Originally Posted by froze
NUN, and other Mercain owners; If I'm not mistaken, isn't the Mercain prices more in line with the Atlantis that Rivendell also sells? And if so, do any of you know how the Mercain compares with the Atlantis? If no one has compared the Altlantis then what about the Rivendell? do not put the lugs into the equation, just overall value and quality...which would you buy?
I have a trip planned for this next summer to England, and have made "paper" plans to visit the Mercain shop and have one custom built and sent home when done; this is why I asked the crazy question above. Both the Atlantis and the Mercain intrique me, while the Mercain I like better but only from the Lugs standpoint, I like their spearpoints lugs a lot. The bike will be used for touring.
Froze, I'm a Rivendell owner, not a Mercian, and I believe that if we are comparing the Atlantis and the King of Mercia the differences are pretty much summed up in a pervious post of mine
"I think the real differences between Mercian and Rivendell are the tyre clearances,.... and Rivendell's standard headtube extension and small up slope on the top tube.
I know that you could certainly ask mercian to build a bike with an upslope and headtube extension, I just don't think their default style would be as comfortable as that of Rivendell."
Mercian is a bit more influenced by racing machines and specs campy parts on most of their bikes. They go to Shimano for the touring speced bikes.
Bekologist's points about lead time and some of the marketing crap connected with Rivendell are good points, I even think the company name is pretty cheesy, but that's doesn't stop them from being great bikes that are beautifully finished and ride really well. The customer service is very good, although the website does lag behind the stock sometimes, so its best to call.
Choosing between Mercian and Rivendell you carn't go wrong, just know what you want when you go to mercian, get the geometry worked out.