> Subject: [CR]Mercian (Duncan Granger)
>
> I recently bought a Mercian on Ebay:
>
http://ebay.com/
> I'm curious about the add-ons. It's full 531. The frame has campy drops
(w/
> mudguard eyes), and campy cable guides on top of the BB shell. There are
no shifter bosses brazed on to the down-tube (although there is the
ubiquitous pip to prevent clamp-on shifters from sliding down the tube).
There is no front-derailleur hanger brazed on, either. Overall, a
beautiful frame with
> clean, simple lines.
> So I guess that's my question: why would Mercian build a frame without
shifter bosses and front derailleur hanger as late as 1986? Surely the
customer spec'd it this way? It's a very large frame (65 cm c-to-t), so I'm
guessing it's not "off the rack" - although I admit I do not know if/when
Mercian started doing "off the rack" frames... Was there a demand, even in
1986, for "retro" frames on which to hang your old campy or other racing
components?
> So why no bosses and front hanger?
> Greg Parker:
> That's an easy one! The answer is: to allow the owner of an off-the-rack
frame some flexibility in how he or she can choose to build it up. Shifter
bosses are limiting, ditto front derailleur braze-ons. Plus, both take time
(and therefore cost the builder money) to add to a Production frame. I'm
betting that what you have is a stock 25-1/2" frameset. Pretty standard
"Large" size in a British frame.
Duncan, Greg pretty well nailed it. I have an '86 Olympic. It was their basic production frame (531C) with nothing but the little doodah under the downtube for clamp-ons. But Mercian would "customize" their production models with extra doodahs. My Olympic came with brake cable housings along top tube, shifter braze-ons, an extra eyelet on the rear brazed above the standard Campy one, AND (here's a rare one) threaded holes in chainstay and brake bridges for mudguards. Oh, and it was built for allen-headed calipers also. I wonder if the original owner really saved any money?
Craig Montgomery
Tucson