The Mercian appreciation society

So after lots of selling/purging/penny pinching I have got over the financial 'blip' that almost made me sell my Mercian Vincitore Tourer F+F.

I've also put the finishing touches to my Koga Miyata Roadspeed that I've turned into a Brighton (hilly) sunday best city bike/hybrid/racer blend type thing.

These two factors combined have allowed me to start thinking about how I'm going to build up the tourer.
I've finally settled on a modern set up (although possibly 10speed) but with classic flashes and set ups.
Much like dangeek/dbk and SP's beautiful machines,

My 2012 KOM Sportive, excuse the bottle cages these have now been changed to Nitto SS.

top notch SP! magnificent.

I can get this 2011 Veloce group for £340 with cantilever brakes and a compact chainset.
http://www.shinybikes.com/campagnolo-veloce-10sp-silver-groupset-2011.html

I'm thinking of ordering this in the next few days. That will then be it till the new year, when money becomes my own again.

Feel free to chat/suggest/shout/agree/cry.
I will also be starting a current project thread once I've actually started buying parts.
I want this to be a very special build so I'll be willing to spend good money on parts if it means not compromising the overall look. Although this will probably mean the build will be a slower burner.

All the best.
Tomo187

This is my 653 Pro Lugless with full C-Record group. I was lucky enough to get hold of it a couple of years ago in original condition. I have changed the pedals and the wheels from tubs to clinchers, but that's it. Colour is a deep blue, which you can't really appreciate from the pic. When I was a junior racer back in the late 80's, a guy in my club had one of these bikes in bright orange and I always wanted one. It took me 24 years to get my own, but it was worth the wait.

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I got this little old frame and added some bits and bobs for my GFs bday present

My vincitore special, out in Epping forest on Tuesday.....it was a lovely day, this was taken as the light was fading......it looked lovely, but my photo skills are non existent...

My vincitore special, out in Epping forest on Tuesday.....it was a lovely day, this was taken as the light was fading......it looked lovely, but my photo skills are non existent...

Have you got a better pic, because tht bike looks great. What year is it?

All my pictures are rubbish.... It's one of those things that I want to learn how to do! I'll post some better ones when I borrow my wife's camera... It's at the school right now. The serial is 66991 or 16699, so, depending on which way is the correct way to look at the number, and whether the first two, or the last two denote the year, it's a 99, or 91!
I've not been able to work it out!!

Probably the best one I have of it......

I've got to get those wheel re-dished to suit

All my pictures are rubbish.... It's one of those things that I want to learn how to do! I'll post some better ones when I borrow my wife's camera... It's at the school right now. The serial is 66991 or 16699, so, depending on which way is the correct way to look at the number, and whether the first two, or the last two denote the year, it's a 99, or 91!
I've not been able to work it out!!

Probably the best one I have of it......

I've got to get those wheel re-dished to suit

Could it be a 66? I read somewhere that Mercian can reverse the frame numbers sometimes and the first two digits are the year. The mounting brackets for the lights seem older than 91, unless someone specified them??

There are all sorts of strange braze ons.... It has no gear hanger either! I think it was either made for bar end shifters, or more likely, a hub gear of some sort. The original owner was a member of both CTC and VCC, as the stickers on the frame tell, but I don't know who he was, so can't find out any more info. It fits me perfectly though, and is a pleasure to ride. Very, very stable, and can comfortably churn out the miles at a good speed....I often look down at the garmin, to see me doing 20+ mph on flat roads, just turning my legs over :0)
There are some beauties on this thread though.....the green one up the page a bit is my favourite!

There are all sorts of strange braze ons.... It has no gear hanger either! I think it was either made for bar end shifters, or more likely, a hub gear of some sort. The original owner was a member of both CTC and VCC, as the stickers on the frame tell, but I don't know who he was, so can't find out any more info. It fits me perfectly though, and is a pleasure to ride. Very, very stable, and can comfortably churn out the miles at a good speed....I often look down at the garmin, to see me doing 20+ mph on flat roads, just turning my legs over :0)
There are some beauties on this thread though.....the green one up the page a bit is my favourite!

I reckon the colour scheme you have is bang on. Have you got Sheriff Star hubs on it as well? That's the final piece of the jigsaw for my Mercian, but I don't have that sort of dough unfortunately.

That purple one at the top of the page is major boner material. I kinda want to repaint mine.

I reckon the colour scheme you have is bang on. Have you got Sheriff Star hubs on it as well? That's the final piece of the jigsaw for my Mercian, but I don't have that sort of dough unfortunately.

They're not sheriff stars, they have 7 spokes, instead of 5, and I'm not sure what model campag they are....there was a thread on here about them, with no absolute answer.....they are nice though, and seem strong!

I don't know if anyone noticed the flam red fixed TT Mercian that caused a bit of a fuss on Classifieds over the price. I'm picking it up on Thursday.....

Good one!
Link?

For sale link was taken down, it reappeared on fleabay and was 'sold', the buyer disappeared in a puff of smoke and the original seller PMed me. So, no pics until Fri at the earliest.....

I saw that frame, it did look great. Nice deep metallic red.

Look like Centaur (I didn't count the spokes on the flange). I may try and find some, will be cheaper than Sheriff Stars & I may get away with it!

http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=6CE9102D-B733-4EAF-848D-426C7C82774D&Enum=110&AbsPos=20

That was the general consensus, but I'm sure mine are not the same....different spoke count. I'll have to dig em out for a look now!

found it

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Ok, so it happened! Something a little different from most Mercians on this thread.... This will reappear as if by magic when it's finished. Meanwhile, it will play a bit part in Current Projects.

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That's rather special indeed.

in the for sale section
http://www.lfgss.com/thread108079.html
Just too big for me, but so nice.

A few months back I picked myself up a nice original paint 1956 Mercian Vigorelli Road Path F&F. Apparently it was owned by a Olympian back in the day but I still have to prove if this is true or not.
I'll be sourcing parts and building this up over the next few months, If anyone has any specs for a Mercian of this age please feel free to add any advice. I intend to run it with the original flat worn paint and period as possible parts. It should be a fun build!
Sorry no photos until I get the garage unpacked after a house move, this may take a few weeks yet..

Is it 25" by any chance?

Could have been Chater-Lea chainring and pedals, Fiamme sprints on Airlite Continentals or Harden hubs, Brooks Sprint or Swallow saddle, GB bars and stem also brake. There were other alternatives but this was the classic build.

Is it 25" by any chance?

It's 23" CTT

Thanks for the tips on spec, not far off my original scrawls onto paper for my ebay searches. My only questions really are about the GB stems. I'm not sure how to date them? And should the crank be cottered or not?

I asked if it was 25" as Dave Keeler rode similar track frame in Worlds at Milan in 50s - he always rode 25" and I wondered if he was the owner.

The stem would be the alloy spearpoint unless you could find the steel 531.

Chater-lea were all steel cottered although there were Stronglight alloy 49 cotterless at the time. They we used mainly with TA rings - single 1/2" and even inch-pitch.