I've actually gone from no Mercians to three (two are framesets) in two months. Two have serial #'s near the outer edge of the BB shell curving around the shell. One has the # just under the cable guides on the top half of the shell. From the #'s, I have a 1986, a 1988 and a 1991. The first two I'm 99% sure are King of Mercias (or maybe Kings of Mercia). The 1991 has me a bit puzzled. First, it has a 531 Professional tubing sticker. I thought 531 Pro was a short-lived early 80's tubeset and long gone by 1991. Second, the 1991 has lugs like a KOM, but it has Shimano vertical dropouts and the lettering is a simpler block style, rather than the the more gothic KOM. Here are the photos:
Anyone sure what model this is?
Finally, what size seat posts do Mercians take? The one complete bike came with a Dura Ace post I think is 27.2, but it goes in very tight. So unless the post is a rare 27.4, it seems the frame may be a bit smaller than 27.2, perhaps 27.0
Regards,
Jerry Moos Houston, TX
"velocio@earthlink.net" <velocio@earthlink.net> wrote: On the sample two I can provide, both bikes had the numbers stamped onto the underside of the BB.
The 1982 Mercian Colorado is stamped 45882, with an 8 stamped under that. According to Jane at Mercian, it's the 458th frame of 1982, by builder no. 8, George Bryan. The numbers are between the under-BB cable tunnels.
My KOF 2002 Vincitore is marked with a 5 right at the juncture of BB shell proper and the DT lower lug; 191; below that, 2002. Builder no. 5 (Derek Land), no. 191, and built in 2002.
The c.1969 Mercian Olympic that belongs to a friend of mine is not readily accessible, but it, too, had similar markings under the BB shell.
Russ Fitzgerald Greenwood, SC
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