Steve asks for recommendations for his next vintage bike -
>> 1. Fit my weird riding body, which means seat tube 50.5 on centers or
>> 52 to the top, a cm or two bigger is tolerable, top tube 57cm, even
>> 58 is OK, 56 is the minimum.
>>
>> 2. 5 rear cogs or less, as I've already got a 1981 Raleigh Team 6-speed
>> Super Record-equipped bike as my only real vintage ride.
>>
>> 3. Light and Racy. I weigh 150 pounds and I like bikes built for
all-day
>> road racing, long in the chainstays is OK, but heavy is not, and
>> angles slacker than 73 degrees are not (with 73 degree seat tubes
>> I need usually need a no-offset post, and to build up a full
>> vintage-correct bike, I probably need a 74 degree seat tube angle)
I dunno ... how 'bout an older Mercian? The one I had refinished for a local rider has a pretty short seattube like that, with around a 55 or 56cm toptube, and it works for her - though she would like a taller stem someday ...
Consider - they were usually full 531; lugged; had braze-ons for shifter cables and rear brake cable routing - required clamp on bottles and shifters, though.
Isn't there a small Mercian like this on eBay right as I write this?
Russ Fitzgerald
Greenwood SC
rfitzger@emeraldis.com