Here's another project that I completed this year, a full restoration of a Mercier Services des Courses road bike. The pink “Service Des Courses” is the iconic Mercier racing bike of the 70’s and 80’s, as ridden by the famous Tour de France rider Raymond Poulidor. I restored this particular one from a faded, battered frame and rusty fork to like-new condition:



I found the frame on eBay France two years ago. It was hand-made in France from Reynolds 531 steel and featured Simplex dropouts. The lugs are long-point and have nice windows carved in them. It carried the famous “fait main” (hand-made) sticker on it, but I suspect it might not have been the top model at the time due to the lack of engraved seatstay caps. I completely restored the frame set: the original paint was in bad condition, so I stripped it to the steel and then had it powdercoated in a shade of pink as close to the original that I could find. Reproduction decals were then added, again matching the original decals exactly, with several coats of automotive clear coat over the decals to protect them.

The chrome fork had some rust, which I removed and polished out. All components received a thorough cleaning in an ultrasonic bath, followed by servicing and tune-up. I used bright white cable housing and matching bar tape to complement the lettering on the bike. The drivetrain is all Simplex, from the LJ derailleurs, to the famous retrofriction shifters, to the original Simplex cable clips and guides.



I installed a modern sealed bottom bracket from Velo-Orange with sealed bearings and a chromed spindle. I could have gone with a period-correct bottom bracket, but I got the V-O one cheap at a swap meet and was very impressed with the quality. I always build and restore bikes with the hope that they will be ridden often, a little modern technology, especially when hidden away like a bottom bracket, can go a long way to improving the ride.

The saddle is the original Mercier edition Selle San Marco. However, the bike is not truly “tout Francais” as the brakes are a matched set of Modolo Course calipers and levers. The wheelset, which I took from a JP Routens bike I restored last summer, features Italian Grimeca hubs with French threading for the freewheel, which is a 6-speed Sachs-Maillard. The rims are Vuelta and the classic skinwall tires are Michelin.



You can see more hi-res photos and as well as how much it finally sold for on my blog at: http://djcatnap.com/mercier-service-...e-restoration/