jdawginsc 

They have liquid mask. That’s how I am going to it when it comes time to start the project line up.

daverup 

Congrats on catching that Mercian, those lugs are art!

BFisher

I'd be half tempted to do a Breaking Away/Aerowind mashup build for a future clunker challenge. The Huffy Breaking Wind.

Can't go wrong with green and white for that Mercian. Should be a stunner.

jingy2

Here's a BRG Vincitore for inspiration!

Andy_K 

Oh, the Huffy? Won't be seein' that no more.

Andy_K 

You know, it sounds crazy, but I suppose if I were to paint it and in two or three years the paint started looking terrible it wouldn't be any worse off than it is now. Maybe if I topped it off with two-part clear coat... Hmmm....

steelbikeguy

I hope the Vincitore is restored to the glory that it deserves!

Back in the late 80's, I picked up a Mercian catalog. Fell in love with the barber pole seat tube, and would have been happy with most of the sample colors in the back of the catalog.
Here are some pages from that catalog, just as food for thought...













Steve in Peoria

mikemowbz

That Vincitore is quite the find - hard not to appreciate the thinning on the long spearpoint of that lower HT lug, and the ornamental flair of the whole ensemble.

About as characteristically 'Mercian' as you can get.

Fun project! Look forward to seeing future steps and eventual result.

bikingshearer 

Yeah, the Mercian certainly does rock. The Huffy is a rock.

jdawginsc 

Thanks for posting this. It was interesting to read about my frame.

jdawginsc 

And you wouldn’t have to agonize over the shade, because Mercians had 300!

I say have fun and use your talents!

bwilli88 

That Mercian is sweet, Brit racing green with a creme stripe and head tube would be my vote and if I ever get my Witcomb to a pro painter that is what I would go for.

rustystrings61 

As cool as the Mercian Vincitore looks, it will ride even better. Here's mine, built by Derek Land in 2002 and delivered in January, 2003. It's easily got the most miles of any bike I've ever owned - shown here in its most recent incarnation.


2002 Derek Land-built Mercian Vincitore custom road fixed gear, 531 throughout

If I had it to do over, I would have specified clearance for 32s and fenders, forward-opening rear dropouts and maybe even brazed-on posts for Weinmann centerpulls. And I would have chosen no. 4, Dark Blue Flamboyant, I think.

When you look at the bottom bracket underside you'll see a single digit, which is the workbench/builder number, and a string of numbers; the last two digits are the year produced. For example, my son's King of Mercia is no. 51371, which I believe indicates the 513th frame of 1971, and the builder code is 5, which was Derek Land at the start of his career. My 1982 Colorado built for the old The Spoke/Harvest/Mercian team is no. 45882 built by no. 6, who was identified by Mercian as George Bryan. My 2002 Vincitore has a different code, being 5 (Derek Land) 181 (individual number) and 2002 (year produced).

If you're really bored, or just like to look at pictures, the whole history of this bike from order forms to current set-up can be seen here.

sd5782 

Finding the two bikes together is a sign from somewhere to combine them. With the Huffy as an example on the visit to Gugie, the Mercian should get the aero wind treatment for a truly custom experience.😊

davester

Mercian is famous for their stove-enamel paint jobs and I believe that they repaint old frames. If I were you I'd think seriously about shipping the frame to them for a repaint. You at least owe it to yourself to check out their website, if you haven't already. They even used to have an online tool where you picked your colors, the type of luglining, and whether to use the barbershop pole seat tube treatment and it would display the results. Unfortunately I can't find that any more.
https://www.merciancycles.co.uk/frames/colours/

nlerner

The Hetchins I own was repainted by Mercian:

noobinsf 

This reminds me of a Motor Trend review of a Rolls Royce back in the 90s that described its aerodynamics like so: "It does not so much slice through the wind as batter it aside." That line always stuck with me.


I did my best to preserve the paint on this one, but it was pretty well oxidized. I covered it in clear varnish and am hoping for the best, but I think a repaint is in its (maybe distant) future.

non-fixie 

Actually, it was the "available at Toys R Us" that made me choke on my beverage.

WRT the Mercian: only a couple of days ago I was looking at Mercian's website, to see what a new Vincitore frame in touring guise would cost. I really like the look of them.

Andy_K 

Thanks! That's great information. I can't make out any digits on the bottom bracket with the paint intact there. I did, however, find a serial number on the steerer.



Would you say that's the 51st frame of 1971 with a builder mark of 5 or is it the 551st frame of 1971 with the builder mark somewhere else?

BTW, that blue and white Mercian is gorgeous. Apart from BRG, the other color combination I was thinking about was blue and white, though I had been thinking of a brighter blue.

Andy_K 

Yeah, no.

rustystrings61 

I think 551st of 1971, but I have never looked at my Mercian's steerer to be honest. On bottom brackets the builder number is usually stamped on another line. I'll try to remember to look closer at my son's, as it is a contemporary of yours.

Andy_K 

I have looked at their website quite a few times because nearly every search for old Campy small parts seems to lead me there. I'd have bought several things from them if the cost of shipping hadn't been so disproportionate to the cost of the part. And I think with paint shipping would be the deal breaker. It costs a fortune to ship anything out of the U.S.

The barber pole paint scheme is just about the only thing that could make this bike more British than it already is, but I'm not sure I really like that look. It is distinctive though.

Andy_K 

Is that the original paint with just a clear layer that you added? It looks good, but I know online pictures are often kind to slightly flawed paint.

One of the reasons I might consider trying to paint it myself is that it would be a cheap way to test the color scheme. I really want these chrome lugs to pop, and I'm concerned that they might kind of fade into a white head tube. I had this complaint with a champagne Raleigh International I used to own. The gorgeous chrome Nervex lugs just kind of got lost in the champagne paint. With the Vincitore, the lugs should definitely be the star of the show.

I hadn't realized how many people on this forum have such beautiful Mercians. It's nice to see them popping up on this thread.

Andy_K 

Yeah, there's just something about "The ultimate riding experience" immediately followed by "Available at Toys R Us" that is just comedy gold.

bulgie 

Been loving the Mercian pics and discussion. Just wanted to ask about the subject line, which I find very clever. The English translation ("WWCD") is a phrase I never heard growing up, until (I think) when I moved to Seattle in the late '70s. Is it a regional thing or more widespread? Maybe I just needed to get out more? Anyway you know it's true because it rhymes.

Ah, a brief googlage reveals it is thought to have started in the Great Depression, pssibly among gamblers.

Sorry for the off-topic digression.

+1 on sending it to Mercian for it's new suit of clothes. Shipping is high now but the painting will be excellent and cheap, especially now with the strong dollar.
I always wanted a barber-pole seat tube.

Mark B