Help identifying a Mercian

[Harrismith]

In what way are the decals different ? They look like the standard Mercian Gothic to me. Do you mean the way they are placed ?

Yes, the placement of the MERCIAN down the seat tube. Others I've seen have on the carat tube an image, or banded colours or the writing n the sides rather than centralised downwards- if that makes sense!

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Yes, the placement of the MERCIAN down the seat tube. Others I've seen have on the carat tube an image, or banded colours or the writing n the sides rather than centralised downwards- if that makes sense!

Before two bottle cages became standard it was quite common to have a single name decal facing forward on the seat tube, it showed the frame makers name up well in photo’s when they got printed in the comic. So even if it wasn’t standard practice at Mercian you can easily imagine a customer requesting it, either originally or as a respray. In this case I assume respray because there’s no Reynolds transfer. By the way when I bought my Mercian in the mid 80’s it didn’t have braze ons for either bottle cage or gear levers, but again these could easily have been requested by the customer.

 

[Harrismith]

Before two bottle cages became standard it was quite common to have a single name decal facing forward on the seat tube, it showed the frame makers name up well in photo’s when they got printed in the comic. So even if it wasn’t standard practice at Mercian you can easily imagine a customer requesting it, either originally or as a respray. In this case I assume respray because there’s no Reynolds transfer. By the way when I bought my Mercian in the mid 80’s it didn’t have braze ons for either bottle cage or gear levers, but again these could easily have been requested by the customer.

Right - gotcha.
The outline of a rectangular decal is visible so will try to get a replacement. I'm thinking this one, based on the excellent reynolds timeline of h lloyd cycles

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Right - gotcha.
The outline of a rectangular decal is visible so will try to get a replacement. I'm thinking this one, based on the excellent reynolds timeline of h lloyd cycles
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If only we had been having this discussion 35 years ago, my then club used to meet in the TI Reynolds social club and several of my clubmates used to work for them, helping with your research would have been simple ! I was also in touch with the two founders of Mercians.

 

[Harrismith]

She weighs 10.1kg. Perhaps 10kg after a good clean!

 

[Harrismith]

Can anyone recommend a tyre for this bike? Rims are 27 x 1 1/4. I have panaracer pasela 1 1/4 on another bike but wondered if this bike deserved something thinner like 1 1/8 or even just 1"

 

[Paulus]

I went for the Pasela 1 1/4 for my Falcon. They do look good and ride well.

 

[carpenter]

Pasela 27 X 1 1/4 will look perfect on the mercian (I used them on my Carpenter rebuild).

Very comfortable tyre (I think the wall material helps), and I am not convinced that any narrower are any better/faster.

 

[PHL67]

Hello all. Wonder if I could dig into your collective knowledge of vintage bikes with a find from today - a Mercian. In pretty good nic.
I know that you can pay £20 for some info from Mercian themselves, but am hoping for some info here - got some nice pics to share too!
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What I know:
Last two digits of serial number on BB are 74 do am guessing its 1974.
Paintwork is still pretty good and looks original
Mostly Campag throughout; front and rear derailler, cranks, pedals, headset, seatpost , shifters, hubs
Mafac brake levers, weinmann rear brake, unknown front brake
2 x 6 speed
27" wheels with QR, Mavic rims
Cinelli stem and bars
Nice suede/leather? saddle


What I don't know:
Model name
Steel used. Looks like there was a (reynolds? 531?) sticker on seat tube
Would it have had campag brakes? Worth shelling out on them?
Seatpost looks funky, haven't seen one like that before

I'm planning a light restoration on her. I think she will look fab.

Any help most appreciated!

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Pay your £20. They will look in their files which they do manually as they have records of all the frames/ bikes they have built. They will if confirmed send you a copy of the build sheet with original specs for everything. Well worth the £20.00.

 

[Harrismith]

Pay your £20. They will look in their files which they do manually as they have records of all the frames/ bikes they have built. They will if confirmed send you a copy of the build sheet with original specs for everything. Well worth the £20.00.

Ah I didn't know they gave you detail like that. If so, I agree it's worth the price. Thanks for tip