Steven,
Based on what wrote earlier and the message below, you seem pretty certain that F-1 was some sort of grassroots crit racing for kids, intended to bring them from the darkness of BMX to the light of road racing. My impresion had always been that F-1 was basically a new type of BMX racing, with corners instead of jumps, developed solely to boost juvenile bikes sales. I'm not a huge fan of BMX, freestyle, MTB cross country, or downhill, but those forms of cycling did arise on their own, with the required equipment provided based on a rising demand. My impression had always been that F-1 was a failed attempt to invent a new market. I had always figured that it failed because it was the brainchild of the manufacturers first, and not born of the inventiveness of children (or grown-up children). Maybe I was wrong. Are you saying that around 1987, when those cheesey BMX bikes with fat slicks, fairings and derailleurs hit the bike shops that said bikes were emulating hand-built Merlins used on some little-known racing circuit? I had never even seen a Merlin at that time. I have heard of high end F-1 bikes, but only as an upgrade to the toys that were first seen in 1987 or so.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, PA
Steven wrote: It was a criterium bike with 20" wheels. The concept was to road race in small areas like mall parking lots. Hopefully getting kids who were BMX racers interested in road racing.
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I've had a few people try to rain on my parade for mentioning F1. My first thought was, "Elitist!". My pet bike is a classic and yours is junk? Should I point out that I saw a Colnago stripped for the paint shop in 1979 and it had body putty filling the gaps in the lug brazing. Does that make it a piece of junk or is it still a classic?
So going back to the list focus. The Merlin F1 I rode was built before 1983. It was hand built by custom framebuilders in the Merlin shop. (Keeper of the flame) While it was welded titanium, Behringer and Moroni pioneered titanium frames in 1973. I doubt there is anyone who wouldn't want a Behringer titanium frame in their stable. It certainly wasn't glued or molded. It certainly wasn't a mountain bike. You could hardly call a 20" X 25mm sewup a fat tire. (wheelchair racing)
The bike had full Campy SR and toe clips. Other than the fact it had 6 gears and not 15 or 18 it wouldn't have been much different than a mid 70s Moulton. (Without the suspension)
The builder I spoke with at the Anaheim bike show in 1982 had a legitimate concern. Kids were turning away from road bikes to BMX. As they got older they bought motorcycles. This was an attempt to introduce older kids to road racing and hopefully keep then in cycling. It was hardly an attempt to "cash in". The manufacturers who really tried to do something well lost money.
While later F1 bikes were nothing more than BMX machines (off topic) with a derailleur. The one I saw (and rode) should very definitely be considered "on topic".
Steve Leitgen La Crosse, WI
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