CassetteHoarder
Old School Hero
I've posted a few bikes from my collection but they all tended to be nearing completion when I've taken the photos. This time out I'm going to try to post photos as I work thru the build. This is Merlin #281, which appears to date to sometime in 1988. I picked up the frame on a trip to San Francisco after seeing an ad for it Craigslist. The decals were removed from the frame very early on as a theft prevention measure. It seems to have worked. Speaking with the seller, the bike which belonged to her father, got quite a bit of use early on but had been sitting in the basement for the last 15 or so years.
The frame weighs 3.28lbs, the seat tube is 18 3/4" from centre of bb to top, and 17 1/4" from centre to centre. The top tube is 22" long and the head tube is 4 3/4" tall.
I should also add that the rear drop-out spacing is 132.5mm.
Frame details...
A very solid looking cable stop.
This was the state of the bottom bracket I removed. Surprisingly, the axle turned freely when it was still in place.
The white material appears to be a lump of lithium grease hardened over time. There's two pieces of electrical tape embedded in the grease. Likely they were used to plug the vent holes, which would imply the frame was upside down when it was stored.
Hollow axle. I'll likely replace it with Phil Wood Titanium to save some additional weight.
I'll likely keep this build mostly period correct using most of a Deore XT M730 groupo, but with some WTB, IRD, and perhaps Cook Bros thrown in.
The frame weighs 3.28lbs, the seat tube is 18 3/4" from centre of bb to top, and 17 1/4" from centre to centre. The top tube is 22" long and the head tube is 4 3/4" tall.
I should also add that the rear drop-out spacing is 132.5mm.
Frame details...
A very solid looking cable stop.
This was the state of the bottom bracket I removed. Surprisingly, the axle turned freely when it was still in place.
The white material appears to be a lump of lithium grease hardened over time. There's two pieces of electrical tape embedded in the grease. Likely they were used to plug the vent holes, which would imply the frame was upside down when it was stored.
Hollow axle. I'll likely replace it with Phil Wood Titanium to save some additional weight.
I'll likely keep this build mostly period correct using most of a Deore XT M730 groupo, but with some WTB, IRD, and perhaps Cook Bros thrown in.
