A nice bike and at a fair price

Any thoughts on this ?

I like the look of this bike.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Retro-Meral-F ... SwdIFXyY1q

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Nice. I'm a sucker for French bikes of this era and this one's got a lovely look about it – neat looking with a great crisp colour.

Here’s my non-expert thoughts:

I think it's a fair asking price but don't forget the P&P and what else you may end up spending (I learnt this buying a £70 bargain which cost me around £100 to get on the road and is currently worth about £120 on a good day!). If you can't pick this up it's real price is £130-40 (depending on where you are) and the minimum you'll need is a replacement saddle (name your price!) and some brake hoods (if the levers are CLB/Sulky then Rustines Mafac hoods are an ok fit - about £20). So you could be looking at closer to £170 which starting to get a bit over the odds to me.

If the frame is double butted I'd say it's only 3 tubes due to the lack of re-enforced brake bridge and the straight cut seat tube (or whatever the proper description for that is). Being French it might also be 3 tubes Vitus 172 (not a bad thing but less “cool” than 531 or Columbus).

Looking at the little bit of surface rust on and around the seat post I'd ask them to confirm the seat post and stem move freely.

Part wise aside from the Mavic rims it’s standard French entry-level gear; basic Simplex, Huret and solida. I have those CLB calipers on my non-bargain bike and I like them - they’re light, work pretty well and look good but they’d not fetch much on ebay.

Here’s a Meral catalogue: http://forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtopic.p ... ilit=meral

To me it’s most likely a Detante or Course Amateur model.

Here’s a Detante with Reynolds SMS tubing that looks very similar:
http://forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtopic.p ... ad&start=1

As a comparison, if you’re near Cirencester this mid-70s Peugeot PR10 (not mine) looks like it could be a nice deal (though notice it’s only 5 speed – no front mech, small front ring or LEFT shifter) :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Peugeot-Racin ... 2172547123

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+1 on the PR10, I have the identical bike, though mine came equipped with Mafac Racer brakes and a 2x10 Simplex drivetrain. Also Mavic tubular rims on Maillard hubs. It's very light! No idea on the tubing used. I believe it was second in the Peugeot line at that time, with the PX10 being top of the line.

If that's a de-stickered Stronglight TA crankset and BB that's worth more than the starting bid on its own!

Nice bike, and I notice the same seller has a nice 1970s Dawes as well. However, as nonowt mentions, the seller has an ' interesting' P&P policy. Admittedly it looks like his main business is furniture, but I can't recall seeing such bizarre delivery costs. It'd cost £75 to post it to my NE postcode!

That Dawes “Double Blue” is rather lovely too. The seller knows how to take a good photo. I think the weird p&p is because they personally deliver the bikes whilst out dropping of the Ercol. I guess that way they’ll be transported safely wrapped in a blanket if not exactly cheaply.

The PR10 – if I’m right and that is what it is – is 3 tubes 531 and as well as the Stronglight/TA crank it also has a 60’s Campagnolo Record rear mech that must be worth a few quid too (not that I’m a fan of people parting out bikes).
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... &AbsPos=49

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There's currently one bid at 75 quid on the PR10 and elsewhere on ebay the same campag rear mech is up to 51 quid with 2 days to go:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172366118255

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If it has no Columbus or Reynolds badge, how can they tell it's either 531 or Columbus? Or that it is butted?

It doesn't have any distinguishing features that suggest an expensive frame. Nice, but not special.

I think it is a lot to ask. But try finding another! If you really like the look of it, perhaps it is one to go for.