1989 Merlin Mountain

[27motorhead]

As always @Canuckbiker loving the tweaks. Look forward to seeing what you do next now that it's "finished"

 

[Black_puma]

Moto stem repaint is complete , I went with the Salsa pepper decal rather than the Salsa words, kinda like it better

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That is a loooong stem, are you sure you can still reach?

 

[Black_puma]

Made a few tweaks, the 150mm Salsa Moto was a bit long for my taste, I managed to source a 130mm at great expense, a nice surprise after receiving it in the mail was noticing it had full titanium hardware which softened the financial blow a bit , great original paint and decals as well and yes, a much better fit for my preferred riding position.

I'm a big fan of the @mkozaczek Merlin build and have, well, copied the idea of a small Cook Bros Racing decal on the rear of the top tube (hope you don't mind ), I made the decal myself using a scan of a decent quality image, having fitted Cook cranks and skewers I think it goes with the build

Also swapped the front derailleur for a standard clamp version which I much prefer the look of, swapped the Dia-compe brake lever blades for plain silver versions (more fitting for an 89' than the grey painted version) and swapped the grips to WTB units. Where has this grip been all my life! I may have to order a couple more pairs, super comfortable design

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Stunning looking bike!
How's the performance of the U brake with short straddle cable? I'm quite curious to know.
Having 3 GT's with U brakes, the straddle cable is crossed over with the straddle bridge behind the seat tube as seen from behind.
It looks interesting and quite different to what I'm used to.

 

[Canuckbiker]

That is a loooong stem, are you sure you can still reach?

LOL, yes, 150mm was a bit long, hence the recent switch to a 130mm, much better

 

[Canuckbiker]

Stunning looking bike!
How's the performance of the U brake with short straddle cable? I'm quite curious to know.
Having 3 GT's with U brakes, the straddle cable is crossed over with the straddle bridge behind the seat tube as seen from behind.
It looks interesting and quite different to what I'm used to.

I'm no expert but I think it's the ideal straddle cable length if frame cable routing allows, it works great for me

 

[MattiThundrrr]

As much as I loved the Ti Syncros seatpost I got an urge to try a black seatpost.

Balances perfectly with the fork.

 

[Retro_Roy]

thumbs up on latest revisions.

 

[uno-speedo]

The latest changes are so sweet and the CB sticker looks neat. Just need to replace the new WTB grips with period-correct WTB grips