Special_k44

I just picked up this bike for zero. Is it worth investing a few to get it moving and ride or pass on to one of the kids? Are there any worthy parts? Or do I off the whole thing?

surveyor6

I don't see any investment value. It's a good bike but it is not rare.
- I would add city handle bars, thumb shifters and wider tires to use it as a pub bike or city bike.

bikemig 

That's a Mercier 200 made of hi tensile steel (which Mercier called luxtub tubing). The paint is in bad shape but it's holding on and doing its job. The bike is not valuable but will make a very good rider if you care to fix it up.

That's a quality rear derailleur. I wouldn't mind finding a set of Huret shifters like the one that came on the bike as I have a Huret RD and FD. None of the parts are particularly valuable and the RD is the best part on the bike (the frame isn't bad either). Plus the bike is missing a front brake. Are the wheels any good?

If it were my bike, I'd be tempted to harvest the RD, get the bike in working order and pass it on to the next person. Alternatively harvest some parts and give the bike to the local co-op.

juvela

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looks to be what was called a model 100 in the U.S. market from the immediate pre-boom period

boom era examples came through with MAFAC brakes rather then CLB and Simplex gears rather than Huret

the wheels and derailleurs are fine upgrades which improved things measurably over what would have been there OEM

if someone wanted it for a rider/utility machine it would be worth going through and repacking all of the bearings and replacing the cables, i would pretty much ignore the cosmetics since they make it less attractive for theft

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bikemig 

I thought the chrome rear triangle with simplex drop outs was the Mercier 200?

Agreed that the parts are very serviceable and this could make a fine commuter given its condition.

Like this?

juvela

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the model 100 exhibited these features as well

AFAIK the only thing which made a model 200 was tubular wheels instead of wired-ons

subject machine appears to date from the mid-to-late 1960's

the comments section below this blog post gives the specifications from a Beacon catalogue of the early 1970's for the then current Mercier models they imported:

we need to keep in mind that subject cycle from a slightly earlier time

https://retrobikerestorations.blogsp...6/mercier.html

also possible we may be looking at a non-U.S. market machine, even though OP writes he is in U.S.

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Special_k44

The wheels are updates. 700x15 Weinmann 2115’s. So maybe this would make a good single speed rider? Leave it ugly and repack bearings and save the derailleur’s for something else.
also, FYI, I’m on the hunt for a vintage steel touring bike/frame I can build. I placed an ad on CL that I’d take their bike instead of then throwing it away. This was the first reply.

juvela

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minor note on wheel change -

the bicycle's original wheels would have had an overlocknut width for the front hub of 96mm

the present wheels are sure to be 100mm

it is unlikely that whoever mounted them bothered to change the spacing on the fork ends

if you do not wish to have to "ba-rooooing" the fork ends each time you put the front wheel in or out you could reset the spacing to 100mm


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zukahn1 

Should make a nice basic rider I would fix it up and leave the drive train as is. It will likely need a front wheel looks bent enough that it likely won't true and front brake pretty much any decent long reach center pull should work fine likely $50 or so in used parts and the bike is worth enough as basic rider that it makes sense to fix it up.

rustystrings61 

I built up a crashed and bent specimen that I bought for $9.99 for the Clunker Challenge one year. After straightening the frame and repacking all bearings it turned out to be a decent little bike. No collector or dollar value but still a nice bike. Don’t blindly hand it off to a coop, though, many of them would see that it’s French and would summarily scrap it and that would be sad.

randyjawa 

Were the Mercier mine, I would clean it up, open up grease cavities (bb, head set and wheel hubs) and replace the grease, then assemble/tune the bike. With that out of the way and with very little money spent, you just might end up with a bike that you will love to ride/own. Don't bother wasting time, effort and money to pretty the bike up for your testing of the bike ride quality build. Just get to know it.

Free bikes are, generally, not free. Had I known that this old girl would suck up over $250 of my cash, I might not have entered into the build(see how that wee bit of cash caused this old lady to regain her vintage look and appeal)...


I found this old Italian road bike, an entry lever example of the Legnano line up, at the local dump one day, many years ago.


I spent exactly zero dollars on it, opting to just complete the necessary work to get the bike, safely on the road. Though I rode the old Leggy only a few times, I can honestly say that it gave me one ride, about fifty miles, that has to this day is remembered, by me, as the best ride that I ever had.

The OP's old French Mercier just might have the same thing to offer. And it might not cost an arm and a leg to make it ready for the road.

Anyway,, back to the previously mentioned "as found" yellow Torpado, that I got for free but spent close to $300 CND on during the build...


My other Legnano, the one that I own to this day and will never sell, trade or give away, still sports the original patina of age. The only thing missing, that is apparent on the Mercier, is the wonderful cracked paint/art patina...

big chainring 

I dolled mine up in Mercier Provance Chartreuse. Equipped as shown its my "camping" bike. Swap the wheels out its my go fast weekend group ride bike. The handling characteristics are the best of all my bikes.