photogravity

Last week, Neal posted a 1981 Mercian King of Mercia bicycle for sale in the C&V sales forum. Upon seeing the ad, I immediately posted a message to Neal. After some back and forth, justifying another purchase in my mind (and to my wife), and organizing a way to pay for it, I decided to make the jump.

There were two specific things about the machine that appealed to me: 1) It was running 650B wheels and 2) it was an English built bicycle. Of course, there were other things that impressed me, full aluminum fenders, Huret Jubilee derailleurs, leather bar wrap, etc. Basically the bicycle came ready to ride. I didn't even adjust the seat height when I rode the bicycle the first time. My first impressions are quite positive. Neal mentioned it was a good climber and based on the climbing I did this evening on the bicycle, I concur. The 650B conversion works very nicely, with a supple ride, nice handling and good manners. I look forward to spending more time on this bicycle in the near future as I wring it out to see its capabilities on the road.

Whether this bicycle is fit for a King or not, matters not. It is a fit for me.


1981 Mercian - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


1981 Mercian - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


1981 Mercian - 3 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


1981 Mercian - 4 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


1981 Mercian - 5 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

inkandsilver

So smooth. Lovely bike.

photogravity

Thanks inkandsilver. Even though the components aren't a group, as many here like, this bicycle really seems to work very well. I look forward to a lot more miles in the saddle over the summer.

pastorbobnlnh 

But no IGH?

It is a very nice looking bike.

krobinson103

Looks like a well built bike. Should be fun to ride. What else matters?

BluesDaddy

The bike went from one good home to another.

Lascauxcaveman 

Maybe not a king, but not exactly a cabbage, either.

urodacus

Looks like the seatpost even saw some grease at some point or another.

But you'd better pull it and re-lube just to be sure.

photogravity

Shocking isn't it? Admittedly, I have a handful of derailleur bikes but tend to ride the IGH machines instead. This may change the ratio of IGH to derailleur riding a bit.

photogravity

Agree entirely. He knew what he was doing when he put this together, that's for sure.

auchencrow

Beautiful bike, PG. - (Just one nit to pick - Gotta put non aero's on that thang.)

rando_couche

Gotta love it: an English classic a la francaise.

SP
OC, OR

rootboy 

And it even has a derailleur on it. Bravo!

nlerner

Kudos to the builder! Enjoy the riding, D.

photogravity

I hope my home is as good as Neal's. I know his work area is far more organized than mine.

LOL. Definitely NOT a cabbage. Not fit for​ me, but fits me nonetheless.

photogravity

Thanks auchen. Indeed, aero brakes were introduced later than 1981 (I think) so this is not exactly period. Then again, I'm not particularly concerned with whether this particular machine is period correct or not.

ColonelJLloyd 

You'll like that more and more, I'll bet.

John E

That is a gorgeous looking bike.

What are the tooth counts fore and aft? That looks like a very wide gear range!

Nothing wrong with a French driveline on an English bike -- plenty of Raleighs came through that way.

photogravity

Yes, there is a bit of that about the bicycle, for sure. Now it just needs canti braze-ons.

Yeah, and a gorgeous derailleur at that. Admittedly, the Jubilee is a piece of art and especially so when compared to Campy derailleurs of that era.

photogravity

Hear, hear! I couldn't agree more. I rather like the idea that the bicycle has a rattle can paint job and parts that were selected for utility instead of being perfectly period correct. That will encourage me to ride it instead of letting it sit. Thanks for the quick peek at your bicycle collection, too. Needless to say, I was impressed.

photogravity

I'm guessing you may be correct on that. With that said, I'm so enamored with the Rapide it's hard to say if it'll supplant it for my favorite rider. I've been finding more gravel roads to ride of late, so this will probably be used for many of those types of rides.

photogravity

The front rings are 46/26. The rear appears to be a 13-28 or 14-28. I've shifted across the big ring on all 6 gears in the rear and I shifted to the small ring as a test. All seems to work fine, though the large ring causes some interference with some of the smaller cogs because of the size difference. Needless to say, the large ring interference is to be expected given the size difference between the front rings.

WNG

Very handsome ride, fine lines, especially the fender lines. A well-deserved purchase I would say.

I just recently picked up a factory spec-ed 650B bike from the mid 80s. Thanks to all the buzz about 650B conversions on the forum.
Mine is not a lightweight though, and likely go the gravel grinder route.

The Golden Boy 

There are things I want to match and things that go together well and things I don't particularly care about.

Sometimes that "eclectic mix of parts" is actually a carefully selected build rather than a collection of spare parts hanging around and stuff you got on sale.

photogravity

Thanks WNG. Since buying the Bilenky tandem, I've been thinking about getting a single with 650B wheels but just haven't had opportunity to get one until now. Granted this is a conversion, but it works quite well based on my first impressions.