Mr. 66

Just adding this one to the group.
Built up Shimano 600 with XTR rd, in this picture it is on 105 hubs on blue Mavic (Reflex?) rims.

etherhuffer 

Just got this today. King Of Mercia in a sport touring geometry.

beicster 

I built this 91 King of Mercia over the last few days. I took it out for a ten miler this morning and it has a great ride. I can’t wait to get more time on it.

beicster 

. Nice! Mine is sport touring as well.

etherhuffer 

Really nice handling. Needs a big clean and tune up. Rear der is a Rapid Rise XT which works for me.

ascherer 

I really enjoy seeing everybody's Mercians in this thread. It looks like it's been 7 years since I last posted a picture of my '87 Professional, so:

Since this was taken I've swapped in a slightly larger small chainring, bigger cassette, and it's sporting a silver Impero.

Kilroy1988 

For the sake of posterity and in a bid to attract other folks to share their Mercians here, I'll add the 25" 1978 Vincitore to the mix!

-Gregory

Pcampeau

Well here’s another 25”. That’s a beautiful Vincitore you’ve been posting lately Kilroy1988, glad to see it show up here. Mine too is from 78 and it’s a Mercian….ummm, something (possibly Olympic?). I picked this up a couple of years ago and like yours, it’s a little larger than I’d like it to be. I can definitely ride it, though at this size it may not be one of my long distance bikes. I’ve assembled many parts to build it but not everything. I think I’ll just cobble the rest of the bits together from my parts bin for now and put a temporary build on it this spring. I want to ride it and test the fit to see if it’s worth having Mercian refinish it. If not, I’d like to find a Mercian that’s about an inch smaller. Maybe I’ll find a trading partner one day instead. Here it is for now.

Aubergine 

I found this old Mercian, an Olympic I believe, last year in a sad shape. The first five photos show the bike as I found it, with horribly stained paint and worn, dirty parts.










I really should use this Idéale saddle on a wet weather bike!


I did my best to clean the paint, but the stain was tenacious and I stopped rather than to damage the decals and remaining paint. To match the patina, I put on some similarly worn but functional parts. The Dura Ace crank also was replaced by a Nuovo Record crank that I had salvaged from a similarly beaten up bike. I also thought that a Suntour V GT derailleur fit this bike better than the Nuovo Record rear. I have plenty of other bikes with vintage Campy so this gave a bit more flexible gearing for Seattle's hills.



The end result was a delight, outside of the brakes (which are Universal 68 sidepulls). Comfortable and responsive, just as one would expect from a British 531 frame. But I do need to fix those brakes. I have a set of 61 center pulls on a different bike, and they are superb. I'd like to keep the 68s if I can get them to stop, but as it is another change is probably in the offing.

Loomite

Aubergine, you've reminded me that I wanted to post a picture of my KOM in it's latest configuration...with moustache bars! I have grown pretty fond of those bars.

beicster 

Not good news. Mercian has stopped production and is in liquidation.
https://road.cc/content/news/mercian...idation-308501

jdawginsc 

That sucks. Interesting tidbit about Ewan McGregor owning a custom built Mercian.

Aubergine 

Well damn.

Kilroy1988 

I haven't been active for a few months as I take care of the changes that have come along with having a newborn son but was about to make a post with the Road.cc article. Mercian deserves a eulogy in a separate thread, methinks, so I'll go ahead and do that anyway... such a pity.

-Gregory

rustystrings61 

I had seen rumors over the last couple of days on the FB Mercian Cycles Appreciation Group, but today it was confirmed. Seems like as good a time as any to post updated pix of the three in my home -

Julius the Derek Land-built 2002 Vincitore custom road fixed-gear, now sporting Crank Brothers Egg Beater pedals, because I learned they actually DO work pretty well. This and the next one first showed up here in post #53 in 2015, and again in post #100 in 2018. I originally ordered this to be a century/brevet/light touring bike, but through the years it served many roles, including several years as a daily commuter. I like it so much (and am so obsessive) that I have a full Flickr page about it from the build sheets to its arrival in 2003 and its many incarnations through the years.


Stripe was purchased as bare, stripped, dented frame and fork in late 2003 for the princely sum of $50 on the old iBOB list, because it was blue and gold, had the barber stripe, was my size - and I felt sorry for it. Initially destined for a trainer, then I had a heart attack, built it up with beater and cast-off parts - and then one day on a whim I took it out for a club ride and discovered it is one of the three bikes that vie in my heart and memory as being the best-handling "fast" bikes I've ever been on, rivaling the custom Lighthouse and the shockingly good '88 Specialized Sirrus I had for a while. Now sporting a Sachs New Success rear derailleur and a Vetta saddle that works really well, I plan on riding this one a lot in the next few months.


This wee beast is actually the first Mercian I acquired. I bought it from one of my student workers, who got it from his uncle, The original owner (a Mr. Boettcher) of this 1971 KOM with Nervex Professional lugs bought it new, and soon after was struck by a motorist. Being in Columbia, SC, he took it to Joe Azar's bike shop near the U of SC (and in my heart it's still USC, period) campus. Working out of that shop was a young Mike Melton. The original lower head lug did not survive, so he subbed in a Bocama no. 18, and allegedly the top and down tubes were replaced with Vitus 971. It was in basket case condition when I got it, and it wound up going out to Jim Cunningham at CyclArt to have the rear spread to 126mm and bottle and shift bosses brazed on, along with a green powder coat. It was then the mount of a friend's wife for a few years, was crashed and spent a decade in storage until she gave it to me a couple of years ago to pass on to my son. When he outgrows it I think I'll throw on some upright bars, a long seat post and some 35mm tires and have a laid back townie kinda bike. The coolest thing - the one was also built by Derek Land, very early in his career!


I am bummed about Mercian, though - now they're apparently gone along with Gitane of Nantes, the Raleigh Carlton world and Puch/Austro-Daimler as built in Graz. Add in that Tim Neenan has closed up his shop and no longer builds Lighthouse Cycles ... sigh.

I hope all the folks there who want to keep working can find good jobs quickly, and those who want to retire have all they need.

sthurman 

feeling bummed about the news today, but happy that I have a Mercian in my collection.

bibliobob

Photos from my visit to the workshop, my 753 KOM, and the '69 KOM that I used to have...

NVFlinch 

One of those 'kick myself' moments; Last fall I was staying with a friend in Derby UK, and visiting the Mercian shop was on the bucket list. We got to riding too much, and the BL visit, along with trying Kendall's Mint Cakes, was forgotten.

He emailed me yesterday re the closing. Sad all around.

etherhuffer 

Been rearranging King of Mercia over the last winter. Rebuilt rear wheel with new hub (race was shot on old one, weird lacing) Custom for a prior owner, and he didn't put any bosses on the front fork nor drill the crown for brakes or racks or fenders! So....sacrilege I got a black Soma CX fork that matches. Rehabbed the old cantilevers and added new pads. Moving over my Nitto noodle to the bike from my deceased Cino bike. Decided to not keep bar end Silver Shifters, found NOS 3X9 brifters. It will be sort of resto-mod, sort of new. I am far too heavy and this has Reysnolds 725 tubing. Paired with Panaracer 35mm tires it rides totally Cadillac but not sloppy.

Writenride 

Has there been any news about who could buy Mercian, if possible, or is the shop too far gone?

sixer

Small one for sale in Worcester, MA, cheap!

https://worcester.craigslist.org/bik...755360865.html