Retroish 853 Rock Lobster

[Anthony]

Approximately 99.9% of all the Rock Lobsters in this country are Merlin Rock Lobsters, so surely there can be no question whatever of anybody selling a Merlin RL misleading buyers by failing to mention Paul Sadoff.

Sadoff gets a royalty, the design was (at least initially) his, the tubesets are of high quality (my RL is Reynolds 853 with 725 stays, which is as good as it gets) and they are well built. Taiwanese welders are excellent, the factories are modern and well-equipped and I have never seen any evidence that US-built is intrinsically better than Taiwan-built. Indeed from the number of Fat Chances that tragically need to have their beautiful paint stripped off because of fatal rust issues, I would suggest there's some evidence to the contrary.

A Merlin RL 853 costs £300. A Sadoff RL 853 costs $1,200 (£1,000 delivered to your UK door?) I wonder whether you would really be able to tell much difference. Merlin is IMO one of the great assets of UK mountain biking. For many years now they have offered excellent bikes and way better value for money than the established mtb brands. They deserve far more kudos than they get.

 

[greenstiles]

Shame the RL's have stupid short t. tubes for the sizes otherwise exellent value for money. I thought the early ones were Tange tubing.

 

[Tallpaul]

Shame the RL's have stupid short t. tubes for the sizes otherwise exellent value for money. I thought the early ones were Tange tubing.

17" Frame = 21.75" TT
19" Frame = 22" TT
21" Frame = 23" TT

 

[greenstiles]

Yes, quite short...............i'm sure i had a nickel plated one in about 2002 made of Fuji tubing(it def wasn't reynolds)..........they had probs with the frames corroding and quite a few got sent back for a free paint job. I was unimpressed by my earlier model so i upgraded to a Ti version instead.

 

[Anthony]

Yes, quite short...............i'm sure i had a nickel plated one in about 2002 made of Fuji tubing (it def wasn't reynolds) .......... they had probs with the frames corroding and quite a few got sent back for a free paint job. I was unimpressed by my earlier model so i upgraded to a Ti version instead.

That was the original Merlin Rock Lobster. It was called a RL Expert FS, FS standing for Fuji Stout Lite, and it cost £199. The RL Tig Team 853 was introduced about a year later (c1999) and cost £299 (and it still does)

The sizing can get confused because the 17 that he is quoting is the c-c seat tube, whereas the c-t is 19". i.e., what Merlin called a size 17 is what Kona would call a size 19. They are slightly short, but not all that short. His bike has a top tube of 23, which is about half an inch shorter than a size 19 Kona.

He mentions the 1999 MBUK test and in fact I have it here, 5 out of 5 as he says. "FOR Great value for money, perfectly specced and an excellent ride. AGAINST Nowt." They tested it with similar spec to his bike, Z3s and LX, and it cost £770 (which is a lot more of a bargain than his £400 BIN for a 9-year-old bike was!) The frame weighed 4.2lbs, which is a fair bit lighter than an equivalent (size 18 say) 853 Explosif, which weighs 4.5. I know that difference doesn't sound much, but it must indicate some significantly different choices of tube gauge, which probably explains why I prefer it to the Explosif.

 

[Tallpaul]

The sizing can get confused because the 17 that he is quoting is the c-c seat tube, whereas the c-t is 19". i.e., what Merlin called a size 17 is what Kona would call a size 19. They are slightly short, but not all that short. His bike has a top tube of 23, which is about half an inch shorter than a size 19 Kona.

Huh?

My RL spec sheet, supplied by Merlin last year, says they measure frame size C2T. Also the top-tube lengths I quoted above are from that same spec sheet.

Coincedentaly, my size 19 RL had a 19" C2T seat-tube and a 22" C2C top-tube.

Of course, they may have changed the sizing? :?

 

[Anthony]

The sizing can get confused because the 17 that he is quoting is the c-c seat tube, whereas the c-t is 19". i.e., what Merlin called a size 17 is what Kona would call a size 19. They are slightly short, but not all that short. His bike has a top tube of 23, which is about half an inch shorter than a size 19 Kona.

Huh?
My RL spec sheet, supplied by Merlin last year, says they measure frame size C2T. Also the top-tube lengths I quoted above are from that same spec sheet.
Coincedentaly, my size 19 RL had a 19" C2T seat-tube and a 22" C2C top-tube.
Of course, they may have changed the sizing? :?

He is selling a 1999 bike and and I said "what Merlin called a size 17 is what Kona would call a size 19", deliberately using the past tense. i.e., the seller is right to say it is what Merlin then called a size 17, even though they have subsequently gone over to c-t sizing.

From what you say, they may well have gone over to shorter top tubes since then also, but the tt length I quoted is the one relevant to the bike he is selling. My own RL is a 2000 size 15 (c-t = 17) and has a top tube of c22, which again is a half inch shorter than a size 17 Kona and about the same as a size 16 Kona.

 

[greenstiles]

Thanks, yes i remember the fs bit now. I think Orange had some trouble with their nickel plate bikes at that time too. If the RL frames were a wee bit longer i'd have one again.

 

[Harryburgundy]

Had a look at this tonight. Very nice chap.
The seller was under the impression that the frame was the last of the American built RL's before transfering to Taiwan :?
The bike was nice if needing a little TLC. Not too many scratches/chips etc a little play on the brake pivots. Worse bit was what sounded like bearing failure in the rear hub.
Seemed very short on the top tube....didn't have a tape but compared to the Guyzer it was short.
Overall a good buy at the right price....he was/is hoping for £400...I did mention that I thought that would be very unlikely.
Carl