I've been wanting to modernize my Mercian but have been struggling with which groupset to choose. Budget and availability point me towards current Shimano 105 or Campagnolo Centaur, which both come in silver, but the Centaur crankset is a little too figural for me and the silver 105 is kind of an unnatural blueish color.

Thoughts or examples? Comments on functionality or aesthetics? Both groupsets also come in black and with the black paint panels on the frame that might look ok, but I don't also plan on changing the bars, stem, headset, seatpost, racks, etc. from silver, though I will likely change the wheelset.

Stem and bars are nitto but seatpost, headset and dropouts are campagnolo.

Thanks!



Best photo i have right now

Wow, that's a beautiful and massive King of Mercia (I'm assuming that's the model).

As far as aesthetics go, nothing modern will beat what you have on there now. A classic touring frame like that will never look good with modern Shimano or Campy components, in my opinion.

As far as function goes, the problem with modern road groupsets from Shimano and Campagnolo is that they are not friendly toward touring bikes, gearing-wise.

If I were in your spot and really wanted to modernize, I would go with a 1x drivetrain, but keep your current crankset and switch the chainrings out for a 40 or 42t narrow-wide chainring from Wolf Tooth or RaceFace. Then swap your rear derailleur for a MTB derailleur such as a 10 or 11 speed Deore XT, paired with a Microshift bar end shifter (they make one specifically for shifting Shimano mtb rear derailleurs), and a cassette hub with an 11-42 cassette. This will get you a nice gearing range and indexing without giving up your beautiful cranks and brake levers.

Which hoods feel better?
Important on a serious tourer,
for me that was always Campy.
Does ShimaNo still have pivoting brake levers?

The simple solution is don't use a matching crank, since you probably won't be able to use a full groupset and use matching brakes anyways.

Mercian themselves seem to favor Campagnolo these days. FWIW. That said I have two Mercians and they are both (or will be) Shimano drivetrain equipped, albeit mostly for inter-compatibility within my fleet. I don't do the groupset thing. Mixed components always.

I'd probably go for silver Centaur but leave the original crankset. Modern fat cranks to me look silly on vintage frames. What is it that you are trying to accomplish? The existing components look fine.

I agree! Quite massive... It's a Vincitore, however, easily recognized by the fancy lugs.

As others have mentioned, just use the modern shifters and derailleurs you want and couple them with a more aesthetically pleasing crank set.

Please keep us updated, and don't feel shy about posting more photos of the bike! It's lovely.

-Gregory

I also have a Mercian (Olympic). It has Campy Brev. Inter and I am not sure what to do. Let's know what you decide to put!!!

Thanks all for the thoughtful replies. It is a Vincitore, circa 1982.
It's big (67x63.5) but fits pretty perfectly and is comfortable for all day rides (200km).

Perhaps I'm trying to do too much with it, but with an eye towards shrinking the number of bikes I own I was hoping to make this one check off a few more/all the boxes: I've used it for loaded credit card touring, commuting, a little gravel path riding and for fitness rides with friends. It fits 28s (maybe 30s?) with fenders and the 37c paselas that are on it now without fenders. I've ridden it with 25s, 28s and 37s, which I definitely enjoy the most.

The main issues I've come to realize are the gearing is a little low for me and the shifting is a little tedious/finicky when I need to make quick changes (i.e., when commuting or on fitness rides).
I don't have the cassette ratios in front of me (it's a 6 speed suntour pro compe cassette) but the triple up front is 48/42/24. Generally speaking, this is fine for climbing, mostly there for riding on the flats, but too low for descending (I spin out around 25mph or can push it up to about 29/30 if I want to really go crazy, but start bouncing in the saddle). I never use the granny gear and sometimes just change between the two big rings when moving into/from climbs. Here in MA we don't have/I haven't taken it on too many big hills, but even with it loaded I've never really struggled with the gearing - I was under the impression that current compact cranks married with 11 speed 11-34 cassettes were providing adequate gearing as this is what's being spec'd on some gravel/bikepacking bikes.

I think a few of you are right that I could get the general components and skip the crankset, but are there compatibility issues/concerns to be aware of (chain alignment)? I also forgot about brake clearances - what I have on there now is a reach of about 55mm maxed out. 105 says it's max reach is 51 (for 28c max tire) and Campy tech data says their brakes' reach is 50mm. Any suggestion on brakes that work with a 55mm reach? I see the velo orange ones but I'm not that keen on $170 for brakes alone but would stick with the current Campys over Tektros.

I guess in the basic sense I could change the cassette ratios and shifting to indexed (but still bar end) - what other components would have to change then? I've actually only ridden one bike with integrated shifters for more than a few hours (Tiagra), and it was fine. I've never ridden Campy brifters. Some of the issue is certainly slightly bike envy as I ride with a bunch of guys on modern specialized/felt/trek bikes but I don't need to buy another bike! and doing so is nearly impossible anyway because of my size needs.

Cheers.

It sounds like the real issue you are having is that you'd like to improve your gear ratios. There are always trade offs when running 6 or 7 in the back but a triple helps deal with those trade offs. If you never use the 24 tooth inner and spin out in the 48 tooth chain ring, the solution likely is to change out the chainrings to get the gears you need.

Are you running a suntour 6 speed cassette or are you running a 6 speed suntour freewheel? If the latter, I'd opt for a 7 speed freewheel to eke out some better in between gears. With a shimano 7 speed freewheel, you could index with bar ends easily.

Upfront, you could run, as I mentioned earlier, larger chainrings to get the gearing you want.

It is a freewheel, not a cassette (I used the terms interchangeably). I guess technically I could change the individual cogs as well if there's a source for them! Do you know what 7-speed indexed bar end shifters are available? One of my other concerns/urges towards modernization is it seems that manufacturers are phasing out some of these components/styles (like rim brakes and silver groupsets) at the same time demand for the older stuff is dwindling since so many people today just buy a new bike and think of it as disposable (ride it for a few years and then get a new one instead of upgrading or tweaking it)! I know there's still some value in these older campy parts (and they're in good condition) so at the same time part of going newer would be to fund the purchases by selling the older, yet this bike spec'd in 1982 meets most all modern requirements/trends except the ease of shifting/strength of braking (yes, rim brakes are certainly a disadvantage when in the mud) and weight (though at 28.5#s the weight of this bike never bothered me).

Cheers.

The best bet for indexing is to find a set of shimano 7 speed indexing bar end shifters by putting up a WTB in the for sale forum. You'll need to change the RD. There are lots and lots of older Deore XT RDs out there than can handle this fine.

Shimano makes a 14-28 7 speed freewheel that's pretty good. IRD makes them as well but the supply is poor at this point.

I wouldn't worry much about the availability of parts.

I basically have my 1985 cannondale ST 400 set up this way. I am running indexed downtube shifters rather than bar end shifters though. My point is that fixing the gearing issues and getting indexing is easy and inexpensive if sticking with 7 speed.

What about previous generation 105 5800? Very bright polished silver.

There are quite a few options. 55mm is within the range of medium/standard reach, usually defined as 47-57mm. TRP makes a pretty nice looking dual pivot. I may try those on my new Mercian. I'm pretty sure that the VO are rebranded TRP, which is the fancy division of Tektro. Another option would be to run centerpulls: Gran Compe reissue, Pauls, Compass, vintage Weinmann or Mafac, etc. There's also Campy, who make at least one brake in that size I think (?). Nothing wrong with vintage campy either.


Really all you need to do for your gearing is to get a 52t chainring to replace the 48. Maybe swap in a new freewheel in the back. Both are consumables IMO anyway.


But if what you want is a more modern ride, it makes more sense IMO to go all out and purchase an entire groupset, new wheels, new ergo handlebars, etc. That way the bike will simply look like a modern Mercian that just got built up. Obviously this would be some expense, and keep in mind the frame will need to be respaced to 130 as well.

105 5800 looks nice. Finding it seems to be challenging - does Shimano pull all the old stuff off the market when the new stuff comes out?

Thanks, I don't actually need to go faster either (I'm already faster than the guys I ride with and they probably wish I'd slow down), I just like to go fast , but I do see a couple of Nuovo Record 52/53 rings on ebay.

On the shifting, however, I do think I'd like something a little more predictable than the friction for commuting - I commuted on a fixed gear for years and use not shifting as my default (especially compared to the guys I ride with who shift every 30 seconds), but now I'm on a more hectic route with rougher roads and worse drivers and have a hard time finding a comfortable gear to stay in. I'm still eyeballing the Centaur groupset and now know I'll have to get different brakes too.

I'm aware I need to respace the frame but the previous owner squeezed in a 130mm wheel (even though it's 6 speed) into a 120mm spaced frame and that's what I've been running for the last couple of years. I have had it slip forward and have to remember to tighten down the lever. It took me a while to realize why it was so hard to get the damn wheel back on after changing a tire.

Cheers.