5cagm

Hello,
A couple of weeks ago I had a thread about a Merlin frame I received in exchange for a Vitus Duralinox Frame and Fork. Originally I was going to go with a Full DA 7400 group but after finding ou the hubset I got in the group was Uniglide, coupled with all the compatibility issues, I decided to do a mix of Shimano 600, DA, and some Modern Ultegra and other components. Colour wise I wanted to have a mix of black and white, let's call it piano, as opposed to all white housings etc. It could probably do with a nice polish and the weather is crappy today but here are the pics of my build. Enjoy!






RD: 600 Tricolour
FD: 600 Tricolour
Crankset: DA 7400 with Biopace (removed anodization as it was really scuffed)
Brakes: DA 7400
STI: Ultegra 6500 (9 speed)
Bars and Stem: Easton EA 70
Wheels: Bontrager Select with Sram 9 Speed Cassette
Seatpost: DA 7400 (removed anodization to match cranks)
Seat: Selle San Marco Rolls
Headset: Pro rm-01 1" threadless
Fork: Kinesis CF 1" threadless steel steer tube

I think it turned out wonderfully and it fits me perfectly so I really have no complaints. It looks better in person I swear, but I really need to get the rest of the decals. Total weight is comparable to my father's 2003 Masi Gran Criterium (Scandium w Carbon Stays+Fork)

KonAaron Snake 

You ended up with a very similar build to what I run...I have a little more Dura Ace and a carbon seat post, but otherwise our bikes are near twins. I'm still running the PO's color choices of red and black...and still running a saddle I'm not wild about. I need to get out and replace it with a comfy regal soon. I also run STI 9sp, and it's a good choice for our frames...especially since it will be hard to upgrade them to 10-11 sp because we're stuck with older cranks.

Why isn't it possible to just use modern, thinner chain rings on older cranks for a narrower chain?

5cagm

That would be nice wouldn't it. I'm sure one day someone will devise some sort of solution. Maybe someone will even make some sort of ISIS/Square Tapered adapter that will solve the problem haha. Ah well, I'm not holding my breath and 9 speeds is plenty for me. There must be a point where the gear combinations get redundant when you keep adding cogs. Anyways thanks for the comments and your help with finding info on the frame. Cheers!

southpawboston

nothing to contribute to this thread, other than to say a friend of mine worked for merlin cycles here in somerville... he may have mitered the tubes on your bike...

5cagm

Haha that's pretty cool, direct him to this thread and maybe he can confirm, i can post the serial number haha

southpawboston

what's the frame material? i think his job was mitering, and he did mostly carbon fiber, but he may have worked with other materials (it was definitely an assembly-line type of operation, even being a small company). do you have any idea of the year of your bike? most people, including my friend, left in 1998 when merlin got bought out.

5cagm

Hello southpaw,

It's either a 1990 or 1991 and the material is Titanium. Cheers!