i had a mercian built while i was living in germany. ordered direct from
mercian, not through a retailer or builder.
it was okay, but some little things. like the bottle bosses inside the triangle not being placed correctly for large bottles (on a 64 cm frame). the third set
underneath the down tube was too low, small chain ring would rub on the
bottle cage. wound up with an expensive set of spare bolt holders.
there were enough of the little things, that i'm convinced it was built by
folks who've never ridden a bicycle other than to the corner store for booze
and ciggies.
shipping sucked. they simply threw the frame in thin cardboard box with no
bubble wrap, no wrapping, no padding. nothing.
arrived with a big dent in the top tube.