Mercet 1980 - Link to Bike Porn
 

Follow the link and stare for a couple minutes at least. That's all.

EDIT: Wow, I haven't been active in a couple weeks and just realized there's literally an ongoing and quite crazy thread regarding Mercet bicycles... And I also see that Drillium Dude had already linked this bicycle over there! Ha!

Pardon moi!

https://www.scampi-cicli.com/mercet-1980

Oh yeah, we were having a field day. :twitchy:

Nice !

This particular example of Mercet's work can fairly be described as an "art bike". There's plenty of room for discussion about whether just black anodizing and gold plating is actually art, but that's another discussion.

The whole topic of art bikes is an interesting one, at least to me. These are bikes that will never be ridden. I suspect that most of Schwinn's 50th anniversary Paramounts with the gold forks fall into this category. I even saved an old Bicycle Guide article that discussed some of the current frame builders that built some wildly ornate frames that the magazine designated as art bikes.
Here are a few pages...

https://live.staticflickr.com/7418/2...2ec25c_b_d.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7500/2...52b2c6_b_d.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7703/2...b52cc4_b_d.jpg

Of course, a bike doesn't have to be this overly ornate to be treated more as an art object than as a bike. I've seen a number of classics that were considered so iconic or unique that the owner decided it was better to just look at them rather than actually ride them.

Steve in Peoria

We've got so many Mercet threads I'm not sure where to put these, but seeing as this one is peaceful (at the moment), hopefully they can be enjoyed for what they are.

A couple lugged and one fillet brazed:

https://k-i-n-g.ch/de/jacques-mercet-course-de

https://k-i-n-g.ch/de/mercet-course-1968-de

https://k-i-n-g.ch/de/jacques-mercet-course-1985-de

Give me a "plain" Richard Sachs any day.

So that 1985 fillet brazed example is rather excellent, in my opinion. Functional with great attention to detail and smartly equipped except for the awkward triple chainrings. Thanks for sharing!

-Gregory

Great article, thank you for posting it

Very nice!

Sorry to disappoint you, but Mercet never made a bike like this one !
This bike is nothing more than the will of a customer who used a old Mercet frame and had it modified to give this.
Also, the Mercet logo does not match with the year of the frame.
Many errors of taste.
But as everyone knows, tastes and colors are very personal

LOL, how dare somebody soil a Mercet, and modify to a personal preference. It's just sick and wrong.

Ya know I heard someone, somewhere, won a race sometime in the past once, on a Mercet.

You must be the arrogant Swiss person everyone's been annoyed by lately. A pleasure to meet you.

Which one are you referring to? There are several Mercets posted to this thread.

This one.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...07114a11c1.png

Also, Mercet never used parts from Coassin as seen on this bike.

P.S
Coassin was another Swiss manufacturer based in Geneva, and the first to make Titanium bikes.
Moreover, the Dutch cyclist Zoetemelk used his repainted frames when he raced in the Mercier team, but also Raymond Poulidor. And also Bernard Hinault won a time trial stage in the Tour de France on a Coassin Titanium.

Signed

The most arrogant Swiss
(as Kilroy1988 likes to call me)

Have a good week...

Perhaps you should approach this reference website outlining the first of the titanium frame builders. Somehow your famed Coassin did not make the cut.

https://early-titanium-archive.neoci...//pre-70s.html
https://early-titanium-archive.neocities.org/70s.html

Ago15

Are you going to delete all the posts you're making in this thread, too, once you realize how negatively you're coming off to the majority of players here (some, I might add, whom have quite extensive knowledge of bikes across many decades...)?

Posting, then deleting later on, is very poor form. Please do better :)

DD

Although steelbikeguy suggested a comparison between this bicycle and the "art bikes" he shared an article about, no one else here has remotely insinuated that Mr. Mercet built this bicycle in this way. You took it upon yourself to prove us wrong without even stopping for a moment to think that maybe we don't actually believe this is how the bicycle originally appeared. We are all well aware of the fact that many vintage bicycles are given new life by their owners at various intervals throughout the years, and I personally decided to share the bicycle here because I find the trends which coalesced to form this particular build intriguing and was particularly impressed by how nicely photographed the machine is. Also, despite actually not sharing the aesthetic tastes of the owner of the bicycle in question, I always admire the effort and consideration taken to achieve such a highly uniform and well-executed build.

Carry on attempting to take the high road. The tunnel at the end is often deep and dark.

-Gregory

So you're pissed off that one single part wasn't Campy? (Aside from the stem and bars, for obvious reasons). Seems a little whiny, especially when the bike is the work of your master. There wouldn't be a hint of jealousy that it belongs to someone else, would there? Can't have it yourself, so fair game to run it down?

Black and gold (and red) is definitely not my cup of tea, either, but I can at least appreciate the effort and $$$ that went in to creating this bike.

Wow. I didn't realize he had done this. Looks like it might be worthwhile to quote him completely when responding to him in the future.

Actually, he didn't call you the "most arrogant." But if the brake shoe fits...

Even took back his introduction.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9bbaef2de7.png