Merlin Newsboy L

[MattiThundrrr]

It was listed as size M where i knew i needed size L, also no pictures and a hefty price tag.. still, i decided to send a dm.
As it turns out, it was a size L and indeed it was being sold by a gentleman from the Netherlands

This makes sense, size L is like a medium for a Dutchman. Very nice acquisition. Even with its issues, I'm sure this will become a favorite bike for you

 

[Stylus]

Thanks. Funny you should say that because the previous owner was very adamant about the design proportions of the Newsboy, he liked the large one the best despite him being quite a bit smaller than me. That’s probably why the current front set up looks like a pugs face

 

[scant]

Cool bike. Just a note to say there wasn't really 2 variants of the 2 piece welded bow & the 1 piece bow. They were a massive pain to make & they occasionally cracked whilst being made. Rather than throw the bow away they were simply welded & used. If you check Ashoks excellent extensive frame number listing's there's no order & correlation between earlier/ later newsboys & welded/ 1 piece bows. Ie there's both newer & older newsboys with either welded or 1 piece. It really was just luck of the drawer.

I was always curious what happened to Robin Williams newsboy. It was never listed in his estate sale, so some family or friend inevitably must have acquired it. He rode it onto the stage of the david letterman show back in the day.