Vintage Mercian Bicycle
07-27-23, 04:50 AM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2023
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Vintage Mercian Bicycle
Hi all,
I have a vintage Mercian Earl Of Mercia Bicycle that I am looking for some mor einformation on. I know the frames were handmade and believe it is from the late 1960's but was wondering if anyone knew more about it such as age, value etc...?
I can provide pictures via email or private message to anyone who thinks they can help.
Thanks in advance
I have a vintage Mercian Earl Of Mercia Bicycle that I am looking for some mor einformation on. I know the frames were handmade and believe it is from the late 1960's but was wondering if anyone knew more about it such as age, value etc...?
I can provide pictures via email or private message to anyone who thinks they can help.
Thanks in advance
07-27-23, 08:02 AM
#2
Forum Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Kalamazoo MI
Posts: 20,826
Bikes: Fuji SL2.1 Carbon Di2 Cannondale Synapse Alloy 4 Trek Checkpoint ALR-5 Viscount Aerospace Pro Raleigh C50 Cromoly Hybrid Legnano Tipo Roma Pista Vitus 979 Duralinox
Liked 6,883 Times
in
3,934 Posts
Thread moved from C&V to C&V Appraisals.
__________________
07-27-23, 08:13 AM
#3
Senior Member
-----
hello richard and welcome to the forum
the Earl is a model which hath not oft graced these pages
looking forward to images of the machine
there is a spot on your member page where you can create an album
you can upload images of the cycle there and readers will be able to see them and transfer them to this thread
no minimum number of posts is needed to create the album
-----
hello richard and welcome to the forum
the Earl is a model which hath not oft graced these pages
looking forward to images of the machine
there is a spot on your member page where you can create an album
you can upload images of the cycle there and readers will be able to see them and transfer them to this thread
no minimum number of posts is needed to create the album
-----
07-27-23, 09:11 AM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Greenwood SC USA
Posts: 2,271
Bikes: 2002 Mercian Vincitore, 1982 Mercian Colorado, 1976 Puch Royal X, 1973 Raleigh Competition, 1971 Gitane Tour de France and others
Liked 1,467 Times
in
706 Posts
The serial number is USUALLY on the bottom bracket underside, but not always - there are early examples with the sn stamped into the left rear dropout. It will usually also be stamped on the fork steerer, should you decide to pull the fork and look. Those are usually not obscured by paint .... NOTE that at a certain point there will also be a single digit number stamped fairly nearby. That is the workbench or builder number, and was in place by at least 1971.
If you suspect your Mercian is pre-1972, be advised that Mercian's records START then. They also charge 24 pounds sterling to look for it now, because of demand and because their records are not computerized. Fortunately, from perusing the Mercian Registry on flickr set up by a U.S. Mercian enthusiast, the date code embedded in the serial number can be sorted out - sort of.
1946-47 appears to be a straight sequential listing.
The serial number BEGINS with a 2-digit date code for bikes built in 1951, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967 and 1968.
Bikes built in 1949 vary - some have the 2-digit code at the start of the number, others at the end.
Bikes built in other years use the 2-digit date code as the LAST two digits, which is the usual format - for example, my 1982 Mercian Colorado, sn 45882 is the 458th frame built in 1982 - confirmed by Mercian 20 years ago. It's also marked with a 6, indicating it was built by George Bryan. My son's Mercian, purchased from the nephew of the original owner and later repaired by Mike Melton is no. 51371, and is stamped with a 5, indicating it was built by Derek Land.
For this century, Mercian went with a different numbering system, with the entire year, a sequential list number and the builder number - my 2002 Vincitore road fixed-gear that I custom ordered is stamped 2002, 181, and 5 - and was built by Derek Land as well.
Obviously, use things like dimensions, lugs, dropouts, crowns and anything that looks like original fitments to back up the numbers.
As a newbie, I think you can create an image gallery on your profile. If you do that, some helpful soul with great computer skills will be glad to do a pic assist and move your photos over.
A final note - ALL Mercians are/were hand-built using Reynolds tubing, and the vintage ones were all 531 double-butted, I think. Not aware of any built with Accles and Pollock Kro-Mo, but perhaps ... at any rate, they offered both framesets and complete bikes. British tax laws on complete bikes meant that the smart choice was to build up from a frame, so there is no point on thinking about "catalog specification" correctness. Mercian early on became the Campagnolo distributor in the U.K. and you'll see a lot of Campagnolo forged dropouts. Older Mercians will often use other dropouts as well. There were a surprising number of them sold in the U.S. with plain dropouts that require a hanger/claw adapter to mount the rear derailleur, reflecting an era when there were competing derailleurs with proprietary mounting systems on the market - and also lending themselves to fixed/single speed operation.
Do get us some pix. Those of us who love Mercians love looking at pictures!
If you suspect your Mercian is pre-1972, be advised that Mercian's records START then. They also charge 24 pounds sterling to look for it now, because of demand and because their records are not computerized. Fortunately, from perusing the Mercian Registry on flickr set up by a U.S. Mercian enthusiast, the date code embedded in the serial number can be sorted out - sort of.
1946-47 appears to be a straight sequential listing.
The serial number BEGINS with a 2-digit date code for bikes built in 1951, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967 and 1968.
Bikes built in 1949 vary - some have the 2-digit code at the start of the number, others at the end.
Bikes built in other years use the 2-digit date code as the LAST two digits, which is the usual format - for example, my 1982 Mercian Colorado, sn 45882 is the 458th frame built in 1982 - confirmed by Mercian 20 years ago. It's also marked with a 6, indicating it was built by George Bryan. My son's Mercian, purchased from the nephew of the original owner and later repaired by Mike Melton is no. 51371, and is stamped with a 5, indicating it was built by Derek Land.
For this century, Mercian went with a different numbering system, with the entire year, a sequential list number and the builder number - my 2002 Vincitore road fixed-gear that I custom ordered is stamped 2002, 181, and 5 - and was built by Derek Land as well.
Obviously, use things like dimensions, lugs, dropouts, crowns and anything that looks like original fitments to back up the numbers.
As a newbie, I think you can create an image gallery on your profile. If you do that, some helpful soul with great computer skills will be glad to do a pic assist and move your photos over.
A final note - ALL Mercians are/were hand-built using Reynolds tubing, and the vintage ones were all 531 double-butted, I think. Not aware of any built with Accles and Pollock Kro-Mo, but perhaps ... at any rate, they offered both framesets and complete bikes. British tax laws on complete bikes meant that the smart choice was to build up from a frame, so there is no point on thinking about "catalog specification" correctness. Mercian early on became the Campagnolo distributor in the U.K. and you'll see a lot of Campagnolo forged dropouts. Older Mercians will often use other dropouts as well. There were a surprising number of them sold in the U.S. with plain dropouts that require a hanger/claw adapter to mount the rear derailleur, reflecting an era when there were competing derailleurs with proprietary mounting systems on the market - and also lending themselves to fixed/single speed operation.
Do get us some pix. Those of us who love Mercians love looking at pictures!
