Friday, April 29, 2005

1979 Mercian, sport touring [NFS]

300x225 bare frameset.image 1640x480 bare frameset.image 1300x225 near Sunrise Ave bridge.image 2640x480 near Sunrise Ave bridge.image 2300x225 in Goethe Park.image 3640x480 in Goethe Park.image 3300x225 rear Suntour derailleur.image 4640x480 rear Suntour derailleur.image 4300x225 rear drivetrain RH.image 5640x480 rear drivetrain RH.image 5300x225 rear drivetrain LH.image 6640x480 rear drivetrain LH.image 6300x225 TA chainset RH.image 7640x480 TA chainset RH.image 7300x225 TA chainset LH.image 8640x480 TA chainset LH.image 8300x225 Campy pedal LH.image 9Campy pedal LH.image 9300x225 seat tube cluster RH.image 10640x480 seat tube cluster RH.image 10300x225 seat tube cluster LH.image 11640x480 seat tube cluster LH.image 11300x225 rear brake stay-tube.image 12640x480 rear brake stay-tube.image 12300x225 front fork looking down.image 13640x480 front fork looking down.image 13300x225 front Campy Tipo hub.image 14640x480 front Campy Tipo hub.image 14300x225 Wright's W3S leather saddle.image 15640x480 Wright's W3S leather saddle.image 15300x225 full RH view, Goethe Park.image 16640x480 full RH view, Goethe Park.image 16300x225 rear RH view, Goethe Park.image 17640x480 rear RH view, Goethe Park.image 17300x225 Wright's leather saddle & sunglasses.image 18640x480 Wright's leather saddle & sunglasses.image 18300x225 DT Mercian decal detail.image 19640x480 DT Mercian decal detail.image 19300x225 HT LH front brake.image 20640x480 HT LH front brake.image 20300x225 HT RH stem & bars.image 21640x480 HT RH stem & bars.image 21300x225 RH front half.image 22640x480 RH front half.image 22300x225 RH rear half.image 23640x480 RH rear half.image 23300x225 RH full side view.image 24640x480 RH full side view.image 24300x225 LH rear half.image 25640x480 LH rear half.image 25300x225 LH front half.image 26640x480 LH front half.image 26300x225 LH full side view.image 27640x480 LH full side view.image 27
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.















Click top LH or bottom RH corners to open
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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-house no-frills” frameset, called the “Californian” model by Mercian (and, one presumes, Bikecology). And “Yes”, I actually can confirm these tidbits …I emailed an inquiry to Mercian, whom were quite pleasantly quick with a reply, and as they keep very good records indeed, they even knew the name of their original in-house builder of the frameset. How’s that as an example of superb customer service (some 20 plus years later)?

The frame has braze-ons for the DT cage, the TT rear brake cables, and the BB derailleur cable guides. The Campagnolo [long] dropouts have mudguard mounting eyes fr & rr. Semi-sloping fork crown. Reynolds 531 tubing (frame & forks); simple, classic forged lugs & bottom bracket. The simple long-point lugs are outlined in white; the finish — typical for Mercian — is superb.

Wheels are built on narrow Araya 36H rims w/eyelets (fr & rr), 3-cross laced, and mated to early 1980’s Campagnolo Tipo small flange hubs, with Campy curved-lever skewers …with stainless 15ga spokes and Schraeder valve holes. Tyres are med. wide 28X622 Panaracer Paselas.

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-up the Nashbar. And that project was specifically to sell …but the resulting machine was every bit as pleasurable to ride — though not nearly as nice to look at — as the Mercian, if not more so for certain kinds of riding. So I kept it. Go figure.)

…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.



  • Suntour Superbe sidepull brakes
  • Campagnolo Tipo sf fr hub
  • Campy Tipo sf rr hub
  • TA Touriste 165mm triple chainset
  • TA bottom bracket
  • Campagnolo (steel cage) pedals
  • SunTour Cyclone fr & rr derailleurs
  • Campagnolo Record seatpost

  • Very narrow Araya rims
  • Tange headset
  • Suntour bar-end levers
  • Esge mudguards
  • Campy clips & Binda straps
  • Sakae bars & stem
  • Wright’s W3S leather saddle
  • KMC chain


    • 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.






























































    Table 1:   Mercian “Californian” Specifications
    TT (c-c):20¾", 53cmStandover:30", 76cm
    ST (c-c):19¾", 50cmWidth fr:100mm
    ST (c-t):20¼", 51.5cmWidth rr:125mm
    Wheelbase:40", 101.5cmBB width:68mm
    BB to DO:17", 43cmBB thread:BSC
    Trail:2½", 6.5cmBB height:103/8", 26.5cm
    ST angle:74°Bar width:15¾", 40cm
    HT angle:72°Bar drop:6", 15cm
    SP:27.2mmStem: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-step plus granny” gearing makes for a nice range, with an easy to remember shifting pattern.



























    Gear Chart  —
    Mercian “Californian”

    		294651
    24335257
    21375966
    19416572
    17467381
    15528392
    136096106


    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.”











    Click top LH or bottom RH corners to open
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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




    # posted by davis,br : 1:30:00 AM


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