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My new to me Merlin Ti

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My new to me Merlin Ti

Old 08-01-18, 12:31 PM
  #26  
fishboat
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Sounds familiar..I did the same.

..and nice color-combo!
(not a great pic..but it'll work)

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Old 08-01-18, 01:10 PM
  #27  
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Looking good.
No photos of the brakes? A view from the front of the bike would be interesting.
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Old 08-01-18, 01:23 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by fishboat
Sounds familiar..I did the same.

..and nice color-combo!
(not a great pic..but it'll work)

Very cool...nothing like breathing life back into a clean vintage Ti bike!
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Old 08-01-18, 01:31 PM
  #29  
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That's sweet. And, with Campy!
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Old 08-01-18, 01:42 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by rm -rf
Looking good.
No photos of the brakes? A view from the front of the bike would be interesting.
Not great pics..

Patriot..your Merlin has SUCH a clean look..if I ran across one like that, I'd buy it too..in a heart-beat.


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Old 08-01-18, 03:32 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by fishboat
Not great pics..

Patriot..your Merlin has SUCH a clean look..if I ran across one like that, I'd buy it too..in a heart-beat.
Thanks, I am really happy with how it all came together. The phone call with Tom Kellogg was very cool, I never would have thought I would talk with him.
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Old 08-01-18, 03:34 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by rm -rf
Looking good.
No photos of the brakes? A view from the front of the bike would be interesting.
here-


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Old 08-01-18, 03:35 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by bruce19
That's sweet. And, with Campy!
Thanks, yes indeedy, the campy group sealed the deal.
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Last edited by Patriot1; 08-01-18 at 03:47 PM.
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Old 08-01-18, 03:44 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Patriot1


Thanks, I am really happy with how it all came together. The phone call with Tom Kellogg was very cool, I never would have thought I would talk with him.

Just did a national CL search..there's a fair number of Merlin's available(none by me ..) and none are close to yours in appearance..though there's a nice one up in Maine.

Have to keep my eyes open locally..
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Old 08-01-18, 06:20 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by fishboat
Just did a national CL search..there's a fair number of Merlin's available(none by me ..) and none are close to yours in appearance..though there's a nice one up in Maine.

Have to keep my eyes open locally..
Keep looking- try here, good luck, and post up when you find/buy a clean Merlin!

Road Bikes For Sale - 4477 Listings - SearchingBicycle.com

This one looks pretty sweet and it’s campy...I am thinking about asking if he’ll ship it for that price.

https://www.searchingbicycle.com/listing.php?id=23214


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Old 08-01-18, 08:06 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by Patriot1


Keep looking- try here, good luck, and post up when you find/buy a clean Merlin!

Road Bikes For Sale - 4477 Listings - SearchingBicycle.com

This one looks pretty sweet and it’s campy...I am thinking about asking if he’ll ship it for that price.

Used 58cm Merlin Extralight Titanium Road Bike Campagnolo Record for Sale, Loveland CO


Very nice.

This one inMaine:


https://maine.craigslist.org/bik/d/m...651859057.html
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Old 08-02-18, 10:47 AM
  #37  
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I recently built this up for myself. It's a ~1996 Lemond Ti with a carbon fork. Of course, it's light and fast, though it's a bit harsh. I'm thinking of putting wide 650b tires on it.

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Old 08-02-18, 06:29 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by noglider
I recently built this up for myself. It's a ~1996 Lemond Ti with a carbon fork. Of course, it's light and fast, though it's a bit harsh. I'm thinking of putting wide 650b tires on it.

Well done and very nice! A vintage brown leather saddle would win and finish it off!
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Old 08-02-18, 06:43 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by Patriot1


Well done and very nice! A vintage brown leather saddle would win and finish it off!
I have one, ready to go on. The only saddle I like nearly as much as a Brooks is a Specialized Riva, which seems to be out of production. Nothing beats a Brooks, though.
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Old 08-02-18, 07:16 PM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by noglider
I have one, ready to go on. The only saddle I like nearly as much as a Brooks is a Specialized Riva, which seems to be out of production. Nothing beats a Brooks, though.
Only a Selle Anatomica beats a Brooks Total leather hammock comfort, zero break in and made right here.
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Last edited by Patriot1; 08-03-18 at 12:51 AM.
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Old 12-18-18, 07:18 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Patriot1

Thanks Fishboat, A few changes...I have been busy working my new to me Merlin with a detailed cleaning, greasing the BB, new tires, mirrors, Selle Anatomica Vintage/Silver seat, bar tape, frame pump, Ti water bottle cages.
My first ride/shake down was 35 miles...just awesome! I really like how rigid and yet comfortable the Ti frame soaks up the road and the 1992 original Campy group needed zero adjustment. This bike really brings a smile to my face when I take off for a few hours. I hope to ride it for many many years.
I have reached out and talked with Tom Kellogg (the bikes designer) at Spectrum cycle about my new to me Merlin.
A super nice guy who helped me with several questions I had about the bike..very cool. In fact the Ti welder who welded my Merlin still works for Tom at Spectrum Cycles.

I wanted a really clean Vintage Ti bike at a fair price and this barely ridden Merlin “Road” continues to exceed all my
expectations and big wow factor at a fraction of the cost of a brand new Ti bike. Winning!

Forever bike-
For those who might be interested, I came across this article, which gives you the latest update of who's running Merlin (I'm not sure when Competitive Cyclist/Backcountry got rid of them). Same ownership as Dean bikes, as well as the same company that imports Challenge tires fyi

5 questions with Dean Bikes founder John Siegrist - Longmont Times-Call

Janus Cycle Group
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Old 12-22-18, 06:59 PM
  #42  
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Great bike!
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Old 04-30-23, 04:48 PM
  #43  
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Merlin Titanium Repairs

Toga Bike Shop in NYC is the place to go to fix Merlin Titanium bikes made in Massachusetts. They distributed these original Merlin Titanium bikes from 1986 on, so they know everything about them. I bought a 1990 Merlin Titanium from Ebay with a horribly loose, unrideable Grease Guard Press Fit Bottom Bracket & a Seized Hideous Stem. No other bike shop in NYC was able to fix this problem, & I was fearful that I had a dead bicycle frame on my hands. Toga was able to rebuild the bottom bracket with new sealed Phil Wood bearings, & can remove any stem seized with Galvanic Fusion between the titanium & aluminum. All for a very reasonable price.

Toga Bike Shop
110 West End Avenue @ 64th Street
NYC, NY 10023

1-212-799-9625
lv@togabikes dot com att: Louis

shipbikes the best & cheapest way to ship a bicycle

If not at or around NYC, strip your bike down & get a used shipping box or frame box from a bicycle shop, tip them $10 or $20
You pay by the size & weight, so a frame box is cheapest to ship.
Remove the wheels, pedals, crank/crank arm, chain, seatpost/saddle.

Vintage Merlin Titanium bikes are great looking, light weight, & should always be saved to ride whenever possible.
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Old 04-30-23, 08:48 PM
  #44  
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Very nice Ti drool worthy bikes here.

I did the same as many of you … got a frame in great condition and moved parts over from another bike. Except for the fact that Serotta forks need a proprietary Ti brake bolt, it was pretty straightforward.

I knew I’d like the bike. I’m just surprised at how much I like it. Old skool polished Ti bikes are beautiful, and wherever I go, it gets a lot of attention. ❤️

Last edited by Biker395; 04-30-23 at 09:00 PM.
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Old 05-01-23, 03:36 PM
  #45  
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No pictures of my Merlin yet because I'm still waiting for the new 2 x 7 black gear/brake levers with no advertising with both cables that hug the handlebars. I'll just have to black out with a sharpie small RT, LT letters on top. Generic, but work with Dura-Ace, Shimano. $75 from China. Only problem, they initially sent me a car water bottle holder, not quite that close, & my biggest Ebay miss. They said they checked better this time, we'll see. There's 1 other seller for the same unbranded shifter, cheaper, but they spelled Shimano incorrectly, so that did not give me confidence.
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Old 05-01-23, 05:07 PM
  #46  
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You might post a thread in Early Brifter after you've used those awhile. Folks are always looking for available alternatives.
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Old 05-02-23, 06:59 AM
  #47  
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Wow, some really nice bikes above, With that kind of frame, it's worth putting the money in to upgrading to newer (better) components like the brakes, brifters, wheels, etc...

I have 2 decent steel bikes; the one I've kept completely original which rides nice and the other with upgraded wheels and cassette. Neither are super high end bikes so doesn't seem worth doing a full upgrade.
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Old 05-05-23, 03:01 PM
  #48  
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A revived Ti thread. . I'll pile on.

Here's my Ti frameset I assembled with Campa10 triple.
Macalu was an in-house Ti brand from Excel Sports, Boulder. Cirrus was the 'race' model.
Not sure who welded it!
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Old 05-09-23, 04:46 AM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by Biker395
Very nice Ti drool worthy bikes here.

I did the same as many of you … got a frame in great condition and moved parts over from another bike. Except for the fact that Serotta forks need a proprietary Ti brake bolt, it was pretty straightforward.

I knew I’d like the bike. I’m just surprised at how much I like it. Old skool polished Ti bikes are beautiful, and wherever I go, it gets a lot of attention. ❤️
The titanium frame with red lettering looks very nice - have fun!
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