Here's a '89 Merlin Project I have just finished off.
It came to me free ... goofy set of circumstances there. It was complete with a XT 730/2 group and Fat Chance Box Crown, which I thought was just the coolest. This was not an uncommon setup for east coast merlins BiTD apparently. Overall, this one really just came together will a whole lot of chance opportunities and luck.
![](https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/921/CSRJlR.jpg)
I am not really one for the WTB hype, but a group had made it's way into my hands and I thought this would be a fun bike to put it all on.
![](https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/921/PD3bPp.jpg)
(Yes I have the rest)
I thought the box crown was a super cool option for the frame until this fell into my lap. This is a c1988-9 Titanium Merlin "Rubber Fork". Named for its flexy performance in early testing. Gary Helfrich, and Mike Augspurger both wanted to have a ti fork to go with their frames and other ti kit. Only a handful were made. As luck would have it (again), the fork was the perfect size for the frame with a CK headset. This one features a steel steerer spot welded/epoxied into in an attempt to stiffen it up a bit. I haven't had a trail test on it yet, but it seems no worse than my all Ti Dean/Litespeed fork bike. The dean was a a terrifying bike on fast single track so I suspect this thing will stay on the dirt flats.
![](https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/922/AwI4Ir.jpg)
The rubber fork has a stubby similar to a type II or early ritchey/fisher,. but because the ti tubing ID is greater than a steel steerer the stub is not the normal size. There would have been a custom ti stubby stem for this fork back in the day, but that's likely not coming my way. I had Mark Beaver (owner of Tamerack in Nova Scotia) modify the salsa stem I got with the bike to fit ... perfect job![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
![](https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/923/kJP4AU.jpg)
It' done ... gotta get to pics.
It came to me free ... goofy set of circumstances there. It was complete with a XT 730/2 group and Fat Chance Box Crown, which I thought was just the coolest. This was not an uncommon setup for east coast merlins BiTD apparently. Overall, this one really just came together will a whole lot of chance opportunities and luck.
![](https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/921/CSRJlR.jpg)
I am not really one for the WTB hype, but a group had made it's way into my hands and I thought this would be a fun bike to put it all on.
![](https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/921/PD3bPp.jpg)
(Yes I have the rest)
I thought the box crown was a super cool option for the frame until this fell into my lap. This is a c1988-9 Titanium Merlin "Rubber Fork". Named for its flexy performance in early testing. Gary Helfrich, and Mike Augspurger both wanted to have a ti fork to go with their frames and other ti kit. Only a handful were made. As luck would have it (again), the fork was the perfect size for the frame with a CK headset. This one features a steel steerer spot welded/epoxied into in an attempt to stiffen it up a bit. I haven't had a trail test on it yet, but it seems no worse than my all Ti Dean/Litespeed fork bike. The dean was a a terrifying bike on fast single track so I suspect this thing will stay on the dirt flats.
![](https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/922/AwI4Ir.jpg)
The rubber fork has a stubby similar to a type II or early ritchey/fisher,. but because the ti tubing ID is greater than a steel steerer the stub is not the normal size. There would have been a custom ti stubby stem for this fork back in the day, but that's likely not coming my way. I had Mark Beaver (owner of Tamerack in Nova Scotia) modify the salsa stem I got with the bike to fit ... perfect job
![](https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1024x768q90/923/kJP4AU.jpg)
It' done ... gotta get to pics.