Hey Russ ,
Nice bicycle !!
I ask this because your ideas seem oddly similar to some of my own !
What hubs are you planning to use on this lovely machine ?
And do you have hubs ready and waiting for this one ?
Thanks !
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas
> My new Mercian Vincitore arrived yesterday afternoon. I built it up last
> night, but it may be a bit before I have a ride report. There are NO
photos at
> the moment, but I'll do something about that soon. The plan is to put up
a new
> website featuring this bike, my Riv, and others as time permits.
>
> Observations -
>
> - Paint and finish work is lovely. If we call Joe Bell's work on my
Rivendell
> a 10, this is around a 9, at least in my eyes. They're different types of
> paint and ways of painting, too - comparing Imron to stoved enamel may be
> comparing apples to oranges. JB's details are a tad crisper, but the
paint
> work done by Mercian has a LOT more details. All the lugs are lined with
gold,
> as well as the windows, etc. I like it a lot.
>
> - All braze-ons are neat and crisp. I haven't fitted bottles to the
fittings
> on down and seat tubes, as I plan on using bar-mounted cages, but those
are
> clean and simple. The lamp mount on the left fork blade is simple,
elegant,
> but still inspires confidence that it will work for a very long time.
>
> - The lugs are purty! They're the fancy Vincitore pattern, with fill work
on
> the head tube and lug lining in gold. When I was unwrapping the frame,
> I did the head tube area first, and just sat there a minute gazing with a
big
> grin.
>
> - All tolerances were snug and crisp - I had a bad moment with the front
brake
> allen key hole, but it worked its way in smoothly. The paint was a tad
thick
> in there, I suppose.
>
> - I didn't realize I was getting full fender mounts - i.e., the underside
of
> the brake bridge is drilled and tapped. There's also a mount on the
inside
> rear of the fork crown, drilled and tapped for running a bolt through the
> fender. All fender bolts were included, as well as bottle cage bolts.
>
> - The track ends have some good length to them; feel pretty substantial;
and
> are yet clean and in proportion. Like everything else, it looks nicely
done to
> me.
>
> - Peeking into the BB shell before assembly, everything looked nicely
mitered
> and fitted together. Good, clean work, and I was quite pleased.
>
> I hope to have decent weather for a ride soon. I still need to get
mudguards
> to complete this one ...
>
> regards,
> Russ Fitzgerald
> Greenwood, SC
> velocio@meta-net.net