Mercian ID help
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Mercian ID help
Well, another call from a bike shop customer who was given my number because she has a vintage bike. I need to talk to the shop owner about this. In any case, I will probably inspect this on Monday. Not sure what they want to sell it for or if they want to sell it. I told the lady I could always try to find a home for it.
Looking for some help on a possible id of the bike. Blowing it up on my phone shows what look to be Cyclone shifters and SR crankset. I'm not sure on the rest. Frame and paint look to be in good shape. I would guess 27" wheels. Double eyelets on the fork. This is a photo from the owner's that she texted tonight.
Looking for some help on a possible id of the bike. Blowing it up on my phone shows what look to be Cyclone shifters and SR crankset. I'm not sure on the rest. Frame and paint look to be in good shape. I would guess 27" wheels. Double eyelets on the fork. This is a photo from the owner's that she texted tonight.
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1984 Gitane Tour de France; 1968 Peugeot PL8; 1982 Nishiki Marina 12; 1984 Peugeot PSV; 1993 Trek 950 mtb; 1983 Vitus 979; Colnago Super, mid-80's Bianchi Veloce, 1984 or 85 Vitus 979
1984 Gitane Tour de France; 1968 Peugeot PL8; 1982 Nishiki Marina 12; 1984 Peugeot PSV; 1993 Trek 950 mtb; 1983 Vitus 979; Colnago Super, mid-80's Bianchi Veloce, 1984 or 85 Vitus 979
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I think it’s a King of Mercia, post 1980 or so because of the Mercian-embossed seat stay eyes. The parts won’t help with identifying the bike as the overwhelming majority of Mercians sold in the U.S. were framesets. It’s a lovely bike, 531 throughout and hearth brazed by hand.
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Modelwise it looks to be sending mixed signals.
Note the double eyelets on the fork ends.
There were the standard models such as Olympic, King, Vincitore, Barrachi, etc, but some dealers ordered their framesets with specific details which took them out of the brochure models.
My local Mercian agent did this so he had a few "stock" models but most were done to his specification so they did not line up with catalogue models.
If frame has a retailer transfer from Stone's Bicycles in Alameda California this would explain it...
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Modelwise it looks to be sending mixed signals.
Note the double eyelets on the fork ends.
There were the standard models such as Olympic, King, Vincitore, Barrachi, etc, but some dealers ordered their framesets with specific details which took them out of the brochure models.
My local Mercian agent did this so he had a few "stock" models but most were done to his specification so they did not line up with catalogue models.
If frame has a retailer transfer from Stone's Bicycles in Alameda California this would explain it...
-----
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Juvela notes it is sending mixed signals, model-wise, which makes sense. It occurs to me that neither of my Mercians is a set model, either - my Vincitore I had built custom for me is a Vincitore, but it's a custom road-fixed gear without the fancy spearpoint BB and odd braze-ons. My '82 Colorado is another freak. The Colorado model name really is more a retailer's model for The Spoke in Boulder. I've seen a couple of sports tourers for sale over the years with this model. It's also what's on the top tube of my machine, a mix of King of Mercia and Professional bits built as a team-issued bike for a member of the Mercian/Harvest/The Spoke team that included Marianne Martin, first American winner of the Tour de France Feminine in 1984.
Because this bike has the engraved top eyes, it's probably from the era where the serial numbers include the year of production. Stamped on the underside of the bb directly below the downtube, mine is marked 6, which is the builder code for George Bryan, who built it, and 45882, which indicates it was the 458th bike built in 1982. My '02 Vincitore has a 3-line serial number, marked 5 (Derek Land, builder) 181 (not sure if that's Derek's production for the year or the shop's total) and 2002, the year I ordered it and the year the paperwork indicates it was built.
Because this bike has the engraved top eyes, it's probably from the era where the serial numbers include the year of production. Stamped on the underside of the bb directly below the downtube, mine is marked 6, which is the builder code for George Bryan, who built it, and 45882, which indicates it was the 458th bike built in 1982. My '02 Vincitore has a 3-line serial number, marked 5 (Derek Land, builder) 181 (not sure if that's Derek's production for the year or the shop's total) and 2002, the year I ordered it and the year the paperwork indicates it was built.
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Man, I need to check my Mercian’s serial number. Is there a database or table somewhere for deciphering them?
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#6
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Inspected the bike this morning. I've got to say it's pretty nice. Wish I was in the market. 53cm frame with paint in quite good shape. My size but I'm not really in the market right now. There's a pretty decent scrape on the left side of the fork but other than that it's held up real well. Owner bought it used in 1983 in California. Serial number seems to indicate 1981 production. Components are original from when they purchased the bike. I forgot my calipers to measure the seatpost in hopes of identifying frame material. Owner stated he remembered something about 531 from when they purchased it. This was his wife's bike and it's probably not been ridden for the last 15 yrs. Suntour Cyclone long cage rear derailleur and a Shimano front derailleur. SR crankset and stem. Gran Compe levers. Wheels are 27" which was confusing to me considering the bike seems too nice for that and I was expecting 700c.
The frame has double eyelets on the fork and dropouts and a second set of bottle cage braze ons under the downtube like you'd see on a touring bike.
The frame has double eyelets on the fork and dropouts and a second set of bottle cage braze ons under the downtube like you'd see on a touring bike.
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1984 Gitane Tour de France; 1968 Peugeot PL8; 1982 Nishiki Marina 12; 1984 Peugeot PSV; 1993 Trek 950 mtb; 1983 Vitus 979; Colnago Super, mid-80's Bianchi Veloce, 1984 or 85 Vitus 979
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Some more photos:
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1984 Gitane Tour de France; 1968 Peugeot PL8; 1982 Nishiki Marina 12; 1984 Peugeot PSV; 1993 Trek 950 mtb; 1983 Vitus 979; Colnago Super, mid-80's Bianchi Veloce, 1984 or 85 Vitus 979
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The seat post diameter could be a clue.
I had a recent exchange with Mercian about my '83 King of Mercia Touring because I was having a hard time with the 27.2 seat post. They confirmed that in the early 80's, the KOM Touring model would have been reamed out to 27.0, not 27.2, and sure enough, a 27.0 post fit like a glove.
I had a recent exchange with Mercian about my '83 King of Mercia Touring because I was having a hard time with the 27.2 seat post. They confirmed that in the early 80's, the KOM Touring model would have been reamed out to 27.0, not 27.2, and sure enough, a 27.0 post fit like a glove.
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As far as the tubing goes, I don't think Mercian has ever used anything but Reynolds 531 or nicer tubing. I think even their baseline models used butted and not plain-gauge stuff. Of the five Mercians I've owned or helped build (an Olympic, two Vincitores, a Colorado and a KOM), they all took 27.2 mm posts.
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scozim -
thank you for the additional information and imagery.
can you tell us what is the yellow "Locomotion" transfer? from retailer or something else? not in a typical location.
one of the things about the machine which made me think "Stone's Alameda" was the mixed midliner kitting it exhibits.
this was exactly how the shop built up many of its Mercian framesets for recreational riders.
now we learn it was originally sold in California...
am sure you will be able to assist owner.
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scozim -
thank you for the additional information and imagery.
can you tell us what is the yellow "Locomotion" transfer? from retailer or something else? not in a typical location.
one of the things about the machine which made me think "Stone's Alameda" was the mixed midliner kitting it exhibits.
this was exactly how the shop built up many of its Mercian framesets for recreational riders.
now we learn it was originally sold in California...
am sure you will be able to assist owner.
-----
#11
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The post above about KOM Touring has me curious especially because of the double eyelets and bottle braze ons below the downtube. If I wasn't afraid of being stuck in the dog house for a long time I'd definitely consider this as a touring rig vs my converted Peugeot hybrid.
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1984 Gitane Tour de France; 1968 Peugeot PL8; 1982 Nishiki Marina 12; 1984 Peugeot PSV; 1993 Trek 950 mtb; 1983 Vitus 979; Colnago Super, mid-80's Bianchi Veloce, 1984 or 85 Vitus 979
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From memory I think that may have been the bike shop sticker but I didn't pay that much attention to it. Sorry.
The post above about KOM Touring has me curious especially because of the double eyelets and bottle braze ons below the downtube. If I wasn't afraid of being stuck in the dog house for a long time I'd definitely consider this as a touring rig vs my converted Peugeot hybrid.
The post above about KOM Touring has me curious especially because of the double eyelets and bottle braze ons below the downtube. If I wasn't afraid of being stuck in the dog house for a long time I'd definitely consider this as a touring rig vs my converted Peugeot hybrid.
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27-in wheels are NOT a sign of poor quality. Every top quality bike with clinchers sold in the English-speaking world used that wheel size for years and years and years, including Paramounts and all manner of custom bikes. Ian Hibell rode all over the world on 27s. The triumph of 700C over 27 is more about standardization, globalization and compatibility with tubulars than it is about superior performance for non-racers. Yeah, sure, there are a lot more 700C tires to choose from, but so long as Panaracer sells the Pasela, who cares? For touring and general day-riding, non-competitive use, 27 x 1 1/4 is an awesome tire size.
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For pre-1970 bikes, there's this site, which is mostly photos linked to serial numbers. Mercian has serial numbers for bikes built from 1970 on, but they charge for looking them up now after years of people having them stop what they're doing to poke through files. What I posted before seems to be largely correct - the last two digits of the long number are the year of production. To my knowledge, no one outside Mercian has posted a listing of the builder's numbers, which I would imagine would change over the years.
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I do want to know more about later, though!
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Serial number is 10582, so I guess it’s an ‘82 model.
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2010 AB T1X ** 2010 Cannondale SIX-5 ** 1993 Cannondale RS900 ** 1988 Bottecchia Team Record ** 1989 Bianchi Brava ** 1988 Nishiki Olympic ** 1987 Centurion Ironman Expert(2) ** 1985 DeRosa Professional SLX ** 1982 Colnago Super ** 1982 Basso Gap ** 198? Ciocc Competition SL ** 19?? Roberts Audax ** 198? Brian Rourke ** 1982 Mercian Olympic ** 1970 Raleigh Professional MK I ** 1952 Raleigh Sports
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#17
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Great looking bike Scozim. (You could stay at my place for a while. )
Looks a lot like the 1976 Mercian Olympic frame I bought a few years ago. Immaculate paint and lug lining.
55cm CTT
Wrap over seat stays
Mine has a TDG Italia headset
The bike Scozim posted about has a Mercian badged Tange headset. Looks more like hardened grease and dirt rather than rust. Nothing a wire brush won't clean up.
Top locknut from another bike.
verktyg
Looks a lot like the 1976 Mercian Olympic frame I bought a few years ago. Immaculate paint and lug lining.
55cm CTT
Wrap over seat stays
Mine has a TDG Italia headset
The bike Scozim posted about has a Mercian badged Tange headset. Looks more like hardened grease and dirt rather than rust. Nothing a wire brush won't clean up.
Top locknut from another bike.
verktyg
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Chas. ;-)
Don't believe everything you think! History is written by those who weren't there....
Chas. ;-)
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#18
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Great looking bike Scozim. (You could stay at my place for a while. )
Looks a lot like the 1976 Mercian Olympic frame I bought a few years ago. Immaculate paint and lug lining.
55cm CTT
Wrap over seat stays
Mine has a TDG Italia headset
The bike Scozim posted about has a Mercian badged Tange headset. Looks more like hardened grease and dirt rather than rust. Nothing a wire brush won't clean up.
Top locknut from another bike.
verktyg
Looks a lot like the 1976 Mercian Olympic frame I bought a few years ago. Immaculate paint and lug lining.
55cm CTT
Wrap over seat stays
Mine has a TDG Italia headset
The bike Scozim posted about has a Mercian badged Tange headset. Looks more like hardened grease and dirt rather than rust. Nothing a wire brush won't clean up.
Top locknut from another bike.
verktyg
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1984 Gitane Tour de France; 1968 Peugeot PL8; 1982 Nishiki Marina 12; 1984 Peugeot PSV; 1993 Trek 950 mtb; 1983 Vitus 979; Colnago Super, mid-80's Bianchi Veloce, 1984 or 85 Vitus 979
1984 Gitane Tour de France; 1968 Peugeot PL8; 1982 Nishiki Marina 12; 1984 Peugeot PSV; 1993 Trek 950 mtb; 1983 Vitus 979; Colnago Super, mid-80's Bianchi Veloce, 1984 or 85 Vitus 979
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