By what is in fact largely coincidence, I'm resurrecting this thread on the 1-year anniversary of it's initiation - also the 1-year anniversary of my riding this bike back from Bellingham, WA to Vancouver, BC!

Having been away in Montreal from rather shortly after this acquisition until December/January, I was forced to let this bike languish in my storage unit far too long (proof: pic of the poor dejected thing on the hard concrete in this thread HERE).

Since I've been back, my first priority was to build up the Atala birthday bike, a gift to my girlfriend who finally joined me here in February. Next up, I needed an 'around-town' bike that I can lock up without too much anxiety. I already had my trusty Nishiki for regular rides. I had to think about exactly how I wanted to deal with some of the details on the Mercian, and didn't want to rush it. At long last, I've gotten back to this one...

Just did bearings, cleanup & wax the other day (as well as dealing with some rust on the inside of the eyelets on those rims and polishing up the post). Fitted tires, installed new stem, post/saddle, and pedals today (Suntour Cyclones, a recent acquisition from buldogge).

Was thinking this one's starting to look photo-worthy once more; dug up this old thread, only now noticing that it's hitting its 1st birthday!

Here's the bike as it stands:


Newly-fitted Nitto Pearl 11cm stem - soon to be connected to in-transit Nitto Noodle 44cm bar:


A thoroughbred racing bike deserves quality tires, and I couldn't resist red (though not red/tanwall as previously equipped).
Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps, ready to roll at 160psi:


And replacing the slightly scarred Concor with a new Brooks Pro I scored from Japan this summer for $89 shipped:
Note also the Velocals replacement tubing decal...as the original was irremediably peeling off from both sides. Smaller, but cleaner.

Just waiting on the new Noodle bars to come up from the USA. The the rest of the cockpit is lined up: Modolo Pro non-aero levers with fresh black Dia Compe hoods (a much better deal than I could find on SR levers, and pretty slick in a matchy anthracite color), and burgundy Newbaum's cloth tape (assuming I don't make a last-minute decision to go with the brighter Velox stuff).

Will be using old-school clear brake cable housing for a look a bit more understated than the PO's bright red. Also got rid of the godawful bmx-red anodized skewers! Jockey wheels stay...

Should be up and in action within a week or so!