pw_pw_la
Senior Retro Guru
Well, with the Bontrager finished and being ridden to within an inch of its build, and the Brodie refresh semi-stalled waiting for a few key components to show up from their various international locales, I figured it was time to start a thread for a new project.
Brace yourselves, this is going to be another loooooong one...
The story starts with Pinkbike, and my first ever time using it.
That same friend of mine who assisted with the Phoenix spends a lot of time on there, however. And he knows exactly the types of bikes I'm always on the lookout for. One morning he stumbled across the following post and alerted me right away:
www.pinkbike.com
And I jumped on it immediately.
Now, I had my reservations about the proposed dating, and it was a medium-sized frame, but everything else about it ticked all the boxes for what I'd been looking for: A late 80s Merlin Mountain, with U/Cam bosses and that lovely noodle snaking around the seat cluster.
And this one was even being offered with (another) McMahon Powerlink!
I mean, sure, why not?
I chatted back and forth and got a lot of wonderful information from the seller, Mark. He was the original owner, had ordered the bike custom from Merlin though his local (long gone) bike shop in Salt Lake, Wild Rose Sports. He and his friends all got Merlin's around the same time and referred to them as the "Flexy Flyers". He'd ridden it a lot until the late 90s, and then broke it down and stored it away until it was time to sell it to me! The bike had been used predominately as a tourer, and Mark had ridden it all through Europe, New Zealand and across the Western US. It had plenty of battle scars, but nothing structurally concerning. Mark had even offered to take it to a local builder for a second-opinion and to make sure none of the scratches were anything more than just surface damage. The frame was also covered with a bunch of stickers he'd stuck on it from his travels, and, in all honesty, I was tempted to keep those on it as a nod to the bike's previous life. Mark clearly loved his bike, but he was happy it was going to someone who appreciated it for what it was. Anyway, in the end, Mark removed the decals himself before shipping.
With the interesting backstory and the fact it was coming from the original owner (always a lovely perk) I figured I'd take the risk on it being slightly too small. So, along with a set of Cooks RSRs Mark was also selling, I had the frame, fork and headset boxed up and shipped to the aforementioned friend of mine who had found it.
Why?
Well, because I had a plan...
This buddy on mine, Brendan, has an amazing custom bike shop in Brooklyn called Supertuck Speedshop. And last year he did the Nutmeg Nor'Easter for the first time (more HERE), which he absolutely loved it. In fact, he spent the weeks following convincing me to commit to coming out East to ride/camp the next one with him. And, well, if I was going to do that, I'd need a bike! So the plan was made to ship the Merlin to him at his shop, and over the next 10-or-so months we'd build it together. Me supplying parts and preferences from afar, and Brendan doing all the wrenching, as well as providing plenty of sound advice and years of mechanical knowledge. Which is exactly what I'm lacking from my own skillset!
But, hey, I know a shiny, pretty thing when I see one...
So here's some photos of the bike as it arrived with Brendan:
Over the weeks that followed, Mark also unearthed the original ti bars he'd ordered with the bike, as well as the original spindle for the Cooks he rode it with, and sent both my way.
Oh, yeah, those Cooks:
Home cut notch?
Ooofff!
Neither of us can figure out for what that was for, either. As it doesn't seem to make sense for any clearance issues?
Oh well, turns out those cranks most likely won't be staying on this particular bike, anyway.
The bars, meanwhile, went straight to Dan Chambers, so he could work his extension magic on them from across the pond.
I'll get into the specifics of the build plan, as well as a couple of the subsequent, major twists that have already happened along the way, in the following posts.
For now, I'll leave these pretty pictures of the pretty bike for you all to look at, while I gather the strength for the next few updates!
Like I said, this is going to be kind of a long, complicated ride...
Brace yourselves, this is going to be another loooooong one...
The story starts with Pinkbike, and my first ever time using it.
That same friend of mine who assisted with the Phoenix spends a lot of time on there, however. And he knows exactly the types of bikes I'm always on the lookout for. One morning he stumbled across the following post and alerted me right away:
1987/1988 Merlin Ti mtn bike - Medium For Sale
1987/1988 Merlin Ti mtn bike - Medium For sale on Pinkbike buysell
And I jumped on it immediately.
Now, I had my reservations about the proposed dating, and it was a medium-sized frame, but everything else about it ticked all the boxes for what I'd been looking for: A late 80s Merlin Mountain, with U/Cam bosses and that lovely noodle snaking around the seat cluster.
And this one was even being offered with (another) McMahon Powerlink!
I mean, sure, why not?
I chatted back and forth and got a lot of wonderful information from the seller, Mark. He was the original owner, had ordered the bike custom from Merlin though his local (long gone) bike shop in Salt Lake, Wild Rose Sports. He and his friends all got Merlin's around the same time and referred to them as the "Flexy Flyers". He'd ridden it a lot until the late 90s, and then broke it down and stored it away until it was time to sell it to me! The bike had been used predominately as a tourer, and Mark had ridden it all through Europe, New Zealand and across the Western US. It had plenty of battle scars, but nothing structurally concerning. Mark had even offered to take it to a local builder for a second-opinion and to make sure none of the scratches were anything more than just surface damage. The frame was also covered with a bunch of stickers he'd stuck on it from his travels, and, in all honesty, I was tempted to keep those on it as a nod to the bike's previous life. Mark clearly loved his bike, but he was happy it was going to someone who appreciated it for what it was. Anyway, in the end, Mark removed the decals himself before shipping.
With the interesting backstory and the fact it was coming from the original owner (always a lovely perk) I figured I'd take the risk on it being slightly too small. So, along with a set of Cooks RSRs Mark was also selling, I had the frame, fork and headset boxed up and shipped to the aforementioned friend of mine who had found it.
Why?
Well, because I had a plan...
This buddy on mine, Brendan, has an amazing custom bike shop in Brooklyn called Supertuck Speedshop. And last year he did the Nutmeg Nor'Easter for the first time (more HERE), which he absolutely loved it. In fact, he spent the weeks following convincing me to commit to coming out East to ride/camp the next one with him. And, well, if I was going to do that, I'd need a bike! So the plan was made to ship the Merlin to him at his shop, and over the next 10-or-so months we'd build it together. Me supplying parts and preferences from afar, and Brendan doing all the wrenching, as well as providing plenty of sound advice and years of mechanical knowledge. Which is exactly what I'm lacking from my own skillset!
But, hey, I know a shiny, pretty thing when I see one...
So here's some photos of the bike as it arrived with Brendan:
Over the weeks that followed, Mark also unearthed the original ti bars he'd ordered with the bike, as well as the original spindle for the Cooks he rode it with, and sent both my way.
Oh, yeah, those Cooks:
Home cut notch?
Ooofff!Neither of us can figure out for what that was for, either. As it doesn't seem to make sense for any clearance issues?
Oh well, turns out those cranks most likely won't be staying on this particular bike, anyway.
The bars, meanwhile, went straight to Dan Chambers, so he could work his extension magic on them from across the pond.
I'll get into the specifics of the build plan, as well as a couple of the subsequent, major twists that have already happened along the way, in the following posts.
For now, I'll leave these pretty pictures of the pretty bike for you all to look at, while I gather the strength for the next few updates!
Like I said, this is going to be kind of a long, complicated ride...
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