# Merlin Malt 1 Deore - to buy or not to buy.



## Iggy1969 (29 Nov 2008)

Hi,
I'm a relative noob to cycling & am thinking of buying a new bike. I was thinking of a hybrid - Scott Sportster P2/P3. But am now thinking of another MTB, but fitting a handlebar riser ( I get a bit of back pain now & again), & slick tyres. I've found a good MTB, but is it a good spec for the price. I've been advised that it's better than the Scott.
Advice please. 
Here is the Merlin.

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=product&productId=1491&categoryId=100


And here's the Scott P3.

http://www.kudubikes.co.uk/cgi-bin/trolleyed_public.cgi?action=showprod_SCOTTSPORTSTERP3


Thanks.


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## kyuss (29 Nov 2008)

The Merlin is _MUCH_ better than the Scott in every way. Merlin frames are well regarded, it has better finishing kit, better groupset (assuming it's full Deore), better wheels and better forks. Even if you had to buy some slick tyres for road riding it still works out cheaper than the Scott too.

What are you waiting for, you'd be nuts not to. In fact you've got me wishing I had a spare £450.


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## Iggy1969 (29 Nov 2008)

To be honest I haven't really got 450 quid lying round (esp. coming up to Chrimbo). But I'm fed up of riding round on that piece of cheapo junk that I bought to see if I would like cycling. It feels like a ton weight going up a bit of a hill, & I just keep thinking it should be easier than this. I am swaying more toward the Merlin though.


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## kyuss (29 Nov 2008)

The Merlin will be lighter than some cheap £100 Argos special but it's still going to be fairly heavy, it being a big burly MTB and all. If you are going to be doing most of your cycling on road it might be better to think about a more road orientated machine without suspension. Something like a Specialized Globe or a Kona Dew. There's ton's of options in bikes like this and you'll probably pick something half decent up for about £300-£350. They'll be a bit lighter than a full on MTB and better suited to city riding and still good enough for the odd bit of canal path or easy singletrack.


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## Iggy1969 (29 Nov 2008)

Hi again. 
Thanks for replying. I may have been a bit misleading. It's not so much the weight of the bike as the riding position. I know that on MTBs you are a bit more stretched than on Hybirids. Now & again I get a bit of back pain. What I was thinking of doing (if this is possible) is fitting a riser to the handlebars, and slick tyres to the Merlin.
This probably goes against the grain for MTB'ers, but so what. I've been told that the Merlin is a bloody good spec for the price. And if in the future I do decide I want to do a bit of off-roading ( I haven't ruled it totally), then I can with the Merlin. 
I'm going in to the shop on Monday (I only live a few miles away) ,& I'll speak to them anyway.
Thanks for your help anyway & please keep posting, you're the only one that's replied so far. I'll let you know how I get on on Monday.
P.S. I had a look at the bikes at the bikes you posted, & tbh they didn't really do much for me.


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## RedBike (29 Nov 2008)

The Malt1 is a great MTB but if you need to fit slick tyres and raise the handlebars then you're probably looking at the wrong bike (or at least the wrong size). 

The geometry is of the Malt naturally seats the rider rather upright.

The Malt is a top class MTB but fitting slick tyres will completely spoil its off-road potential and they wont turn it into a top class road bike.


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## upsidedown (29 Nov 2008)

Iggy1969 said:


> Hi,
> I'm a relative noob to cycling & am thinking of buying a new bike. I was thinking of a hybrid - Scott Sportster P2/P3. But am now thinking of another MTB, but fitting a handlebar riser ( I get a bit of back pain now & again), & slick tyres. I've found a good MTB, but is it a good spec for the price. I've been advised that it's better than the Scott.
> Advice please.
> Here is the Merlin.
> ...



Don't know about the bike, but i do know Unknown Pleasures is a great album.


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## Iggy1969 (30 Nov 2008)

Re. the comments about the Merlin Malt - thanks. I'll bear it in mind. But I think I'm still loooking for an option to go off-road a bit if I want to in future.


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## Iggy1969 (30 Nov 2008)

upsidedown said:


> Don't know about the bike, but i do know Unknown Pleasures is a great album.



Yeah it's a great album. Too often overlooked amongst 'the classics' - Pink Floyd, Led Zep et al. They do nothing for me. But can never decide between Unkown Pleasures & Closer. Discuss.

Thanks.


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## punkypossum (30 Nov 2008)

I suspect you might end up wanting another bike soon if you go for the merlin...I bought a mountain bike instead of a road bike or hybrid for the same reasons you are stating, but the more riding I do, the more I realise that 95% of it is on roads, and even with slicks, the mountain bike is still a chunky heavy mountain bike, so now I really want a road bike. Not that there is anything wrong with two bikes, problem is actually being able to afford the second one. Still, the Merlin is a very nice bike...

P.S. I'm from Preston, too...Whereabouts are you?


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## Iggy1969 (30 Nov 2008)

punkypossum said:


> I suspect you might end up wanting another bike soon if you go for the merlin...I bought a mountain bike instead of a road bike or hybrid for the same reasons you are stating, but the more riding I do, the more I realise that 95% of it is on roads, and even with slicks, the mountain bike is still a chunky heavy mountain bike, so now I really want a road bike. Not that there is anything wrong with two bikes, problem is actually being able to afford the second one. Still, the Merlin is a very nice bike...
> 
> P.S. I'm from Preston, too...Whereabouts are you?


Thanks for the comments. Like yourself I do spend most of my time on the roads. But to be honest at the moment I don't really want a road bike. That could change in the future, & I do know a couple of people who have two bikes. 
The thing about the Merlin is that it's a good spec & not really a lot of money. I'm going in to the shop tommorrow to have a look at the bike. But obviuosly if it doesn't feel right I wont buy it.

I'm in Lostock Hall, whereabouts are you?

Thanks.


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## kyuss (30 Nov 2008)

Iggy1969 said:


> Hi again.
> I know that on MTBs you are a bit more stretched than on Hybirids. Now & again I get a bit of back pain. What I was thinking of doing (if this is possible) is fitting a riser to the handlebars, and slick tyres to the Merlin.



MTB's tend to be a little less stretched than road or hybrid bikes. They have fairly short top tubes to allow quicker handling on twisty, rough singletrack so you may find it's ideal for your needs. And it's dead easy to fit a set of riser bars dirt cheap too.

A lot of people start road cycling on slicked up MTB's (I did) and I know a couple of couriers who still ride them. Nothing wrong with it and if in the future you decide to get yourself a proper road bike you've still got the MTB to take you into the hills. I wish I still had mine.


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## punkypossum (1 Dec 2008)

Iggy1969 said:


> Thanks for the comments. Like yourself I do spend most of my time on the roads. But to be honest at the moment I don't really want a road bike. That could change in the future, & I do know a couple of people who have two bikes.
> The thing about the Merlin is that it's a good spec & not really a lot of money. I'm going in to the shop tommorrow to have a look at the bike. But obviuosly if it doesn't feel right I wont buy it.
> 
> I'm in Lostock Hall, whereabouts are you?
> ...



I'm near the docks...

Good luck with the Merlin!!!


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## Iggy1969 (2 Dec 2008)

Ok. Firstly thanks to everyone who took the time to read my posts & reply to them. And thanks for everyone's advice.
I went in to Merlin yesterday to try out the bike, & any doubts or worries I had about this bike vanished as soon as I rode it I (which admittedly was only around the estate car parks). Compared to the bike I have atm, it is a world of difference. The riding position is much more comfortable because I'm not leaning forward as much. The frame I have atm must be much to big.
The Merlin had MTB tyres on it, but they weren't anywhere near as chunky or nobbly as I expected. So there was less road resistance.
But the biggest diffrerence was in the weight. The weight difference between the two is huge. The Merlin felt so light, that it just rode with hardly any effort. Basically it was an easy bike to ride. Ok so I couldn't take it up any hills, but I'm confident that it will not be a problem.
I went back in today & tried a bigger frame size than yesterday, & realized that I would need a bigger frame because on the smaller size I didn't have enough adjustment on the saddle height.
So basically I've gone for the 15" (or 14.5") as it is, frame, and asked for semi-slicks rather than full slicks. To be honest I could've left the chunky tyres on, but the guy said they wear out quicker on the roads.
I might even buy some chunky tyres in summer & do a bit of off-roading, which was always my plan.
And lastly it's a Merlin. They seem to have a good rep in the biking fraternity, looking at some of the posts on this site, & speaking to a couple of people at work. I live about 10 min drive from the shop which means I can go back if there is a problem.
Sorry for such a long post, but again thanks to everyone.


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## RedBike (2 Dec 2008)

I'm glad you liked the bike. I love my Merlin Lobster.


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## Iggy1969 (2 Dec 2008)

Cheers. I can't wait to go pick it up. Might have to wait up to two weeks (I work shifts), but it'll be worth it.


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