Cool Blue Mercian 725 Strada Speciale - now built

velocity boy Aside from those two things... that's a damn sweet build. And it's really pleasing to see someone who knows where to put the pedals when photographing their bike.

What? On the cranks? :P

I like the frame, the wheels/tyres, cranks and post although I'm now not sure about the ergostem - just looks funny to me off the track. The bars.. not for me. Nor the saddle. Very pretty result overall.

You could get some Cinelli Jelly tape (see through so that people can see your bling carbon bars) if you wanted to.

i like the frame and cranks, but something doesn't quite sit right for me!!?!

Thank you very much for the comments
I really appreciate everybodies input
Its fun to listen to my peers
Some comments of my own

The bars are super comfortable
You can ride them as straight bars in the city
Or lean into them for the b-roads and long straights
At my age I have no need for sprinters drops
and I can't really see the benefit of road bars without hoods
If I were to get a nasty headwind
I can always drop my bars using my ergostem

"grip" is a very interesting point
I have never ridden without grips so this is a bit of an experiment
I have got my heart set some rather expensive Rapha gloves
so I don't think numbness will be an issue
it really comes down to whether my hands slip in the wet
and rather like having a beautiful girlfriend
I think we will be staying in when it rains

The saddle matches the frame, white will work also, but I wear jeans
So white might not be very practical, the ergostem I like
but these stems are very much 'you either love them or you hate them'
I love them..!!!
I am wondering about the seatpost though
The orginal seat post was a Campagnolo Record with the louvres
at 180mm it was too short hence the Nitto Jaguar post
maybe I need to swop this out? suggestions are always welcome

Ultimately beauty is in the eye of the beholder
If I was to build a bike for beauties sake
I would build a track bike with sprinters drops sans brake
when I first came to this forum that was my intention
to build a Keirin
It was you guys (&gals)that switched me on
to the possibility of building a bike that I could ride all day

My aim this summer is to ride Paris - Chartres - Paris in a single day ~ 100 miles

& now I have the bike to do it...!!!

was this a custom fit frame? curious as the seat is pretty high and so it the stem

Yes a custom fit
my bareknuckle is 54cm, this one is 55.5cm (I measured it)
I totally get your drift dogsballs
if this were a vintage 'road' bike
the frame ought to be bigger
I guess that Mercian are infleuenced
by the more modern smaller frames
I don't mind as I like the mix of old on new on this bike
although I am now pondering if the 56 cm
de Rosa SLX sitting in my bedroom is going to be too small
for a classic Italian road bike

Lovely.
That stem looks mental. Really nice man.

JOL Lovely.
That stem looks mental. Really nice man.

It's a Swiss Army stem.