Mercian Lives!!
 

https://www.merciancycles.co.uk/

I don’t know who these four people are but I’m wishing them all the best. Sounds like they’re retaining the staff of Craftsman.



Acquisition of Mercian Cycles - Mercian

I'm optimistic. It's the people who work behind the scenes (making the sausage, roasting the beans, mixing the batter, etc) that really stand things up. Retaining them was a good move.

Cheers :beer:

From articles online, only weeks ago they had entered "voluntary liquidation". Good that they have been saved. With marketing, easier in the day of the interwebby, I'm sure there is tons of wealth laying about willing to have a bespoke bike built, though perhaps not if non-electric. I like the mention of "stove enamel" paints being use. No clue of exactly how bespoke these bikes are, where prices start for a basic lugged frame with simple paint.

Good news :thumb:

I have no idea what the new owners will do but previously it was entirely open to the customer's wishes. They had a standard offering for each model in terms of geometry, but you could tweak it if you wanted. You aren't getting a Chapman Cycles level of bespoke with a Mercian but you can get it made to your wishes.

This is (potentially) wonderful news!

Wishing the new owners and the old staff success!

This is great - I was pretty sure somone would step in. I believe that Mercian has been sold and revived before, at least once. Lately I've been riding my neglected 1981 King of Mercia (snagged for $100 on DC Craigslist a few years ago) and am amazed at what those Guiness swilling Brits were able to do with Reynolds 531 and an archaic brick oven welding technique.

I was not aware until I looked deep just now; I was wondering why it showed frames next to bricks intead of in an alignment jig. They're brazed with brass or silver-solder and not welded, but yeah, this is a more difficult but smart process to avoid overheating the tube, and also by the whole frame being brought up to temp, should help avoid warping due to differential heat. Their fillet brazed frames don't require the time of lug shaping, but filing and sanding to a smooth fillet.

Mercian built me exactly what I wanted in 2002, and the resulting Vincitore remains my all-time favorite bike. Had I known then what I know now, I would have specified forward opening dropouts instead of track ends and clearance for 32 mm tires with mudguards instead of 28s - but then I get on the bike and ride it and all quibbles are forgotten. I just love the way this one feels under me on the road, and it is just a joy to ride.

There is hope for steel frames.
 

There is hope for Mercian. They have a long way to go to rebuild the company though:

Acquisition of Mercian Cycles

Who is "we?"

I hope for the best for them!!!

Merged duplicate threads.

Well, unless they just bought with their heart, if they carefully reviewed all finances, sales in recent years, expenses, they should be ok. Having said that, it's a big question of why the company had entered "voluntary liquidation" before the sale?

I was out on a remote gravel ride, in the forest beyond cell reception, when magically I got an email from my friend in Derby UK letting me know Mercian was alive. Spookey, but cool ! The one bucket list item when I visited Derby last fall was to check out the Mercian shop, and it got replaced by bikepacking in Wales. Drat.

I was selecting a coffee mug this morning and thought, "I should get one of those Mercian mugs before they shut the doors," and then I saw on their website that they will continue. Great news! Now I can just drop hints and hope my wife gets me the mug for my birthday.

I stopped in yesterday at a different LBS I hadn't been in for a couple years, just to check out anything new. They had two vintage Mercians in the windows, I can't recall if they always did or not. I mentioned events at Mercian and this thread, about their brazing by heating the whole frame, and their bespoke painting. The owner or manager went upstairs and came back with a board with tubes painted to all of Mercian's color selection back in the day, they were a dealer. One tube had been missing, they sent it to the UK with an order just to be sure on the color selection. Two years pass and they call about the missing tube, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that" (and the bike order it turns out), they did the bike and sent both bike and tube back to the dealer.

I visited the shop in 2019. They are very kind folks and I wish them well. I took a few photos.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...23043a769e.jpg
Reynolds tubing ready for brazing


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...34d8a131f6.jpg
Fork in progress


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8b27ba3f85.jpg
Frames ready for pickup. They also repair and repaint other makes.

What's going on with the blue one? Not very Mercian-esque! :lol:

Good eye. Looks like a high-monotube or triangle, like many folders, but not. Note narrow rear OLD, and possibly front as well.

Yes, good eye. The blue bike is a Paris Galibier with its unique frame geometry.
The white bike to its left is a Mercian Reynolds 853 and the orange bike to its right is a Mercian Reynolds 531.

Great to hear.
I wanted one when I didn't have the doe.
Now I have the doe, but 4 bikes I love are enough.
Perhaps my next time around.
By

Mercianesque: An arabesque balanced on the front wheel of a Mercian.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ce67acf922.jpg

Wow, never seen before. Rare bird. The question is... why? I can't see better stiffness, so I am guessing better ride quality, equal torsional stiffness with more longitudinal bending flex?

Cool. So was the one in your photo built by Condor or was Mercian doing a version as well?