Here’s the best pic I can get for you right now, as the Merz is at the back of the top rack awaiting parts arrival.
Can prolly take better shots next week.

Looks to me like a braze-on NR FD with a fabricated loop to replace the cage end strap. Don’t see any other mods at first glance but others might.
Regardless, it’s shifting a 50/45/28 triple like a champ. My build plans for this one do not include Campagnolo, so will be passing it along at some point.

That's a cool mod, but not usually necessary for a 28 to 50 spread. I've used as-delivered Campy Record FDs for that range and they worked fine for me, though YMMV. A an example of what I'll put up with, I actually have a bike with an Allvit rear and I think it shifts fine, so I obviously set the shifting "performance" bar pretty low...

The likelihood of chain dragging on the cage-closing bolt (or rather its bushing/spacer) depends on a number of factors including the seat tube angle and the BB drop, as well as chainring and rear sprocket sizes. I'll live with a little dragging there if it only happens on small-small, or even with the two or three smallest rear cogs, since those are gears I don't use with the granny. The dragging does no harm and only makes a slight noise, which is a plus for me if it reminds me not to ride in that gear.

It's a fact of physics that chain tension is inversely proportional to chainring size, all else equal. More chain tension means more wear, especially when it is combined with smaller chainrings and/or rear sprockets, so I try to stay in the largest possible chainring that gives the gear I want. The small-small gear is always close enough to some other gear on a bigger ring, so I never need it.

Also, and this doesn't apply to everyone, but I bias my chain-line narrow in front, for minimal Q and straighter chain in the gears I use most. So my granny on a triple is even worse to use with the small rear cogs than on a bike with "correct" chain-line. My ideal is to have the granny ring barely clear the chainstay, sometimes using a spindle made for a double, often with a spacer under the fixed cup so it's a little wider than a double, but as narrow as possible.

I know I'm not alone there, but some of you might actually want to have the small-small be fully usable. In that case, an extended cage to avoid dragging on the cage bottom is a valid solution. Suntour made a bolt-on piece to extend the cage on some of their FD, don't remember which but I wanna say Cyclone? It might fit other brands/models too, anyone know? I have one, but don't think I've ever put one on a bike.I've been holding onto it for possible use on a tandem. Tandems often benefit from a very high top gear (due to being fast on downhills) so they often have a wider spread on the chainrings than I'd ever use on a single.

Looking almost like a real bicycle!

Looks like a real GREAT bicycle!

Minor point: it looks like the seatpost flutes go down below the top of the seat lug. I advise against that since it lets water and water-borne grit (& sometimes human sweat) get into the interface there.
Sure, plenty of people have had that situation for years without a problem, so ignore me if you want, it probably won't bite you in the ass later... But it's sub-optimal, and looks like a mistake.

I'd save the fluted post for a smaller frame where you have more post showing.

One trick show-off move I have seen a few times is where the flutes are different lengths to match the swoop of the top of the lug, like this "Neat-o Nitto" from the late great Drillium Revival:



First time I remember seeing it was on a show bike by Bill Davidson in about '78 - '80. When I asked Bill about it to find out who did the flutes, he didn't remember ever having that done, so that info is lost in the mists of time. Wasn't Bill himself, her didn't even have a milling machine back then. But clearly someone was doing it that far back.

I am hoping to move this seatpost back to the Allegro it came off of, for the reason you mentioned and because of the color. Not sure why the flutes are so darn long on this one.

While I like the fluted look, I will probably go for a boring ol' unfluted Campy seatpost. If a really cool one falls in my lap, I'd probably change my mind, especially if I can get the flutes painted the correct green to match the frame.

I agree with all of that. Still, the FD as pictured is on the bike on the rack, and it shifts well.
I won’t use it, perhaps it will assist the OP.

Okay, crowd opinion wanted:

Do I go with this natural cork look wrap:




Or this cotton wrap that matches (for now) the cream paint:

My vote is for cotton cream. Maybe a coat of clear shellack to protect it.

1, do you wear gloves

if yes, go with cotton

if no, go with cork.

I made this 31 tooth ring. Rare bird these days! Jim Merz

Cork.

I figured with it being a 31T! Really happy to find it and give it a home on a Merz.

How about the saddle angle, is that settled or up for debate? It's not how Eddy did it... Or Jim M! He'd want the brake levers lower on the bars too. Just sayin'

Feel free to tell me to just stop sayin'. We don't need every bike to look just like Eddy's.

On the tape: I gave up on cork some while back, not durable enough, for someone as lazy as me.

Lately I've been using Redshift tape, stupidly expensive but the right amount of padding, great grip, more durable than cork, and long enough for any bars. I only use black because I ride with grimy hands sometimes, like after fixing a flat.

My days of putting on fresh white cloth tape before every race are far in the past. That was a nice psyche factor though.

This cockpit belongs on another bike; just testing for the cork aesthetics.

And I tried nose up on the saddle. Hated it. Maybe this looks lower than it is in reality? But I don't find myself sliding forward at all.

The levers on the actual cockpit are also probably too high for the cognoscenti, which is mostly due to my lazy way of aligning them (flat surface, bottom of the levers touching as the handlebar rests flat). But the Merz has to look right, right? So I'll take that suggestion and maybe lower them a bit. I ride in the hooks and drops mostly (not what this cockpit suggests) so I'll probably like that more.

was not Fresh White tape for every race in The Rules?

when I see a saddle nose down, I see an incorrect answer to improve comfort.

I always wanted to be able to ride "no-hands" and not feel I was sliding off the saddle. I have an idealé or Cinelli matched undercarriage.

Black. Other tape colors may be right, but black is never wrong.

FWIW, I think the white would be too monochromatic in this application and the cork somehow does not look right to me. Dark green to go with the frame's accent color would probably look good - but black will definitely work.

Mahogany, same color as the saddle. And I'd also suggest brown cable housing, check out the VO and Porkchop BMX offerings.

Even if you're not sliding forward on your saddle, you might still be putting too much weight on your hands and arms. I take a tilted-down saddle as a sign that the saddle might be too high.

For the bar tape, I would vote for a dark green if you can get it to match the paint reasonably well, or tan cork tape.

Getting a dark green to match is the hard part. Same with matching the saddle.

In my bike aesthetics, the saddle, tape and pedal straps all match. So I would rather have my bar tape match the saddle than the frame.

Maybe I can go with the cork and find one of those light colored Ideale or Brooks (not Honey).

As to the saddle angle, I'll have to readjust when I swap out the seatpost. These two bolt posts are a pain to set up, but they are really nice for micro-adjustments.

Assuming you have one of these, if not they are the secret to the 2 bolt, it will slip all the way in from the back and make short work of any and all adjustments.

I usually get one of the bolts where it will stay and then crank the other one down with the ratchet.

https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Husky-...id=22470249349

Yep, I would be lost without a ratchet 10mm. These seatposts should come with one.

The cork looks good to my eye, could be a little darker IMO but but helps tie all the natural, gum, tan, brown accents together well.

There's a lot of "good" beausage going on here so it seems like any shiney bright thing would be out of place and/or throw it off.

A darker green bar tape might work too.

I have 3 or 4 different ones, its amazing how a little more or less angle here or there can make all the difference.

Not my best tape job, but here it as on a shakedown ride.

All nitpicks are welcome on this build, although recognize that I'm not finished yet.