El Chaba

Very sad to hear this news. Here is my Mercian….

philbob57

I have an MKM, so I'm not suffering, and I'm 79, so a new bike isn't a great financial decision, but I've kept looking at Mercian's site, dreaming about traveling to England and picking up a Mercian. This very sad news, indeed. Voluntary seems to be a lot better than bankrupt, though.

ascherer 

Sadly no. But it was my first driving adventure in GB. Started in London and rented a car, probably a Vauxhall, hatchback design, stick shift. My first time with right-hand drivers’ position and it was fairly easy for me to adapt. Circled the countryside for almost 2 weeks. I think it was around 1990, I’d have to find my old passport to figure that out. I made the pilgrimage to Derby solely to see the shop. I had little idea what to expect and I feared that it would be a modern sleek operation so when I walked in and saw 50 years of history and the builders at their stations I knew I made the right choice.

atsffan

One add'l comment; on my '74 Vincitore I mentioned earlier in this thread, some years after I'd purchased the frameset (maybe early 1980s?), I was rebuilding the bike after doing my first cross-US tour. I'd pulled all the parts off and was cleaning everything and happened to poke a finger up into the downtube at the bottom bracket to do a rust/corrosion check. Pricked my finger on one of the pins. That was the first time I'd realized the builders would pin the lugs and tubing in place before doing the hearth brazing. Even back then, it was becoming a rarity to see a builder take that extra step.
BTW, now at 50 years old, the frame still has no significant internal corrosion concerns. That was verified by Mercian when they did my recent respray last August.

Kobe 

My Mercian has become the oldest bike in my collection, mainly because it rides so nice and fits like it was custom for me.

Whit51 

Maybe something like the recent rescue of Bob Jackson by Woodrup will happen. Mercian is an even more iconic brand that Bob Jackson, seems like it would be apealing to some other steel frame maker.

mhespenheide 

I'm not sure you can buy a Bob Jackson today. Woodrup stepped in, but there's still no public information up on their website beyond "more information coming soon". But that teaser has been up for a while now. On the other hand, if you really wanted a new "Bob Jackson", I bet that if you reached out to them, they could make it happen.

santa fe 2926 

https://bbc.com/news/articles/ck7712w87lro

Kilroy1988 

They have Facebook and Instagram pages and about half a dozen Bob Jackson frames have been built by Woodrup in the last year or so. That's not really the topic of this thread so you if need more information feel free to PM me!

-Gregory

Bianchigirll 

I didn't think about it before and I just went to the website to look for a few tchotchkes, you a waterbottle or mug, (like I need another one) and I don't see any link for accesories. However I also don't see anything them closing.

bulgie 

Gorgeous!

Off-topic but I see you have a 36t granny gear. As you may know, that's the only size Campy made for those, but certain after-market folk have made them as small as 30t, in case you ever wished for a lower gear. Not sure who if anyone is selling them now, but you might ask Bob Freeman. He's not a BF'er but he shouldn't be hard to track down. He's on CR for example. The ones he had made on a CNC from raw stock are all sold out, but he continues to make them now and then, out of existing 74 mm BCD chainrings, by drilling 5 new holes and cutting the old ones off.

I have done that too, here's my 30:



I've made a 29t too, but that's a bit impractical, for reasons I won't go into. Making a 30t isn't too hard though, if you're handy and have a few tools. I can give tips if interested.

-Mark

jdawginsc 

Mercian or Bob Jackson accessories. I was actually thinking about looking for something Mercian.