Merlin Titanium

[Narhay]

Another craigslist find today. Merlin Titanium, rumoured to be 1990 but with some not so desireable modernization. Any information on it would be appreciated. I'm still not sure what to do with it but I know that a thorough cleaning is first on the list. The frame might be a bit small for me but we'll see.

Components list:

Merlin Titanium Frame 19.5" from middle of crank to top of seatpost
Shimano XT rear derailleur
Shimano XT front derailleur
Shimano XT rear hub with Mavic 121 SUP rim
Shimano XT seatpost
Shimano Deore front hub with Sun Rims Rhyno Lite rim
Shimano LX rear shifter 7 speed
SRAM X-9 front shifter 3 speed
Rock Shox Duke XC All-Mountain
Shimano ___ crankset
Funny looking hydraulic? rear brake
Icon stem
Race Face headset
Profile Designs handlebar
A super duper rear rack!!!

 

[yo-Nate-y]

I'd say the first thing you need to do it strip is all down, save the rear wheel, seatpost, and front mech, and check/sell the rest

Nice pick up!

 

[Narhay]

I'd like to put some XT/XTR shifter/brake combos and replace the LX/SRAM shifters. Not sure if I'll keep the fork because it will be a pain and $$$ to find a replacement otherwise but get a matching front wheel pending hub width.

I have a set of NOS Avid Tri-Align cantilever brakes that I might throw onto it. The rear brake is an evolution hydraulic horseshoe looking thing...pretty funky if you ask me but ideally I will have matching front/rear everything.

Currently the frame is sitting naked. I've stripped all the parts off of it and have begun the cleaning process.

 

[Retro Spud]

Start of a great project

The rear brake is made by Magura,
you'd easily find someone on here who'll bite your hand off
if you decide to sell it on.

 

[Narhay]

Bike has been stripped and a set of 3x7 XT shifters with SLR brakes has been ordered. Still need a saddle (suggestions?), cables, housing, chain and front wheel. This is the lightest frame I have ever held and am pretty excited about it...I have to wake up in 4 hours to go to work so you can see where my priorities were tonight.

 

[Plus one]

Flite titanium would look sweet

 

[Nader]

Very beautiful. I'm curious what you make out of it.

 

[Rio]

Very beautiful. I'm curious what you make out of it.

+1!

 

[Narhay]

Start of a great project

The rear brake is made by Magura,
you'd easily find someone on here who'll bite your hand off
if you decide to sell it on.

Yeah, I found the stamp Magura evolution. Not sure what they are going for as eBay didn't have any historical listings but I am more into cantilever brakes for simplicity...plus finding a matching front would be expensive and difficult based on what I am not seeing available.


Just a question for those more inclined to the mechanical side. I'd like to get a similar era XT hub for the front but will it be narrower for the suspension fork? If so can I just replace the axle and put some spacers in to make it fit properly? I ordered the 7 speed rear shifter and have all the parts so that one isn't changing.

 

[Rio]

front hub is 100 mm spacing, rigid or suspension so no worries there!