Mercian (No Longer) Secret Weapon

Right, so I said I had exactly the right number of bikes. But, and there's always a 'but', I missed the lo-pro Fort I flogged to Dakin. Also, I've always wanted a Mercian. So, when this frame came up, with a bit of a furore about the price, I asked a few questions about it. Anyway, it went onto fleabay and was sold, except the buyer didn't pay.... Soooooo, it ended up being offered to me at a decent price (thank you, Becky), really it was the perfect storm.

The plan is to make it into a fixed TT machine, spending as little as possible in the process, £750 is the target! Black bits and Chinese carbon are the order of the day. I've lied to She Who Must Be Obeyed and told her I've got most of the parts, actually I have a seatpost and stem, plus a pair of trispoke tubs for racing on.

Anyway, here we go again for the last time until the next time.....

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ooof, lovely bit of brazing there

Looking forward to this.

Yummy.

That's a beauty (and well photographed of course).

Tasty frame. Needs double Hed3.

^Has got double H3!

Thanks for the comments, folks, I think I've bought the right one. I have the original spec sheet which gives me the useful information that the geometry is 'the same as the last one'.

The real challenge is to make a TT bike look better than just functional, let's face it, the fastest current ones are a bit less than pretty. Contrary to popular opinion, good looking bikes are actually faster.

Now for the first puppy-killing confession: I am anodising a Super Record chainset black! It is out of period for the frame and is seriously scuffed up, but I don't care, I think the finished article will look good. It was a road chainset, but I've milled the back down and sanded out the worst of the damage, even the cranks are from different years. I gave a princely £40 for this piece of heritage, bargain!

Monty Python - Nudge Nudge (Candid Photography) - YouTube

A fixed gear lo pro TT machine? Not very original. Some of us have been building* one of those for nearly two weeks.

Race when we've both finished?

• buying bits for
  

^And you're partially to blame for this build, I'm insanely jealous of that (will-be) Burls of yours!

Funnily enough I had set myself a few targets based on your bike: within 1.5kg of finished weight, 1/3 of total cost, 1/2 as tasteful.

Yep, race, but I demand a handicap based on my cheap bike, advanced years and questionable fitness!

:)

With 1500g Chinese crabon wheels you ought to be able to make it <7kg without bother. Have you weighed the frame? I've not had anything made of 731.

I've decided to forget my 6kg target now. I just can't make it look how I want if I focus on weight saving.

I could get sub 1300 carbon wheels, they would be comparatively fragile, mine will weigh about 1600. Nope, I haven't weighed the frame (bearing in mind it also has BB, headset and fork), nothing short of excessive spending will save significant weight. I'll weigh the whole lot when it's finished.

Ignoring weight targets is a good thing (close your eyes, Dammit) it's frequently better to buy stuff that works really well and looks good, rather than slavishly chasing the holy gram. If weight saving is your primary target, it's usually much easier to look at your 'you' (and have a shit before racing).

Saying I'm fat?

Yep, fight! (because I have a weight advantage).

And you live a long way from me.

Gosh, that really is quite lovely.

The real challenge is to make a TT bike look better than just functional, let's face it, the fastest current ones are a bit less than pretty. Contrary to popular opinion, good looking bikes are actually faster.

some inspiration

this weapon is gonna cause mass destruction when launched in the uk!
/subscrbd

Mr Walrus, praise indeed! I can find a frame, or even specify one and build something that hopefully looks good. You, on the other hand, have built a work of genius from scratch. I am in awe.

Bonor, thanks for that, I have been watching that one and will be happy if mine measures up to that standard. I don't know if MDT ever did 1/8 rings, but if they did that is all I would change (for no good reason).

Reallygood, one small problem, F1 bike : moped legs......

That is an absolutely stunning frame, looking forward to seeing this built up.

Well, we have progress!

1 anodised Super Record chainset with 54 ring fitted (stainless bolts).
Cheap (£100) Chinese bars on, surprisingly good quality and light (530g).
Ex-forum front Centaur brake (20g lighter than 10 speed Record ti).
Fleabay Prologo Nack for £40.

Becky thought the steerer was 1 1/8", naturally it was 1", stem shim time! Ever tried to get hold of 1" carbon spacers? Trust me, it's a bugger.... The ancient Kalloy layback seatpost has to go, it puts me too far behind the BB, weighs a ton and is a bit ugly. I've ordered a Chinese carbon in-line to keep the theme going for a massive £18.60 (incl. postage)

Still awaited: Wheels, seatpost, carbon brake lever (Fleabay, £20), chain, pedals (Exustar EPS-R, £20).

Of course it's over budget, it's a bike, £750 has grown into a whisker over £850, but I don't think that's bad for a race bike with carbon everything. In fact it's half the price of European sourced carbon wheels (probably made in China).

I know you're reading this, Hefty, I've got Conti Supersonic tubes too, a cheap way to lose 100g!

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Link to bars?

I'm crap at posting links, they're from Carbon Wheels Express on Fleabay (carbon time trial handlebars). You'll see the same bars for up to £160, they seem to be the same bars from every Chinese seller. I've had good experiences with these people, the bars turned up within a week and their wheels are good too!

I know you're reading this, Hefty

Dibs tin of Stella.

You're welcome, it's empty and so are all its brothers.....