Ciclisti Greco

Greetings from Greece to all of you !

Just bought a ''Mysterious'' Mercier frame with a columbus tubing , which i haven't seen one at the past like it . The logos are very strange in size , bigger than usual , and nothing to do with the traditional letter type of Mercier .

Because of some rough outer wear in colour and logos , i can't even recognize the type of columbus tubing . Did some research over the net , but nothing ''special'' came up .

Any bicycle history Guru pleeaaaseee ......enlight me , i am living a Drama ..:cry

zukahn1 

Not like anything I have seen before either looks to be from the mid 80's somewhat after Merciers major production years. The geomtry and columbus tubing don't seem to go with a classic Mercier/ french bike. Could be a bike made by another maker and branded by Mercier as this was around the time they started doing this. Also what is goin on with rear dropout looks like the DR hanger has been ground or broke off?

bertinjim 

Cicilisti Greco-

The graphics seem to indicate a late production Mercier. The Columbus tubing is Aelle (it is carbon manganese on the sticker) and appears to be the full frameset as there is no Tretubi on your sticker. Looks like a nice mid-range bike with the later Vitus rear dropouts and the 80s style stem and graphics.

Scooper

As bertinjim says, the Columbus tubing is Aelle carbon-manganese alloy. I'm not sure, but I believe it was only available in Imperial diameters (25.4mm diameter top tube, 28.6mm down tube and seat tube, 31.7mm head tube). Here is catalog data sheet for the Aelle tubeset with diameters, wall thickness, butting, and uncut tube weights.

Aelle has straight gauge (non butted) main tubes with 0.8mm thick walls, so it's fairly heavy

Chombi

Merciers made with Columbus tubeset certainly did exist. I remember bidding on one at eBay with Columbus SL tubing about three years ago. It looked to have been built in the early to mid 80's.and looked very genuine. These Columbus Mercier framesets must be quite rare as I never saw another one after the one I bid on, till this Aelle version of yours showed up....

randyjawa 

I cannot help much with the tubing question but I will suggest that the bicycle frame has been modified. It appears that the rear drive side drop out has been modified and spread open, both problems that raise red flags, in my opinion. You might also want to check the threaded section of the steering tube. The steering stem is not inserted enough and this can result in stretched threads at the top of the steering tube. It can also cause the steering tube to split in that area.

Ciclisti Greco

First i want to thank you very much all of you for those valuable information you provided me , and for your quick responce . I wish i could have replied also that fast , after your comments followed , but some obligations i was having didn't let me with free time to focus properly .

Scooper , i measured today then frame with a thickness meter on all the outer diameters of the tubes , and none of them is matching with those on the columbus data listing !!

Does that means , that ...it's not a columbus ?? The lugs somehow indicating that it is based on the casual columbus formings . Some professional from local stores also here that ckeck it claimed the same thing . So ...what the heck it's going on about it ??

The frame with the bearings and cups weights about 2950 gr. Is that fair weight for a 55 cm AELLE frame ??

The more i learn about it , the more iam getting confused .

P.S Jukahn1 and randyjawa . You have noticed well . The rear d/hanger has been remoned . No signs that it was broken though . The dropout is modified so a hanger plate is attached on it . I don't think that will be a problem . Many alloy bicycles use the same principle from factory made . What do you think ?

zukahn1 

If it was ground off cleanly I don't see a problem the dopoutd look long enough to mount a claw type DR or claw type adapter. You just wont have a lot of adjustment on the rear likely basicaly fixed postion which shouldn't be a big deal if you run a long cage RD.

Scooper

Hmm.. What are the top tube, seat tube, and down tube diameters?

2950 grams would be about right. The bottom bracket shell usually weighs ~160g, lugs weight about 200g, and the rear dropouts weigh about 100g, for a total of about 460g. The Aelle tubes for a 55cm frame would weigh about 2100 to 2200g. Assuming you're including both headset and BB cups and bearings, 2950g sounds reasonable.

randyjawa 

I think the frame has little value to a collector, like myself. I would not buy it nor would I spend money building it up. But that is just me. If you intend to ride the bicycle, build it and do so. It will offer a nice ride quality. If you ever hope to sell it, the next buyer will not be impressed with the damaged frame set and my guess is that it is then that you will realize the error of working with a damaged frame.

Sorry if this sounds negative, but better I speak honestly, rather than fill you with false hope.

TugaDude

I always look at frames like this as original, unless there are obvious signs of a repaint or such. So I'm going with the assumption it is a Mercier made from Columbus tubing which appears from the remnants of the sticker to be Aelle.

It likely is worth something to a person wanting a quality singlespeed or fixed gear frameset. The downtube shifter bosses are a negative in that regard, but can be covered by the Problem Solvers bits.

I agree with Randy in that if I were looking to build up a rider this wouldn't be the frame with which to do so.

zukahn1 

+1 good points most expeirenced bike guys won't deal with a mid level frameset on a full build up unless it is interesting with nice original paint and artwork /decals. Just about any issue is a no go build wise.

Ciclisti Greco

+ yes , that was my basic idea , when i saw it in first . I assumed it could be a nice ride for certain occasions , with the apropriate equipment . I am having a couple more vintage french racings , but still for a strange reason , this one seems that have triggered something emotional to me . Even it's not in good shape !


Hello scooper . Thanks again for your valuable responce !

Well , according to my thickness meter , the top tube is 26.5 mm , the seat tube is 28.4 , and that's the same also for the down tube ...!

The weight is 2950 inluding the headset allright , and the bb shells only not the bb bearings .

Tricky , isn't it ?

Ciclisti Greco

No problem , i agree with you totaly , and i didn't had any collectors demands for the specific frame from time a . It's just that i wanted to have it in my collection , and feel also the ride of it when it's finished . I like very much the frames that are in original shape , but i am having also a sympathy for injured ''horses'' like this one . They carry a story on their back , even if it's a bad one !