian, sport touring [NFS]
Digital Gallery: Each of the following thumbnails will open a 300x225 ~200KB pix by clicking in the upper LH corner, or a 640x480 ~300KB pix by clicking the image in the lower RH corner …Firefox will open the image in a small popup window, a new tab, or a new window (it depends upon your settings and extensions), and you can leave the popup open to view other detail photos (of the same size) …IE will usually open a popup window, or it may just open the link (and you’ll have to to manually return to this page). As usual, popup windows have to be closed manually. I’ve no idea how the links might work (or not) in other browsers (or earlier versions of IE than 5.5SP2), but if you notice something weird, let me know (in the post Comments) and I’ll try to fix it.
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Description: This is a 1979 Mercian frameset that — like the Nashbar and the Panasonic …though it was a different seller this time — I purchased from an iBOB list member, for the princely sum of $150 plus shipping (it was a very good year for acquiring framesets from the iBOB list). Considering that a new Mercian will set you back several hundred dollars more than this paltry sum (especially given the current very weak exchange rate for US dollars) — and the little-used condition of the frameset, as was readily apparent upon unpacking it upon its arrival — I was inordinately pleased with the purchase. Quite a thrifty buy, really.
The frame was originally built for the venerable southern California mail-order company, Bikecology; it was specifically made for them by the respected Mercian manufacturing firm as Bikecology’s “in-
The frame has braze-
Wheels are built on narrow Araya 36H rims w/eyelets (fr & rr), 3-
This is actually the “second iteration” of this frameset as a “working machine” for me …originally, I built it up with a vintage Campagnolo NR component group. Um, that didn’t work out so well. Frankly, I put less then 500 miles on the resulting bicycle, and then found myself grabbing a different machine when I would head out for a ride. I’d actually reached the point where I was considering selling the frameset (or the complete bicycle) off …but I decided to give it one more go (because I liked the colour), tore the “original” parts off, and rebuilt the bicycle with pretty much the current mix of components. And this mix of parts did work. Quite well.
Which just goes to show that it’s not only the frameset that determines the bicycle. (Odder yet, the parts that I stripped off the Mercian were the identical parts that I used to build-
…perhaps this is a an example of “…the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”
Components: The vintage era components are a good match for the bike’s purpose, which is light sport-touring, with day rides up to a century (not that I’ve done many centuries of late, mind you). Because this is used for long-ish day rides, I’ve a Cannondale front bag doing duty, and a very classy Gilles Berthoud seatbag. Evening lighting is courtesy of various Cateye battery units (generally, an LED and a micro-halogen), mounted to a Minoura Space Grip …and with LED “flashies” for the rear & the front wheel.
Dimensions: Note that standover height is measured from the ground to top of top tube with fully inflated (105psi) 28X622 (700C) tyres. Disclaimer — all dimensions are to the “best of my ability” measurements and so you should consider them at best only “approximately accurate” (I try, but I have to “eyeball” some things). If you require more — or other — details, let me know.
| TT (c-c): | 20¾", 53cm | Standover: | 30", 76cm | |||
| ST (c-c): | 19¾", 50cm | Width fr: | 100mm | |||
| ST (c-t): | 20¼", 51.5cm | Width rr: | 125mm | |||
| Wheelbase: | 40", 101.5cm | BB width: | 68mm | |||
| BB to DO: | 17", 43cm | BB thread: | BSC | |||
| Trail: | 2½", 6.5cm | BB height: | 103/8", 26.5cm | |||
| ST angle: | 74° | Bar width: | 15¾", 40cm | |||
| HT angle: | 72° | Bar drop: | 6", 15cm | |||
| SP: | 27.2mm | Stem: | 6.5cm |
Gears: My preference for determining optimal shifting is to use an inch gearing chart of the chainwheels and cogs …the name “inch gear” is based upon the size of the front wheel of the old “ordinary” bicycles of the 1890’s: each number in the chart corresponds to the diameter of a wheel of that size (a 72 inch gear would correspond to a 72 inch diameter wheel size).
The top row of the chart is the number of teeth in the chainrings (inner across to outer, or smallest chainring across to largest chainring); the left column of the chart is the number of teeth of the rear cog (also inner down to outer, or largest cog down to smallest cog) …it may seem counter-intuitive, but the small front ring coupled to the large rear cog results in the lowest gear of a multi-speed derailleur bicycle; the large front and small rear results in the largest gear. You can determine the distance traveled in a single turn of the cranks by multiplying the inch gear times π (π=3.1416).
The suggested shifting pattern is indicated in the table. Notes — this particular “half-
| 29 | 46 | 51 | |
| 24 | 33 | 52 | 57 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 37 | 59 | 66 |
| 19 | 41 | 65 | 72 |
| 17 | 46 | 73 | 81 |
| 15 | 52 | 83 | 92 |
| 13 | 60 | 96 | 106 |
Impressions: This is simply a very, very nice machine. No quirks, no surprises. Very pretty. Flawless workmanship; I would be surprised, based upon the condition of the finish, if it had seen as much as a full season of use prior to my acquiring it (and it still looks reasonably “fresh” after the few thousand miles I’ve ridden it). The wheelbase is longish, and quite suitable for a sports touring type design. The components are an eclectic mixture of the better European & Japanese parts of the era (and frankly, the Superbe sidepulls — which are an obvious copy of the original Campy Records — are much, much nicer in finish AND function than their Campy parent design …they actually stop you when you apply a moderate amount of pressure). The saddle is a Wright’s copy of the fabulous Brooks B17 “Swallow” (that Sheldon Brown favours), and is quite simply the best saddle I’ve had the pleasure of perching my tush on (I wish I had one for every bicycle in my stable) …and it’s as lovely as the Brooks, to boot. The Suntour barends are …interesting. I’m not totally convinced that barends are the right choice for this particular machine, and I’ve been trying to acquire a set of those nice old Simplex/Mavic retrofriction levers to exchange with.
Additional Photos: More pictures, if the first batch wasn’t enough for you …same instructions as above: “click a thumbnail in the top LH or bottom RH for larger views.”
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Search Terms: Mercian, vintage bicycle, classic bicycle, Campagnolo, Campy, Araya, Suntour, Sun Tour, Cyclone, Cannondale, Esge, Sakae, SR, Reynolds, 531, lugs, lugged, doublebutted, double butted, cromoly, chrome molybdenum, bar-ends, barend, sports touring
Monday, April 25, 2005
Nashbar, sport touring [NFS]
Digital Gallery: Each of the following thumbnails will open a 300x225 ~200KB pix by clicking in the upper LH corner, or a 640x480 ~300KB pix by clicking the image in the lower RH corner …Firefox will open the image in a small popup window, a new tab, or a new window (it depends upon your settings and extensions), and you can leave the popup open to view other detail photos (of the same size) …IE will usually open a popup window, or it may just open the link (and you’ll have to to manually return to this page). As usual, popup windows have to be closed manually. I’ve no idea how the links might work (or not) in other browsers (or earlier versions of IE than 5.5SP2), but if you notice something weird, let me know (in the post Comments) and I’ll try to fix it.
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Description: This is an early-1980’s Japanese manufactured Nashbar frame & fork, that I purchased for only $9.95 (from an iBOB list member). And as it was shipped within the same box as a Panasonic PT-3500 touring F&F (purchased at the same time, and which frameset is also in the Photo Gallery), there was no additional cost for its shipping. (Yep: $10 total. Cool.)
The frame has DT braze-
Wheels are built on rather narrow Super Champion (Gentleman) 36H rims w/eyelets (fr & rr), 3-
This was a project bike that ended up turning into my favoured choice for fast day rides …one of those rare occasions when everything fit me to a “T”, and the parts all worked exceptionally well together (though I’m quite opinionated about this subject area …oddly enough, these same parts — mostly — did not “work well” on the Mercian). It’s a real pleasure to ride.
Components: I built-
Dimensions: Note that standover height is measured from the ground to top of top tube with fully inflated (100psi) 622x19 (700C) tyres. Disclaimer — all dimensions are to the “best of my ability” measurements and so you should consider them at best only “approximately accurate” (I try, but I have to “eyeball” some things). If you require more — or other — details, let me know.
| TT (c-c): | 21½", 55cm | Standover: | 30¼", 77cm | |||
| ST (c-c): | 20½", 52cm | Width fr: | 100mm | |||
| ST (c-t): | 21¼", 54cm | Width rr: | 122mm | |||
| Wheelbase: | 38¾", 99cm | BB width: | 68mm | |||
| BB to DO: | 161/8", 41cm | BB thread: | BSC | |||
| Trail: | 1¾", 4.5cm | BB height: | 10", 25.4cm | |||
| ST angle: | 73° | Bar width: | 15", 38cm | |||
| HT angle: | 74° | Bar drop: | 6¼", 16cm | |||
| SP: | 27.0mm | Stem: | 8cm |
Gears: My preference for determining optimal shifting is to use an inch gearing chart of the chainwheels and cogs …the name “inch gear” is based upon the size of the front wheel of the old “ordinary” bicycles of the 1890’s: each number in the chart corresponds to the diameter of a wheel of that size (a 72 inch gear would correspond to a 72 inch diameter wheel size).
The top row of the chart is the number of teeth in the chainrings (inner across to outer, or smallest chainring across to largest chainring); the left column of the chart is the number of teeth of the rear cog (also inner down to outer, or largest cog down to smallest cog) …it may seem counter-intuitive, but the small front ring coupled to the large rear cog results in the lowest gear of a multi-speed derailleur bicycle; while the large front and small rear results in the largest gear. You can determine the distance traveled in a single turn of the cranks by multiplying the inch gear times π (π=3.1416).
The suggested (half-
| 42 | 47 | |
| 25 | 45 | 51 |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | 54 | 59 |
| 17 | 67 | 75 |
| 15 | 76 | 85 |
| 14 | 81 | 91 |
Impressions: The finish is far from pristine; but though the frameset has obviously seen lots of use through the years, it hasn’t suffered any visible damage or abuse. Plenty of paint chips (rather noticeably touched-up), but no dents, and no rust. Straight. Exceptionally stable; steers well hands-off for as long as you’d probably care to ride it sans hands. The narrow leather-covered alloy gel saddle is surprisingly comfortable for less then 40 mile day rides. The criterium style bars are deep drop, and allow for the low riding positions so handy for boring into a direct or quartering wind. Umm, the brakes are typical vintage Records (oh y’know, euphemistically “gentle” stoppers …they do work, eventually …by exerting rather more lever pressure then is fashionable these days …I s’pose I really should rewrap the bars and change the lever position …it might help). For vintage NR derailleurs, shifting is quite crisp, though of course dependent upon the degree of your remaining skills with friction gear; the reward is the gratifying snick-click of a well-executed shift that is such music to the ears of us retro-grouches.The tyres are 19’s …and with the mudguards, I don’t think it would be such a great idea to go more then 23’s (which is okay with me for this bike, as the its purpose is for day-
Search Terms: Nashbar, vintage bicycle, classic bicycle, Campagnolo, Campy, NR, Nouvo Record, Ambrosio, Super Champion, Shimano, Planet Bike, Sakae, SR, Suntour, Sun Tour, lugs, lugged, doublebutted, double butted, cromoly, chrome molybdenum, sport touring
