1988 Merlin

[CassetteHoarder]

nice choices. a man after my own heart.
i'm a big fan of ird stuff. sounds like this build is going to be right up my alley.
is your ird fork a u-brake version? or are you thinking of sliding
the boss up the legs to suit u-brake locations?
if so, how do you how do you plan to get around the difference in
diameter of u-brake boss to canti bosses?
i have an ird build on the go also. was thinking of doing what i just suggested.

The fork I have is currently setup for cantilevers. The spacing between the bosses is different from cantilever to u-brake, so I'll design new brackets to be fabricated with the correct spacing and then slide them up the leg to the correct position. The boss, itself, is a sleeve similar to Bontrager forks, so I'll get custom sleeves with the correct outside diameter and length fabricated as well. What frame is your IRD build on?

 

[ez054098]

nice choices. a man after my own heart.
i'm a big fan of ird stuff. sounds like this build is going to be right up my alley.
is your ird fork a u-brake version? or are you thinking of sliding
the boss up the legs to suit u-brake locations?
if so, how do you how do you plan to get around the difference in
diameter of u-brake boss to canti bosses?
i have an ird build on the go also. was thinking of doing what i just suggested.

The fork I have is currently setup for cantilevers. The spacing between the bosses is different from cantilever to u-brake, so I'll design new brackets to be fabricated with the correct spacing and then slide them up the leg to the correct position. The boss, itself, is a sleeve similar to Bontrager forks, so I'll get custom sleeves with the correct outside diameter and length fabricated as well. What frame is your IRD build on?

Any pictures of the fork?

 

[CTK]

The frame looks absolutely beautiful in this raw used condition.

 

[CassetteHoarder]

The fork I have is currently setup for cantilevers. The spacing between the bosses is different from cantilever to u-brake, so I'll design new brackets to be fabricated with the correct spacing and then slide them up the leg to the correct position.

Actually doing some research, I think I'm ok with the current brackets. I though the bosses were too far apart but it looks like they would still be within the specified range. So just need to slide the brackets up and get new sleeves. I should be able to test how the brake fits this weekend.

 

[RockiMtn]

most of the welds look like they've been filed down. most merlin frames i've seen have beautiful welds, so this is unusual to me. am i missing something? :?

 

[CassetteHoarder]

most of the welds look like they've been filed down. most merlin frames i've seen have beautiful welds, so this is unusual to me. am i missing something? :?

I think because it's so early in production, the welds are a product of process that was evolving and the equipment they were using. I believe that the reason more modern welds in titanium look so good is that it's a 2 pass process, the first pass is the structural weld and the second pass is the dress weld. I think at this stage of production there was no dress pass to clean up the structural weld.

 

[albatros38]

Nice project !
#281 (81) could be a 1989 one (60-139)

 

[CassetteHoarder]

Nice project !
#281 (81) could be a 1989 one (60-139)

Hi,

That serial number summary on Ashok's page didn't make sense to me for the very early years. If you look at the bike galleries though, it's got serial numbers and dates which correlate better with my frame. For example, #250 listed as an 1988 nad it has the u-brake on the chainstays like mine. #296 also listed as an 1988 has the U-brake moved from the chainstays up to the seatstays.

 

[raidan73]

most of the welds look like they've been filed down. most merlin frames i've seen have beautiful welds, so this is unusual to me. am i missing something? :?

I noticed that too. There were comments from a couple of people who suggested the welds on my 1990 weren't up to Merlin standards but I guess they were still perfecting the art.

 

[RockiMtn]

most of the welds look like they've been filed down. most merlin frames i've seen have beautiful welds, so this is unusual to me. am i missing something? :?

I noticed that too. There were comments from a couple of people who suggested the welds on my 1990 weren't up to Merlin standards but I guess they were still perfecting the art.

from the few pics you have on your thread, they look fairly typical clean and neat Merlin welds to me. :?