Mercian bike info needed

[marius.suiram]

It is a 51 cm frame, so too small so I am willing to sell it.
but because of the mix of components i am thinking to sell the frame separate.
any idea about the year/period and a value for the frame?
Has Stronglight head set and BB.
Campagnolo rear ends, probably fork too.
Gali brakes, Suntour endbar shifters, Suntour XC front derailleur, I think the rear is Huret titanium something.
Italian rims, unknown for me hubs.
The hubs don't have skewers but nuts.

 

[bulldog1935]

in the old days, everyone mixed components. In 1975, anyone with a brain swapped their Campy RD for a SunTour Cyclone - it was lighter, wider ranging and worked better - and cheap (in 1988, Campy finally copied it across every gruppo).

Mercian is still in business, so you can ask them specific questions about your frame.
http://mercian.alt-design-dev.co.uk/
sexy lugs

 

[juvela]

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hello marius,

lugs are suggestive of the Vincitore model but there are differences as well.

if you look at the online information sources they will describe stock models such as Olympic, Barrachi Road, Vincitore, etc.

one thing to keep in mind with this marque is that they produced a great many framsets over the years which differed from stock models.

there was a Mercian stockist near my home for decades. recall once asking the proprietor what model a frame or frames were. he responded that he specified what he wanted and they built to his specification so the frames in his establishment did not line up with stock models as seen in brochures.

agree with other posters elsewhere that you would be ahead to break it down and offer the frameset separately due to the component jumble it exhibits.

best wishes with it.

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[marius.suiram]

Thank you for the quick Info.
What about : hubs, rims and rear derailleur. Any idea of maker and model?

 

[juvela]

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Rear mech Huret Duopar.

Unfamiliar with these hubs.

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[bulldog1935]

The hubs are American Classic.
I have a pair of black ones on an old Mavic tubie wheelset, but don't have a good photo.
Sealed bearing, similar to Phil Wood (I have 2 sets of Phil hubs), but the diameter shoulders are in two different places over the hub width, and yours match the original late-70/early-80s AC, also matching the age of the Duopar. Phil and AC both created their sealed-bearing hubs about the same time (Phil were 3 years earlier).
Either brand, the most efficient-rolling hubs ever made - my buddy Stevo has a recent AC set on his Dahon Tournado.
You can get new bearings from Boca, probably bike shop work to replace the bearings.
I think your rims are H+Son
https://amclassic.com/company

ok, found this photo of my old AC hub from when first building up my Moser frame - this was a gratis wheelset, and let me ride the bike until I found my C-Record/Moskva clincher wheelset.

I will totally disagree with the component jumble comment. The builder of that bike ordered a high-quality custom frameset and knew what he wanted.
Gruppo was an 80s (and later) marketing scheme.
That said, the demand for a Mercian frame might bring as much or more than the complete bike, but those are nice wheels.

 

[marius.suiram]

Thank you for all these new info.
I will keep the set of wheels.
The derailleurs and shifters are like the ones coming on the Trek 720 I had a while ago, i think it was 84. I need to go back and check.
This is a touring bike, right?

 

[bulldog1935]

...
This is a touring bike, right?

definitely a touring frame, possibly King of Mercia, with the multiple M5 bosses (or possibly M6?) on the dropouts.
One drop-out boss is for fender, the second is for a rack stay.

Also, with the half-step + granny triple and wide rear - he designed his drivetrain for climbing with load - wide range, and close, evenly spaced gear steps.
This is also why he picked the Duopar RD, to cover the range with sufficient chain wrap - nothing random on his nice bike.
Here's my version with a Cyclone GT RD and Shimano 600 FD

I rode this to 4th place in yesterday's 7-mi sprint to the Alamodome, and on the 14 hilly miles home, our friend on a carbon road bike couldn't climb with me.

I would find the s/n, e-mail Mercian, and ask them for details of the frame - how it was ordered, date, etc.
http://mercian.alt-design-dev.co.uk/

 

[bulldog1935]

backing up on the hubs
AC and Phil - there are replaceable axle stubs on each side of the hub. Looks like your axle stubs have a set-screw for fixing.

View attachment 845282

The axle stub can contain the 11mm dropout shoulder and be used with a Q/R skewer

or, the axle stub end can be flat and female-thread M8, with the 9mm (3/8" - usually fixie) or 11mm (road and mountain bike) dropout guide in an external shouldered washer

Nice thing about the replaceable axle stubs, you can easily change rear axle spacing - e.g, rear axle spacing on my '57 Lenton just above is only 115mm with 3/8" axle slots in the dropouts - fits S/A hubs and axle, or 4 cogs on a freewheel hub - this set was custom-designed between me and the machinist at Phil, and the wheel dish had to be approved by Phil engineering (and let me use a 5-sp freewheel - I got good dish using Synergy off-center rims).

At the end of the bike boom, standard rear axle widths increased with number of rear cogs, 120-122mm (5 cogs), 126mm (6-7 cogs), 130mm (8-11), and up to 135mm on MTB and many all-road bikes today.
With 6 cogs, your rear axle spacing is 126mm, and dates your frame to 80s.
your guy also built a strong wheel, with very low dish.

 

[Bikerider007]

I can't read the brand on yours but recently someone on FB was looking for bars like that with the holes in them. They do look nice.