I first met this bike c.1999 or so, when I saw it on campus locked up with a flat tire. It had the unusual last name of one of my student workers, and it turned out it was his uncle's bike that had been lent out to a friend. It was an intriguing little beast with mismatched head lugs. I knew it had a story behind it so I bought it. Allegedly, this was originally a Mercian that was struck by a car. The owner, a poor college student, brought it to Joe Azar's shop near the University of South Carolina campus and made some sort of arrangement with Mike Melton, who was affiliated with the place. As the story was told to me, Melton brazed in a new top and down tube and a new lower head lug (I suspect the original was damaged either in the accident or the repair), and owner did the clean up and filing and painting. When I got it, the only tubing sticker was for Vitus 172, and I've wondered if that was what was used for the repairs.

It's way too small for me, but one of my riding buddies had a girlfriend (now his wife) who wanted a vintage steel road bike, and I had a bunch of credit with Jim Cunningham at CyclArt because of a batch of vintage French tandem bits I had scored at the first Cirque du Cyclist in '98, so off it went to have dents filled, shifter bosses and bottle cages added and hunter green powder coat. When it returned I built it up and sold it to her for close to cost and she rode it semi-regularly until she got half-wheeled on a local benefit ride. She went to the ER and never rode the bike again, and it's been sitting with its taco-ed front wheel since 2009. I ran into her husband last week, and in the course of talking about cycling I mentioned I was looking for a bike for my 13-year-old son, and if his wife ever wanted to part with the green bike to please let me know. She decided to give it to us, and I picked it up today.

I think that's a Vagner DP crown with Nervex Professional lugs with what looks kinda like a Bocama 18 lower head lug. The dropouts are unmarked but look a little chunkier than Campagnolo units - which are what I would have expected, as Mercian used to be and maybe still is the Campagnolo distributor in the U.K. It's a 52 cm with a 54.5 cm top tube, with round-slightly oval-round chain stays and lots of clearance for puffier tires. I'm hoping the only bent things are the handlebars and the front rim, and I think I'll replace it and the intact rear with some CR-18s to allow fatter tires for the boy's use.

I can barely make out what appears to be the serial number - 51371, with a 5 for the builder number - and I don't know who had that number in '71, though I do know it was Derek Land's later on.

Apart from new rims and a new seat post, I think I'll look at brake options - and the classic Weinmann 999 center pull is not off the table - and I'll be transferring the MicroNew brifters from his converted MTB and generally setting it up for all road surfaces. I'm undecided on whether I'll track down a triple or if I'll just build it as a double with 38/47T chainrings. At least the powder coat is in good shape under all the dirt!








More to come as it happens!

Cool project! The back story of the bike is awesome. That bike has had a HARD life. Even so, there have been equally drastic measures taken to keep it going. How rare is that?!?

I found a few minutes yesterday to get started. I am delighted to be able to report that everything came out without drama or trauma - which is reassuring, since I'm the one who last assembled this bike 20 years ago or so! I will confess I thought I used more grease when I fitted bottle cage bolts and the derailleur cable stop/adjusters on the shifter bosses, but it all came apart okay in the end. Even the straight-clamp seat post came out without too much fuss. The Tange headset is still good and even shiny, but the jury is still out on the Shimano BB cartridge. I want to see if the grit I am feeling is only on the outside or if it remains after I thoroughly clean the exterior surfaces. Everything looks pretty much salvageable except for the bent handlebars - even the rusted chain looks like it will clean up, and I suspect it has relatively few miles on it.

Next came a quick wipe down with some 409 and some paper shop towels. It's astounding how much crap came off the bike, and I wonder where it was stored. It was surely in an outbuilding somewhere - I have never seen so much dirt and crud on a bike that wasn't left out in a field.

My son and I looked it over, and I now have a clearer idea of what is to be done. One of the most crucial hurdles for him is the handlebar tape - but I think I will duplicate the tape on my green Gitane TdF, sky blue cotton bar tape treated with Easter egg dye to match the frame followed by multiple coats of Bullseye lacquer. He also wants me to transfer over the saddle from his repurposed Trek MTB, so I'll overlook the "Trek" on the back of the saddle.

No post is complete without pix, so here you go!

Interesting geometry - 52 cm to top with a 54.5 cm top tube, around 74 degree head tube with a 73 degree seat tube - but gobs and gobs o' clearance!

Gotta love the mismatched head lugs. How many bikes like this can there be? It's certainly easy to identify!

Not visible from this angle, but the seat stay tops are slightly mismatched, as the left side is a touch higher/longer than the drive side. No matter. It's just part of the charm of an artisanal frame touched by TWO masters through the years!