London Fixed-gear and Single-speed

I visited MERCIAN yesterday and ordered a new frame.

The idea is to build a 'road track' suitable for training rides at the Hippodrome d'Auteuil in Paris and for Sunday rides out into the country, maximum distance less than 100 miles. The bike shall be ridden on the road and not on an indoor track and I doubt that I shall ever spend more than one day in the saddle at anyone time. The idea of going for a Mercian was to try to recreate that old skool English track bike look. Specifically I am trying to make this bike look like a bike that could have been ridden in England in the 1970's, both on the road and at the race track.

So I thought I would start a thread where I could share and discuss the build.

lovely
how long do they reckon from start to finish? do they paint inhouse? are they building it up as well? what colour you getting? what lugs and track ends are they using? doyou get a choice?
dave

all your questions shall be answered

I ordered a Mercian in April.... They said it would take 20 weeks - so I'm waiting until september :-( I can't wait....

I hear what you are saying about the old school style, but that wasn't why I went for them... I just liked the idea that these old guys grab some steel tubing, cut it and braze it into lugs - a perfect simple steel frame - no fucking around with fluted seat posts etc (not saying any names eg. Bob Jackson). The simple can never go wrong or be out-dated.

Buddha, which frame-set did you go for? I got the Vigorelli in the cheapest steel - I couldn't afford any more than that. I'm going for White Pearl with no lug lining and plain white outlined mercian Block decals as I want a real monochrome finish. If anyone has had the chance to see Roberto's Merrcx ?? That is the look I'm going for with my Mercian.... Kind of modern and classic at the same time.

i'm getting a project in m head a bit like that too was thinking of a bj vigorelli if i cannot find anyhing else, i saw rob's mercx btw

@Stef

My girlfriend is getting a BJ built at the moment.... they have this weird fluted seat post thing.... I've never seen it on a steel frame before. It just doesn't look right. Also, when she went in the shop she asked if she could see a built up Vigorelli and they didn't have one, she asked if they had any brochures with pics... they don't do them, and she tried to look on the website and there is no picture there, just a blank space.

Compared to Mercian who have a nice, plain catalogue with all of the paint options and in-depth build descriptions and pictures - BJ just feels.... well, not as good as Mercian (shit, it's a BJ Vs. Mercian...)

the only annoying thing is that you gotta imagine the colours but it's quite easy to find some net page with those colours

Fuck me - I stand corrected! It took me an age to find anything on that site.... Thanks for that - now my GF can see a picture of the frame she is getting.... The first thing that strikes me about the mercian and the BJ is that they look identical, but the BJ is £100 cheaper....

does the mercian come with a headset? coz the bj doesnt

Jonaent - check the end of the Japanese bikes thread for a pic of my (massive) BJ Vigorelli. I reckon BJ and Mercian are fairly similar quality, although I think Mercian have slightly better painters for fancy stuff. I have read about some quality control probs with BJ but I think that's not a problem any more.

Is the "fluted post" the seat tube (ie part of the frame)? It's weird that they offer that as anything other than an extra option. You could find more pictures of BJs on bikeforums.net or velospace by the way.

Wicked dude! I reckon you're going to have fun with imaginary build ups over the next few months! I guess they'll suggest something like 74 HT and 73-75 ST depending on your height and TT length. A high BB would be useful for clearance on the road and track. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun on the bike when it's finished.

So I arrived and told them briefly what I wanted.

I came armed with a file of printouts and datasheets & I brought my laptop

to show them photos of the Mercian bikes that I liked and why I liked them


First we decided on the lugs.

I really liked the 'Strada Speciale' lugs so I went for these.



I wanted cut away lugs to emphasis lightness and speed

I also really like the shot in seat stays on the strada frame



once again because they emphasis speed

on the seat tube to hold the seat post I asked for a MERCIAN AK seat lug

which is much sleaker than the one shown in the photo above

I checked that all these options were avaliable from Mercian in the ' 70s

i want a flambouyant lime coloured frame hmmm !!! with dayglo orange decals

This


was built by Mercian, bit blingy, but I like the basic set up.


What's wrong with fluted seat posts???

Not a fluted seatPOST, but a fluted seatTUBE - My Girl is getting a custom Pista built at BJ and that was one of the options she chose because it makes the bike more compact. I was just surprised, as I have never seen that on a steel frame.... perhaps I have on an old Dolan Track maybe... not sure

'Strada' means 'road' in Italian

so having decided on the 'Strada Speciale' frame

i.e a road frame

(because of the beautiful lugs and shot in seat stays)

I then had to turn this frame into a 'road track' frame

First I had to specify the drop outs as 'track ends' as this is going to be a 'fixed'

Then immediately I had to decide on whether to 'chrome' or not to 'chrome'

Well I wanted chrome because I don't want paint chips on the drop outs

In chrome MERCIAN do whole stays, half stays, quarter stays or just the drop outs

For a track bike I thought

Just the drop out in chrome would be most appropriate

They then match the forks to the rear to give the bike 'balance'



like this

Next we deleted all the braze on and mounts

So that the frame is completely clean

The only concession this bike makes to practicality over style

In a front fork drilling for a brake

So now we have a MERCIAN 'Strada Speciale' built as a 'road track' with chrome track drop outs

and no mounts or braze ons

NEXT the geometry.

You're gonna do 100 mile rides with no bottle cages? I'd suggest at least one set of bottle bosses just to make summer riding bearable. Carrying loads of water on your back sucks after a while.

Bottles...@*?!!!!

bottles are for 'sensible' people who ride 'touring bikes'

& I ain't racing anyone so I can stop at the 'shops' and buy water

and because I am 'London' I don't really 'do' country

I ain't going nowhere that ain't got any shops

in anycase 100 miles is going to be about the absolute bloody maximum

most of the time I'll be riding this on an outdoor track

if it becomes an issue though

these are uber*cool

you can get some seat bottle holders, they have a nice retro feel

haha too late

I hadn't thought of it before, but them seat bottle holders do look *cool* , I am going to get some of them ...;) these fit in perfectly with the ethos of this bike.

This is a track bike that can be used on the road, not a road bike that has been brought to the track.

Ha ha. Well if it don't look cool, it an't worth it! ;)

Keep us posted on the geometory buddha,

Have you seen these seat claps / lugs? (strawberry bikes dave pointed me to them)

Never seen those before Tommy, they are a bit different, MERCIAN do there own Alan Key seat lug



this lug will look *sweet* with shot in stays

SIZE

So next up was frame size and frame geometry

For some background, I ride an off the peg 54cm

EAI bareknuckle with a 74° seat tube and a 75° head tube

For this Mercian use an adjustable jig

a tape measure

& an experienced eye

all measurement are taken centre to centre

Mercian go by the KOPS method

K.O.P.S. (Knee Over Pedal Spindle)

To start with they fix the saddle height

This came down to

How much seat post do you want visible

& what style of bars and stem do you intend to use

For twenty years I have been riding small frames

with long seat posts & riser bars

For a fixed with a pista stem and bars

I can afford to go higher in the frame

So I went for a shorter seat post length of around 12 cm or so

The shorter seat post is not out of keeping with a 1970’s period

We adjusted the jig for a comfortable stand over

And the proceeded to increase the height of the frame

Until we found the point that felt most comfortable in the leg

This gave me a 55.5 cm seat tube

A full 1.5cm on what I have at present

(MERCIAN 'Strada Speciale' built as a 1970's 'road track' with chrome track drop outs & 55.5 cm seat tube)

yep that's my questions answered!
betcha start dreaming about that frame soon. mercian have got their system nailed boss

So once we had got the frame size we then had to look at the Geometry

Mercian go by the KOPS method

K.O.P.S. (Knee Over Pedal Spindle)

You place the ball of your foot over the spindle of the pedal

Then they adjust the seat tube angle

Until Knee, foot & spindle of the pedal are in a straight line



they measure this invisible line with a plumb bob & a bit of string

Well we did this and we learnt a couple of things

First of all I ride on my toes and not the balls of my feet

This is because my toe clips are too small

medium instead of large

Also as well as my present frame being a little small

I reckon my saddle is a bit low and all

Since I got back I have been experimenting with saddle heights

Most interesting of all though

'apparently' I have long femurs

Which according to the KOPS method give me a seat tube angle of 72.5°

As opposed to my present seat tube angle of 74°

Quite a difference

The 74° on the bareknuckle whilst great for sprints

Is too steep for sitting in the saddle and pedaling

And I know this because my present saddle is rammed back as far as it will go.

But 72.5° is a pretty ‘relaxed’ seat angle for an ‘aggressive’ bike

& this is going to be an aggressive bike and it needs to look like one

in the end I settled for a 73° seat tube

I figured that I can move the saddle back a tad if need be

Anyone know anything about the KOPS method...?

from what I can gather it is to find the best 'seated' position to ride in

MERCIAN 'Strada Speciale' built as a 1970's 'road track' with chrome track drop outs
55.5 cm seat tube 73° seat tube angle

Only remember this: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/kops.html

HIPPY – have read the entire piece ‘The Myth of KOPS’

I pretty much came to the conclusion that I might try and find myself a Look Ergo Stem and try and few different bar positions to find the optimum position between flat riding and sprints. Knowing now that the KOPS method is only an approximation I am glad I moved the seat tube half a degree forward from the position calculated for me by Mercian.

For maximum power, the cyclist's leg should be nearly extended at the bottom of the pedal stroke

I thought that this was interesting as on my present ride my legs most definitely were not fully extended at the bottom of the pedal stroke. I think because the Miche Aeropost that I had in there looked a bit odd when extended too far out of the frame. So I switched it for a gold Nitto Jaguar post I had lying around & I went for a blast this morning. Raising the saddle gives me a far better fit.

The next measurement taken was the top tube length

Setting the stem length to 100mm

Mercian then adjusted the top tube length on their jig

for a 'comfortable fit'

This came 55.5 cm

Which makes this frame 55.5 cm square

There is something reassuring about that

Something to do with being nicely proportioned

So now we have

MERCIAN 'Strada Speciale' built as a 1970's 'road track'
chrome track drop outs
55.5 cm Square
73° seat tube angle

You gotta watch this too. In theory you get the most power from almost fully extending your legs but you may not be comfortable doing it.
Was it Greg Lemond who adjusted his saddle higher based on fitting suggestions and then went back to his own, lower position because the suggested/calculated height fscked his knees?
I used to race with a lower than suggested saddle height because I found i could spin it up quicker.. important for reacting to breaks or sprinting. Personal preference always plays a part and a fitting won't necessarily be the end of things.

I'm still keen to get a cyclefit done. I did around 200k today on the Ribble and it was actually really good (I ride 56seat/56top and my Ribble is 56/58 - too long in the top tube).
I'm not sore much - no lower back pain, no arm pain (which I was getting on shorter club runs). I reckon my shorter stem and new saddle (with some adjustments) made a lot of difference.. it's just that i still want a new road machine and I reckon a fitting would be money well spent for something so costly.

Next up was the headtube angle

The bike I presently ride has a 75 degree head tube

I thought a slightly more relaxed 74 degrees would be more in keeping with this bike

I left the fork rake up to the builder but I am not much fussed about 'overlap'

I asked for close clearances at both at the front

and in the rear triangle

Geezer, what is wrong with the bareknuckle man...

Nothing wrong with the bareknuckle

infact the bareknuckle is my meat & potatoes bike

The Mercian is the realization of a long held dream

it shall be used on sunny days for training and for long rides

Mostly though its that I kinda got into building these darn things

It appeals to a creative side that I never new I had

ever tried a LOOK ergostem...?

MERCIAN 'Strada Speciale' built as a 1970's 'road track'
chrome track drop outs
55.5 cm Square
73° seat tube angle
74° head tube angle
close clearances front and back

So next up was the paint

Mercian have a reputation for nice paint

http://www.assenmachers.com/Picture%20Gallery%20Mercian.htm

You can go to Mercian

and get a nice retro style paint job included in the price of the frame

my inspiration for this bike was this




I have pretty much gone for the same paint job with different colours

For the colours I chose French blue enamel as the base colour

and Royal blue enamel as the highlight colour

lug lining to be in the Royal blue & transfers in white

http://www.merciancycles.com/finishes.asp

numbers 41 and 28


MERCIAN 'Strada Speciale' built as a 1970's 'road track'
chrome track drop outs
55.5 cm Square
73° seat tube angle
74° head tube angle
close clearances front and back
French blue enamel
Royal blue luglining, headtube banner, fork crown and seat tube bands
White gothic transfers

to get some idea of how these colours work together

look at your Windows start up screen...;)

do all these extra trimmings cost or are they included in an overall build cost
i just think of all those top end luxury cars that cost 50k but once they got you to go for the four wheels option and the steering wheel option price bose stereo ends up at 70k did you agree price up front or do they fix you up at a certain price inc. all detailing and lugwork
i am sure above somewhere you put a rough price is it coming in at that price ?

My Vigorelli cost £480 - that includes sizing and custom build, and any paint job (barber poles up the seatpost are extra). That includes lug lining and a highlight colour for the headtube etc. It also includes a choice of transfer, and a choice as to where they go. Not bad if you ask me, mine wont be here until September, so I can't tell you how it rides after all that!

I'm not sure that's a good sign of a good, well thought through color scheme and design..... ;-) ......... Now, behold my Mac OS X start up screen ;-)

colour is a very personal choice, I liked the idea of French blue enamel because I live in France, a darker blue and white are the obvious accent colours...

I only really noticed the Microsoft colours where exactly the same after I visited Mercian

you can be sure that Microsoft didn't come by these colours by accident

the chrome, fork crown paint and seat tube bands were extras

as was the choice of tubing

all that blue rminds me of the italian football national team...not france oh hang on...it kind of does now that i think about it :]

Mercian offer a choce of Reynolds 531, 725 & 831 tubing

Initiually I was going to go for the 531 but in the end I went with Reynolds 725

largely because this was what Mercian advised

they seemed to think that I would notice the difference of Reynolds 725

over and above Reynolds 531

but that I probably wouldn't benefit much by going for Reynolds 831

I would be very interested to know if anyone has an opinion on 725 as a choice of tubing

as 'goggling' does really shed much light on the matter

631 not 531 - They don't manufacture 531 anymore. I asked them for 531 and they looked at me with a funny face and asked me if I especially wanted a heavy bike :-) I bought the cheapest option of 631 - I couldn't quite stretch for the 725...

actually jon now you mention it , I did exactly the same thing, I initially asked for 531 I'll be interested to know how much of a difference an extra 100 quid makes...?

Well, the 859 pro team they offer is supposed to be almost Stainless and super light - A friend of mine told me to go for that as he works in steel - but it was just too much. I really do think that the £100 will make a difference. I just get that feeling with Mercian, and the fact that they are using superb quality steel that there will be a difference.

What is the pricing diff between the three options?

STRADA SPECIALE 631......£495.00 + VAT
STRADA SPECIALE 725......£610.00 + VAT
STRADA SPECIALE 853......£690.00 + VAT
STRADA SPECIALE 853 PRO TEAM......£725.00 + VAT

With the chrome drop outs, mercian seat tube lug, 725 tubing, additional paint banding, a Ceeway LC19 fork crown

incl VAT the price came to £830

Ta!