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merciertubes..jpgfullmercier..jpgmercierlogotube..jpgmercierlogo..jpgmercierguy..jpgmercier2..jpgI purchased this bike new in 1971.

EjustE

Really need a drive side picture and pictures of the shifters and derailleurs. (or a listing of the components.) Do you remember how much you paid for it new? That would help determine the model and thus the value. It looks in fantastic shape.

JJPistols

I love that decal on the seat tube.

unworthy1

yes, I think it is a model 200, which came with chrome ends and tubular wheels, rather than the steel 27" you find on the model 100...but the frames are pretty similar (and not up to the 531 of the model 300). Hard to say what it's worth: there's not a big demand for middle-range FR bikes, even in great condition (except maybe for a Peugeot)...most end up as fixies around here: the kids dig the apparent "ironic" message of the vintage graphics combined with a plastic wheel and Oury grips...but I digress .
I think that's Poulidor on the seat tube, he was the big Mercier-riding superstar.

JJPistols

sorry Gary - I thought you'd get more help at this forum




no one really replies to my posts here, either, now that I think about it







used to seem friendlier

Wisco

I'd sell the sew-ups separately. If you don't fixify it, replacing any Simplex bits with Suntour would be a good move. If you're in a good market, $200 or even $250 in working order?

20grit

looks like several responses within the first 12 hours to me. not sure what you mean with this.

the price paid would be a rider price. if your plan is to flip.... I don't think you'll come out ahead.

wrk101

First response was in 12 minutes. Pretty decent for just a group of volunteers. Myself, I have no idea on this bike, as it is the wrong era for me (1970s) and the wrong country of origin. I pretty much stick with bikes from either Japan or the USA. I will occasionally get a bike from Taiwan as well. That's the limit to my knowledge. The only french bikes I have experience with are Peugeots.

+1 Very clean bike which is a big plus in any market. Needs to be totally ready to ride (good tires, cables, tubes, and so on) to get full value. Buyers want bikes that are ready to go.

Trakhak

It's a shame that the frame and fork are bent back. Amazing how many lugged steel frames from that era suffer from that syndrome. A frame builder could probably align the frame for not too much money.

20grit

I'm not seeing that it's bent....

A couple more photos would help, but I'm not seeing it.

Trakhak

More and closer photos would help, but: stem slopes down, top tube slopes up, front brake is not parallel to head tube (indicating bent steerer tube), head tube is several degrees out of parallel to seat tube, there's a potentially large amount of toeclip overlap, minimal clearance between front tire and down tube, minimal fork rake compared to the conventional amount of rake seen with French bikes of this vintage.

Perhaps the owner bent the fork and frame by sliding into a curb as a result of the wet-road mishap he described in his second post above.

burl

Well, the front of this bike has never hit anything. When I went down it was in the middle of the street. No curbs, etc.

EjustE

Hold it for a sec.... Here is the OP's bike:



The way the head tube etc looks is because of the picture... the front tire is sitting higher than the rear tire.

As far as the fork rake goes, it is actually sizeable for a french bike of that vintage. Large toe clips will not clear lots of french bike front tires if they were fitted with 27 inch tires. I would bet that the brakeset is Mafac (Racer or Competition) and this is the correct lever angle, if you set them up properly.

The above points also exibited by my '69 Gitane TdF (which actually has less fork rake) :




And this early (probably mid 60s) PX10 from the web:

Trakhak

I agree that the Gitanes look straight; however, the Mercier does show front-end-collision damage.

EjustE, I was referring to the brake caliper, not to the brake levers.

Perhaps it would worthwhile for the owner to have it checked by an experienced mechanic. One easy check: measure the top tube and the down tube near the head tube lugs. It there's no point at which the tubes are wider than they are tall, then the frame is probably OK. (Those tubes become oval near the head tube if they're bent back.) As for the fork, check out the closeup picture of the front brake and head tube. The top of the fork crown is perfectly horizontal in the picture when it should be at the same canted-back angle as the head tube.

I hope I'm wrong, but I'm probably not.

burl

I can guarantee that this bike has not had any front end damage haven ridden it from day one. I am not sure what you think you see but it rides as well as the day I brought it home.

wrk101

It does look a little bent back to me as well in the original pictures. The last picture (I'll call it number 5) is the one that looks bent to me. Handlebars are not square on the pic E enlarged (I'll call that picture #2 in the original set), so it is really hard to tell.

juls

looks bent slightly to me.....

cudak888 

That's enough to do it. The following frame received the damage you see from a simple endo:



The Mercier frame is bent behind the headlug, around the rear brake cable stops. Not as sharply as the frame show above, but its noticeably bent.

I have the tool to straighten the headtube out - I've been seeking a frame with damage such as this (bend, no wrinkle in tubing) to test the tool out on - see how flawlessly it can remove cold-set damage. If you're willing to pay shipping of the frame to and back, I'll gladly try straightening it - no charge.

I still haven't bought the tool, and I want to see how much damage it can fix without evidence of the prior crash.

-Kurt

AZORCH

I have been looking for the decal set that is on this bike. Would it be possible to post some more photos of the decals that show more details? It would be greatly appreciated!

burl

Selling this bike for parts now. Make an offer for the whole bike....

AZORCH

How much do you need to get? Where is it located?