There is a guy here locally(friend of a friend networking) selling a mid 90’s Merlin road bike with 8 speed DA on it. Looks to be in decent shape. This isn’t an Ultralight, but one of the random no name Merlin’s like they made when they first came out…or it could be a custom as they did no name on those as well.
Anyone have a pulse for what a 15ish year old ti bike should go for?
Depends on the model. One thing you can pretty much rest assured on is that it is NOT a custom. Back then most of the customs wore the name Spectrum, not Merlin. How round are the chain stays? Does it say 3/2.5 or 6/4 on it anywhere? You will need to be aware that the spacing on the rear will be 130mm, what could be an issue is the 1" steer tube (in the future). Less and less forks are coming out with 1"…
I would guess $1500 or so would be a fair price if it is a Merlin Classic.
Ok thanks. Question, why is the 130 spacing a ‘need to be aware’? Isn’t 130 spacing equipped to handle 10 speed? I thought 126 was for up to 8 speed and 130 too up to 10 speed?
Bad verbage…my intent was to point out that YES the spacing is current at 130mm and will work with modern 10/11 speed groups - BUT there may be an issue with the 1" steer tube and finding forks in the future…all it needs is a King headset and that would be set for life.
Okay good! I thought I was nuts b/c I have been running 10 speed on my TriSpokes for some while now and I knew it was a 130 hub;)
Yea it’s actually an old quill setup, but I"m going to put one of those fugly threadless steerer inserts in there so I can access my stable of 31.8 stems. Vanity ain’t an issue with me…I’m ghetto hillbilly when it comes to looks…pure function.
I have a 1" Litespeed Look HFC carbon fork if you would like it…threadless. Then all you need is a King (+/- $100) and you dont need to worry about snapping the stem…or just get a NOS Cinelli or TTT quill stem…but, if you go threadless a drop of 1/2lbs is not uncommon.
I have a 1" Litespeed Look HFC carbon fork if you would like it…threadless. Then all you need is a King (+/- $100) and you dont need to worry about snapping the stem…or just get a NOS Cinelli or TTT quill stem…but, if you go threadless a drop of 1/2lbs is not uncommon.
Wow that is nice of you…I have to be reading into this right? You don’t mean you are just giving it to me??? How much do you want for it? That would certainly solve my issues of not having adequate stack b/c the quill setup isn’t even going to be close…by a long shot. It’s a 58cm frame…
If it has an integrated (Greaseguard?) BB then the frame is worth very little…
Wouldn’t even know how to tell, but it’s a full Dura Ace gruppo with 175mm DA cranks…could it still have the aforementioned bb? Won’t see it until Saturday…
If it has an integrated (Greaseguard?) BB then the frame is worth very little…
Yeah - good call. That would be a deal breaker - this was the only solution I found to that shit system back in the day…and good luck finding one…http://www.bikepro.com/products/bottom_brackets/mavic.html
I seem to recall someone was cutting out the BB shells and welding in conventional threaded BBs in those old Merlins. Today, it’s probably not worth the trouble.
I own a 91 Merlin Extralight. I agree with the other posters regarding the grease guard bottom bracket. It pretty much prevents you from using any crank other than a square taper. If the bike has full Dura Ace 8 speed that crank is a square taper interface and you will need to check if it is a grease guard bottom bracket. Pretty easy to spot. Look for two grease ports on the bottom of the bottom bracket shell. In any case, I’m running a complete SRAM Force build on my bike minus the crank (Shimano 600). I think Merlin got rid of the grease guard in 92 or 93 and went to a conventional bottom bracket. The problem with the grease guard bottom brackets is that the tools needed to change them out are no longer made and most merlin dealers no longer have them sitting around. That being said, the bearings last a long time and can be changed out using washer, sockets, and wooden dowels. I’ve done it once and probably don’t want to do it again but I’m sure it would be much faster next time around.
The frame itself is pretty bulletproof and is a very nice riding bike. The problem is that you won’t be able to get much drop with the geometry (not a problem if you have long legs). I run a Reynolds Ouzo Pro fork on mine and the handling is pretty good, not as good as bikes with 1 1/8" head tubes.