Bulding my 1st Retro Grvalebike Merida Dakar 21 1994

[aminzja]

Hi there,

My Merida Dakar 21 (legacy from my deceased father) Normally 26-inch wheels, I managed to temporarily fit 28-inch wheels.

For a long time (two years), I didn't realize that gravel bikes are actually old MTBs . The frame geometry is ideal; after measuring the stack and reach, I was surprised that this bike was ideal for my height of 188cm and inseam of 89cm. At first, I thought I wouldn't be able to do much with it, but lo and behold, it's perfect.

I'll take my time with this project; it's going to get oil-pressure disc brakes and a good set of accessories.
Do you have any Ideas?

 

[W7Ford]

Nice to see you repurposing something with sentimental history. Personally I'd stick with mechanical brakes for ease, but we all have our own preferences. The frame might need a little brace inside the rear triangle when you weld on the disc brake mounts.

 

[aminzja]

Nice to see you repurposing something with sentimental history. Personally I'd stick with mechanical brakes for ease, but we all have our own preferences. The frame might need a little brace inside the rear triangle when you weld on the disc brake mounts.

You right, it will need kind a stretch in the rear triangle, because time dows not matter I would like to make the best possible.
the only problem I have there is no paint on the frame, its a Cromoly? I dont know how to make the disc break mounts look like the rest of the frame after welding.

 

[joglo]

the only problem I have there is no paint on the frame, its a Cromoly? I dont know how to make the disc break mounts look like the rest of the frame after welding.

this is a titan-finish, sometimes also called "titanized" frame, CroMoly with nickelplating, no paint, but maybe still a clear lacquer.
Something which is impossible to do at home, not even companies can do this easily, because of environmental rules nowadays.



So indeed a bit of a challenge, you still may give it a try to paint disc mounts and impacted parts from welding in a similar looking color.

Other than that, I do like the idea!
To me this needs modern Gravel tires with Skinwalls or ideally brownwalls, utilizing the maximung clearance. But you're already at the max. size which would fit on the rear, right?

You have called this thread "Gravelbike" (BTW: there is a typo in the headline, you can still change this if you want)., does this mean you're going to use a gravel dropbar?