I recently traded my 1985 or 86 Vitus 979 Duralinox Frame and fork:



For this 1992 Merlin Titanium Frame:



Both of us in the trade were happy with the results. I believe I probably got the better machine in the deal but he got one he finds more aesthetically pleasing, and a frame that gives him more whip in its ride which is something that he likes.

I have a few questions about the Merlin:

1) It came with two spindles and the press cups for the strange pressed in bottom bracket. I need to get bearings but I know their size, I am just wondering where on earth I can get this thing pressed in. Will any old LBS do it?

2) Does anyone have a catalog or links to a catalog for 1992. I am wondering what the original specs would have been as I have a Dura Ace 7400 group waiting to be mounted that I feel may be correct??

3) Any opinions on the ride etc. of these frames from those who have tried it would be greatly appreciated as well as any other cool tidbits you may have.

Thanks in advance!

You got the better deal.

My advice, forget that bottom bracket thing and go get a cartridge BB. I have no great love for the serviceable BB's. I have several and they are not in the same category as dork disks and foam handlebar tubes, but as the opportunity arises, I usually change them out for cartridges.

You will love that bike. Ride it like you stole it, because you did.

I have some manuals and brochures at home...including maintenance on the bottom bracket...I can scan and send over the weekend.

I have an LBS that has a FANTASTIC wrench who has extensive experience with this bottom bracket. It has large ball bearings, I think two, although I forget the size.

Most of these frames were bought as frame sets and parts would have been requested. I don't think many were sold as stock bicycles.

As I said in another post today, it's my favorite bike to ride and I love it. You can still purchase decals for it...I think from Spectrum. Mine is set up with a Kestrel CF fork, which closely matched the original fork's rake. The original would have been aluminum. I have mostly Dura Ace 9sp with a smattering of ultegra...and the original 600 tricolor cranks. I'm switching those to 7400 this weekend.

The problem is that the shell is set up for the press in BB and it's near impossible to convert.

I emailed Tom Kellog at Spectrum with my questions and got fast answers...including manufacture date. Serial number was on the chain side rear drop out.

Press-in bottom bracket bearing are not very common for bikes. If you cannot find a high end LBS that can do it, I would suggest taking it to an automotive machine shop, see if they can (carefully) install it with a hydraulic press.

Most Merlins would have been sold by the framebuilder as bare frames to be built up however the distributer, LBS or final buyer wanted it. I wouldnt get too hung up with trying to replicate components for a particular "model". If you just build it up with period correct selection of interesting high end components, that will be much more representative of how majority of Merlins were originally sold. Alternatly, find some pictures or specs for a sponsored team bike and replicate that build. Lance Armstrog was riding a Merlin while he was on subaru-montgomery in early 90s, shortly before he turned pro with motorola, that could serve as a good representative build spec.

Just as a heads up...the press in bottom bracket is why he made that deal. It's the same reason I got mine so inexpensively. A lot of people really hate them and they limit your choice of bottom brackets and cranks. Rewelding the shell is prohibitively expensive (Spectrum wanted about $1,500).

You should probably try to find a bike shop that's got some experience to do the bottom bracket work, at least call around first.

The relevant manuals are still available on the Merlin site. If it's a 1992 this should be the right one:
https://www.merlinbike.com/bikes/pdf/MBBG.pdf

Alright thanks everyone for the great information. I will call the LBS that's down the street. They deal with high end bikes mostly and the shop owner has some 20 years experience and I believe raced professionally. I'm hoping that he may at least know of someone with experience. I will be sure to update this thread once I have her all built up, I think she could be a stunner. I'm thinking I'll get the decals and go with a white San Marco Rolls, white cables with brass ferrules, and white tape. I'll have to get a mental image once it comes over and decide if the gold clashes to much with the titanium. Anyways, all suggestions are welcome. Cheers!

Oh. . . , never mind.

This is new to me. I would have just assumed that the BB was threaded.

Most of the friends I rode with that had those with the Grease Guard had tubes crack at the shifter bosses and Merlin fixed them under warranty and replaced the BB with a threaded one at the same time.
Keep and eye on it.

I don't see how they could replace the bottom bracket without extensively reworking the shell...like replacing it. I rode with guys who had the grease guard BB as well and none of them had a problem. Mine certainly hasn't developed any issues and I've never heard of that happening. Net searches generally report on the early 90s Merlins as being bomb proof and still in general usage. There was an extra light model that I think was damage prone, but they used thicker tubing...and as memory serves, that one was VERY early on (like mid-80s). I think most of the negative things said and heard about ti are based on very early ti parts and frames.

what about the VO bottom bracket?
https://www.velo-orange.com/grcruthbobr.html

I know that World Class use to make the press in BB.. It is truly an artform to get it just right.. Most of time they come loose unless you have a mechanic that really knows how to install one..

Jim at Meridian Tandems use to own World class, drop him an email and see if he has any old stock.. Had a friend who sent his back to get fitted for new BB shell but it was very pricey..

Here's mine if you're interested. It's very modernized and I'm still following some of the POs choices. I'm going to give it a white selle ti flite saddle eventually and will go with white housings, but the rest is likely to stay the same for a while.

Wasnt Klien using a similar BB during the same period? Bearings themselves shouldnt be too hard to find, take what you have to local bearing supply house and they'll match them up for you. Installation looks easy.

Ya I don't think it will be too hard. All the pieces of the BB are there minus the bearings for one side. He also included Ti spindles. I'll probably head to the LBS this afternoon and see what they say about it. Thanks again for all of the responses!

I have a Klein Rascal (actually, two) with press-in bottom brackets. I replaced bearings a couple of times during the time that it was my main race bike. The first time I paid to have Klein loan my bike shop the tools. The second time I drove the bottom bracket out with a shot-filled hammer, and then set the new bearings with the correct sized socket and love taps from the same hammer. I can't speak for titanium, but the shade-tree solution worked fine for me.

Haha that sounds like it probably would work but I'm afraid to do some damage that way. I have cleaned up the frame a bit using some Ceramic Bryte pads and put on some decals I got from ebay. I still need on for the headtube and maybe the titanium ones for the top tube but the frame already looks better with some text on the downtube. The serial number for this frame is 2146, and I believe Merlin simply started at 1 and has gone from there. There is also interestingly a name lightly engraved in the drive side chain stay. I assume this was probably the original owner but who knows. I took a couple of pics of the finished product as well as the threadless bottom bracket. Cheers!

What they did was to replace the entire down tube and BB shell.
They had some jig and tool that made this the fastest fix for them.
Whether or not you have seen it crack there I have with at least 6 riders in my local area back in the mid '90s.
Some of these guys were doubles riders.
The last guy who had it happen they just gave him a new 2000 frame.
These were all early 90's Merlins and not Extra lights which came out mid 90's.
The tubing on the extralight was thinner and stiffer and they all came with threaded BB shells.

I have also heard of this issue. I was told by the person I traded with that this was often the result of people assembling the BB with grease which causes the titanium to seize and become more brittle. He also said that as an alternative to traditional grease that some type of copper grease is supposed to be used. I am not sure of the validity of these suggestions, however I have read in other threads that traditional grease is a no no with Ti and that using cleaners containing chlorine can cause the Ti to become brittle.

You can actually polish ti frames using fine steel wool since the material is so hard. I use a little mothers and steel wool with mine...ends up fantastic!

I'm not going to say that's not true...but I find this highly unlikely and contradictory to my experiences and everyone I knew who had one. There also doesn't seem to be anything on line that collaborates this either. There are plenty of on line reviews from people who've had them for life. My LBS mechanic, who knows this frame rather well...and the guys from Bilenky (who know a thing or two about frames) would also disagree with this.

I typed thicker but meant thinner.

Btw...my frame's serial number is 4522, and Tom Kellog's records state that it was built in September of 91'. I'm not sure how they get their serial numbers, but if you;re right, and they're sequential, your's might be a good bit older than a 92'.

i've used a green scotchbrite pad in perpendicular fashion around the tubes. when finished, just use a little pledge.

Definitely possible that it's older 1992 was just way the old old owner told me. my assumption about the serials was based on a website that had some serial numbers by year with only a few gaps. I will try to contact Merlin tomorrow. Cheer!