For Sale. Mercian Olympic 1981, 531 etc

Lovely Mercian Olympic, 1981. Frame number 38 built that year. Frame number 03881. Handbuilt 531 Reynolds steel.

Paintwork is done at home but well. It is Spray.Bike which is amazing stuff - it is marketed as a powdercoat in a can and it really feels like it. Comes out thick and matt with no runs. Then there is a gold fleck clear topcoat, it looks great! The lugwork is red and I didn't do it that well. But the bike comes with colour, gold fleck and lugwork pen to do touch-ups if needs be. Original decals from Mercian which are then clear coated on top.

Siltech gel saddle. Sakae SR Custom Track drop bars. Dia-Compe gold tech brake lever. Tektro calipers on the front only. Original Mercian headset. Original lamp bracket on fork.

Wheels.
Front. Tubular tyre on vintage Super Champion Competition rim with Campagnolo hub. QR
Rear. New tubular tyre on vintage Super Champion Competition rim with Campagnolo hub. Unknown cassette. QR

Superlight Crankset, Campagnolo chainring (52t). New Shimano BB.

One problem: bloody aluminium stem is stuck in the steel frame. I don't care because it is the right height for me (I'm 6'1").

Frame measures 56cm from seat post to BB. Can't understate how wonderful this is to ride. Stiff but with a tiny bit of 'give' in the frame, comfortable and fast.

Looking for £400. Is that reasonable? More pictures to upload because these aren't the best.

In in West London (W14 9BB) and could deliver reasonably locally.

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Hmmmm. Am I off on the pricing?

£400 is a decent price.

I would say you are pricing this a bit (a lot) too high especially as home painted and has a stuck stem even if it is a Mercian. Also looks like it has 700c in a frame made for 27” as clearances look massive

Just my opinion,it is priced on the high side. It's a single speed/ fixed conversion on tubs(?). The olympic was sold as a less expensive model and lovely as 531 Mercians are, they ain't that rare.

I know those lamp brackets were still common in the 80s but my lord they’re ugly. As soon as I see one I start looking closer to see if it’s a gas pipe frame.
Out of interest have you tried all the non-destructive methods to remove the stem? It’ll be a lot easier to sell if that stem is moving…
Obviously being Mercian is a good thing but aside from that it’s just another pub bike.
I’d assume closer to £200 than £400 is more reasonable.
If in doubt stick it on eBay with a reserve you’re comfortable with and let the market decide.

Okay, brilliant. Thank you everybody. I will take it down in a couple of days and pop on eBay as suggested with a bit of a reserve. Thanks!

The only Mercian I can remember that could have an optional lamp boss was the Campionissimo.

@midlife you are right. mercian confirmed - 1981 Campionissimo. Still fairly low down the food chain but not entry level.

I have a Mercian 753 Special that was ordered with the lamp boss and Campagnolo ends with mudguard eyes which are not listed in the catalogue spec for that model.

The Olympic and campionissimo were two "off the shelf" frames a least built and available for immediate delivery and didn't have options. We kept a couple in our bike shop.

Thanks for clarifying the point.

Perhaps I misunderstood, but you wrote:

..."the only Mercian I can remember that could have an optional lamp boss was the Campionissimo"

Had you specified the only "off the shelf frame that could have an optional lamp boss is a Campionissimo" - then fair enough.

Others that come along behind will believe every Mercian with a lamp boss is a Campionissimo otherwise, hence my post.

Sorry about the confusion, interestingly the Campionissimo lamp boss was a bit random. As we're the lugs / dropouts , I think the earlier catalogues had them with Haden lugs.

It is up on eBay, lets see what the market thinks.......

Do I need to delete from here as per rules?