Rick_D

Hi folks,

I'd like your thoughts on what to ask for the subject bike. It was my MIL's and then I rescued it from a literal shed and overhauled it for my daughter. She, however, continued growing and so I'm short of short riders. If there is 400 miles, total on this bike I'll be surprised. Wear is from the accumulated moves over the last 31 years. The titanium itself is unphased by it all and I'd really go to town polishing if it weren't for the decals.

Late 1992 frame, based on the S/N list available here, has the S-curve stays. It's 15-inch frame per Merlin's chart and my crude approximation is about 19.5" center to centerish, converted to level top tube.

3X8 drivetrain.
XTR group with some Deore XT
Wheelsmith 32-spoke wheels
Generic fork and front brake installed once I retired the dead Manitou
Saddle I personally hate but it's plush!
Everything repacked/refreshed and the ride is quite nice, provided I'm either standing or admiring my knees while seated.

Here 'tis:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8
Many thanks in advance, for your comments!
Cheers,
Rick

roadcrankr

Beautiful. It would likely fit my 5-5 girlfriend well.
Please provide a quick measurement (as pictured) of saddle to ground.

Rick_D

Hi, thanks for your message. From ground level:

Top of saddle--37"
Seat rails--34"
Top of seat tube--27"
Didn't measure the seatpost but as pictured it's not extended to the safety limit.
Various angles and measurements are on this table under the 15-inch column.


Bike weight as pictured is 23 pounds.

Best,
Rick

t2p

sweet bike

surprised it weighs 23 lbs with a rigid fork (and without fat off road treads ... maybe the tires are heavy ... but still ... )

abdon 

That's what happens when you put both XT and XTR components on the same bike. They double their weight in anger

t2p

I’ve been warned of adverse reactions when SRAM and Shimano components are mixed - but not XT and XTR ...

zukahn1

Really nice bike with the slightly mixed components and lesser fork I could see asking $400 to start.. I would consider maybe changing the seat , stem and maybe the miss matched brakes on the bike they seem to be detracting from the great look of the bike. While minor I think a few little lower cost changes could add $50-100 to the sale price and make for a easier sale.

t2p

if the bike was in my general area I would buy it in a heartbeat

back in the day - early 90’s - two of my off road friends rode Merlin frames just like that ... larger sizes ... after considerable use and thrashing the upper portion of the seat tube / area around the seatpost clamp was the only issue I believe

VtwinVince

I'd pay more than that in my overheated market, as early Merlins are pretty sought after. And I'm digging that seatpost.

Rick_D

Thanks. It was a fishing scale and you know how fishermen tend to exaggerate....

I'd think simple tweaks could drop a pound or so.

abdon 

I think that's too low. I'm a cheapskate and if I saw that at $400 I would be seriously tempted. Trust me, you don't want to use what I am willing to pay for a bike as the benchmark for what a bike is worth

t2p

the crank alone is probably worth around $200 (if a 170 mm length and the rings are in great shape)

t2p

agree - and possibly more

just a seatpost / seat swap would probably drop 1/2 lb

tire and tube change maybe a pound or so

would be fairly easy to get that bike under 21 lbs ... frame only weighs around 3 1/4 lbs