So I made a difficult decision to sell the Yeti Ultimate frame. I really wanted to have a finished retro bike to ride this year and the Yeti has a cracked frame. In addition, the Yeti was too small for me aswell.
In February I saw the Mombat sale on Ebay and this Merlin caught my attention. I remember going over and over the 1990 catalogue (when I couldn’t afford to own one). I made an offer and two weeks later it was on it’s way from the US to the Netherlands. Shipping was kind of a pain (costly) but when I received the bike I forgot all about that.
It’s a 1989 Merlin Titanium. The specs of the bike as I bought it:
I really liked the Rock Shox RS-1. However, the need a service badly as they do not hold air. It has proven hard to find a replacement RS-1 in working order so I focused on finding a suitable rigid fork. I started looking for a Kona P2 or Track Two, Bontrager Comp, Koski or IRD.
Then things started to get a little out of control. Four months later and I have made the first ride yesterday. It’s a great ride, I need some new tires (preferably Panaracer Timbuk II) but I might settle for some repro Dart and Smoke tires.
Some pictures I took on it’s maiden voyage:
I also changed the cranks to a (NOS) pair of black FC-M730 cranks.
Things I need to do now are to find a replacement decal for the Merlin handlebars, I have a VGC FD M730 clamp on derailleur. However, I am waiting on the right size band to install it. Last, I also have decals for the frame (from Second Spin) but I think I like the patina on these so will not replace those.
I hope you like it. I know I enjoyed building it. Looking forward to put some miles on this!
In February I saw the Mombat sale on Ebay and this Merlin caught my attention. I remember going over and over the 1990 catalogue (when I couldn’t afford to own one). I made an offer and two weeks later it was on it’s way from the US to the Netherlands. Shipping was kind of a pain (costly) but when I received the bike I forgot all about that.
It’s a 1989 Merlin Titanium. The specs of the bike as I bought it:
I really liked the Rock Shox RS-1. However, the need a service badly as they do not hold air. It has proven hard to find a replacement RS-1 in working order so I focused on finding a suitable rigid fork. I started looking for a Kona P2 or Track Two, Bontrager Comp, Koski or IRD.
Then things started to get a little out of control. Four months later and I have made the first ride yesterday. It’s a great ride, I need some new tires (preferably Panaracer Timbuk II) but I might settle for some repro Dart and Smoke tires.
Some pictures I took on it’s maiden voyage:
I also changed the cranks to a (NOS) pair of black FC-M730 cranks.
Things I need to do now are to find a replacement decal for the Merlin handlebars, I have a VGC FD M730 clamp on derailleur. However, I am waiting on the right size band to install it. Last, I also have decals for the frame (from Second Spin) but I think I like the patina on these so will not replace those.
I hope you like it. I know I enjoyed building it. Looking forward to put some miles on this!
