CardiacKid

I am about to go look at this bike. I know it is not worth anywhere near $1000. I am thinking if it is in real good condition, it might be worth $500. My impression is that this is the low end Mercian with nothing special as far as components. What do the experts think?



"Classic Mercian, THE British hand-made touring bike. Silver soldered, DB Reynolds 531 tubing, of course. 24" seat tube, 22.5" top tube, 17" chain stays. 27 1/4" Champion clincher rims w/no-friction Shimano hubs with oil option for easy service on long tours. Deore XT rear derailer, Montech front. Barend shifters. NGC side-pull calipers. Color, black. Condition, used. $1000 OBO. "



Also, I have no idea what "no friction Shimano hubs with oil option" means. Help!

Sammyboy

I'd expect that to fetch > £500, so over $750, in the UK.

pinnah

$1000 is top dollar, to be sure, but it isn't entirely out of reach.

As a baseline, I paid $250 for Trek 510 frame last year. Just the frame. I paid this much because a) some other folks I was bidding against were willing to pay that much for the bike and b) I was willing to pay a bit more.

Now, Reynolds 531 will be more collectable to some than my Ishawata 022 frame. (I wanted 022 but that's beside the point). In the right circles, a Mercian is going to be more interesting than any Trek. So I would put the frame up in the $400 - $600 depending on its age, condition, model and the buyers zeal for all things Mercian.

Of the parts you mentioned, the rims and hubs sound desirable. Teh Wolber Champion was a tough rim set (I'm still riding a pair from the 80s) and the hubs you mentioned have little holes in the center of hubs which should be covered with little clips. They idea is you can squirt oil in there instead of repacking the hubs.

I do think $1000 is a lot of money. But it would be a steel^H^Hal at $500.

CardiacKid

A 2001 King of Mercian frame and fork recently went on Ebay for $400. I would think this frame and fork would be worth less. But even at $400, I don't see the rest of the components being worth $600.

markwebb

It is definately not worth $1K. Maybe a classic mint Vincintore or KOM or Pro with all Campy NR or SR in mint condition would fetch that, but not with those components.

But - a classic Mercian 531 frame is still a thing of beauty and a finely crafted bicycle. The frame should be worth $250 - $500 depending on condition. The components are not worth much at all.

pinnah

I guess I need to know more about the Mercian Classic.

That's not a model name that I'm familiiar with. My hunch is that "Classic" is an adjective in an add, not a model number in which case the value would depend on model, year and condition.

If the OP is talking about this craiglist, then I would think $860 is still on the high side but motivator buyers will do funny things.
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/bik/167697466.html

The price would be more reasonable if it were a '72. Or a '62.

CardiacKid

The model name is "Classic". See Sheldon Brown's article about Mercian's. It is a touring model without the fancy, chromed lugs.
I talked to the guy and it became clear that he thought a lot more highly of the bike than I did, so I blew it off. If you are interested, here is the ad.
https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/169126393.html