Soody

Picked this up for $2 yesterday.
Would love some info/opinions about it
I always thought mercians were super cool and have half considered buying a new one before.

As for the plan... I thought i'd be scrapping it with rust holes but I haven't found those yet. It's not my size. Weighing up coating with penetrol vs repaint, if it is indeed solid metal on further inspection.

obrentharris 

That's the nicest $2 bike I've ever seen!
Since you say it's not your size I would suggest giving the frame a good oxalic acid bath so a prospective new owner can see clearly what they're getting into, then send it on its way to someone who can ride it. Let the new owner decide how they want to finish it.
Brent

Pompiere

I don't know why I am drawn to Mercian bikes so much. Maybe the way they have continued to be made in the small British shop for several decades with hardly any change to the method. If I found one for $2, I would find whatever stem and seat post it took to make it ridable.

You didn't say if it was too small or too big. If too small, you could put flat bars on it and make a theft resistant errand bike. I did that with a Takara that I bought for $5. I bought it to scavenge some parts from it. Then I replaced them with some lesser parts to make it back into a functional errand bike.


Takara Advantage

P!N20

I’ll give you $4 for it - double your money!

Soody

That's a good idea however it is -very- too small.
55cm TT 54cm ST

Soody

Ok i have a lot of research to do now
What ratio does it mix at? I see 1kg is about $15 here.

Soody

obrentharris 

I have been using 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon. (about 4 grams/liter) for a 24 hour to 36 hour bath. Next project I will double the amount of oxalic to speed things up a little. Here in California I can buy Oxa;lic acid labeled "wood bleach" at the hardware store in 12 ounce tubs.

If you enter "oxalic" as a search term in the forum search function you will get lots of information as there have been numerous threads here about how to use it.
Brent

gaucho777 

^+1 to this. I use about 1 tbs per gallon (hose in one hand, soup spoon in the other, meanwhile counting seconds - not an exact science) and frames takes 24-36 hours. Periodic monitoring is important.

I also keep a smaller, more concentrated container on my workbench for small parts like bolts & nuts, toe clips, bottle cages, etc. Maybe a couple+ tablespoons for a quart. That’ll clear the small bits overnight; just don’t forget about it for too long.

1simplexnut

Yikes ! what creek was that living in !

juvela

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you may be surprised at just how much of the original colour shall reappear following the OA immersion...

do any of our Mercian experts recognize a model for the frame? was thinking possibly an Olympic.

lug pattern appears to be Prugnat S. crown an altered Vagner DP+.


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Fredo76

I would inspect it for holes after a good, long, thorough sand-blasting...

juvela

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no creek, just the usual Aotearoan meteorologica





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jethin

Get a booster bro.

Soody

Ok i'm gonna do the Oxalic bath.
... that should free the seatpost right?

Soody

another bike fished from the same creek
also $2

I think this one is truely f'd
sad thing is these bikes haven't even been ridden much
they're kinda in really good condition

oneclick 

Might do, but I'd try to get it out some other way instead, before oxalic acid.

Aluminium parts in contact with steel and oxalic acid solution get a grey discolouration. so there's something chemical going on.
I would worry that either or both of
a) the post growing bigger
b) the chemical reaction between the steel and the acid would be changed such that the steel s harmed/weakened
might happen.

That's a closed-top post, upside down for a while with a lye solution poured in through the bb is harmless to the steel.

P!N20

Is the serial number still legible? That will tell us the year and the builder's number according to CR:

Mercian frame numbering consists of the number of the frame built that year followed by the year of manufacture, sometimes this system was reversed to have the year of manufacture first.
For instance 26876 would be the 268th frame built in 1976, so obviously your frame wasn't built in 1933 or 1937, also there should be a single number near the main frame number denoting the builder of the frame

That's New Zealand dollars which equates to about 50c USD.

Chuckk

I think that Mercian still has their records and used to look up year and model for you - but I have heard that they started charging for the service.
They ID-ed mine as a 1987 Mercian Olympic. From comparing it to other Mercians, it seems like a reasonably priced sports-touring frame with no name on the seat stay caps.

Pcampeau

I can’t wait to see how this turns out after the OA bath. After looking around the internet for awhile and comparing, I’m pretty sure juvela is correct that it’s an Olympic model.

Soody

Two people wailing on the post in a vice didn't budge it. Or snap the head off, surprisingly.

trying some vinegar
and on the stem on the centurion






overfilled but poured some out

how long?

Soody

thanks
ah man i thought lye was an acid too and vinegar would be similiar. But it's alkaline. Next time I will try lye.

Soody

serial no: 56884

so 1984?

Pcampeau

Yes, the 568th frame of 1984.

P!N20

Any single numbers anywhere?