Rock Toy

I might have the opportunity to pick up a Titanium Merlin Odyssey with full Ultegra for a very good price. I have never considered titanium but the bike appears to be well put together and fairly desirable. Anything that I should look for or consider before pulling the trigger?

mpath

Yeah. Do a search. The button is right over there on your top right. And welcome to BF.

dalava

Does it fit?

laserfj

Fit > Material

dalava

I had a Merlin Agilis for a few years. It was a great all-rounder, but it is a little flexy.

StanSeven

Agree. Fit is the number one consideration.

If you don't think the deal is great, I would pass. This is a nice bike but it's rather heavy for Ti. It's also older and before manufacturer's really perfected working with Ti. So you likely will find the ride to be "soft", especially in the bottom bracket area. That may be fine dpending on what you are looking for in ride.

EDIT: I'm saying the same thing as the post above about the ride may feel flexy.

Rock Toy

Right, I have seen a ton of threads about Merlin bikes but none of them seem to mention the Odyssey. The bike is in very good shape and being offered at around $600. Sounds to me like a no-brainer but I feel like i might be missing something. The fit is great...but so is an $800 new AL bike. This is my first foray into road bikes and I don't want to make a mistake that I'll regret later.

dalava

That's what I found https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...ssey&Type=bike

Google search also turns up 1998 and 2000 as the years they were made too.

eippo1

Here's a thread over at Weight Weenies:
https://weightweenies.starbike.com/fo...hp?f=3&t=76267

Looks like a very nice bike. Go get it.

TrojanHorse

$600? Enjoy your new bike. It can't possibly be as flexy in the BB area as my 1988 vintage Merlin Road was, and that was tolerable.

Check the cassette and chainrings for wear, check the headset for weird clicking or sticking, check the bottom bracket for any movement at all. All of these things are fixable but it'll change your bargain bike into a project bike and the price should be adjusted accordingly.

Fox Farm

I own this very frame. Bought new in 2001. It is not flexy. It is straight gauge Ti, not butted. So, the Litespeed Classic was similar in design. Built up with Campy Record 10 speed and Mavic Ksyrium wheels, it weighs 17.8 pounds or so as a 59cm center to center. When I put my 1200g wheel set on this bike, it really comes alive. It is what I would all a traditional European stage racing design with a longish top tube, vs a short top tube crit frame. It is not as light weigh as my CF Orbea Orca, nor does it feel as fast up the hills as a 15 pound bike. That said, it is very comfortable and seems to float over most road surfaces. If this bike is close to fitting you, that is a great price on a bike and frame which will continue to provide many years of great riding. I have brought this bike with me to Prague and ride it in the city on all road conditions (lots of cobbles) as well as out in the country in the hills. I would say that a Ti bike with Campy really turns heads here, particularly in an era of carbon fiber SRAM bikes.

Rock Toy

Well, I did it. Bike is in great shape and feels awesome. Now I need to make it mine... Will post pics in a bit.

eippo1

Awesomesauce. Look forward to seeing pics.

PhotoJoe 

Congrats. Please give us a full ride report. And make sure you follow the rules for pictures!

I can't find the thread with the rules, but here are the cliff notes:

LVRider

I was about to say, for $600...buy it!!!! Congrats on the new bike!

Scooper

We need pictures.

Rock Toy

I'll throw some pics up tomorrow. Bought the bike for less than the seller wanted for it. And then sold it an hour later for more than 2x's what I paid. Bought a FELT Z6 a few minutes ago.