Jim Merz, are you there? Any recent contact information for Jim Merz?
Jim is still doing special products for Specialized in Morgan Hill. I was ju st out there for a meeting but did not see him this trip. I think he works i ndependently and is not regularly on the premises....
Dale Brown Greensboro, North Carolina USA
-----Original Message----- From: LEM321@aol.com To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Sun, 6 Jan 2008 1:45 am Subject: [CR]Help with Merz bicycle frame!
Hi guys, Recently spotted a late 70\u2019s Jim Merz (no. 040) for sale and the bi ke had some unusual features which differ from the Merz I purchased from Spence Wo lf in 1981 (no. SW247). For example, there is an \u201cM\u201d cutout on the BB (a la Masi), two different types of brakes with calipers in front and cantilevers in back. The rear drop-outs are not campy and have a more compact and vertica l design. There are no eyelets. As I am interested in buying the bike, my concern is that the bike may not have its original fork but was replaced with a fork that took a caliper typ e brake. I presume the rear brake configuration is original as there are braze-on bosses on the seat stays for the cantilevers. The limited jpegs I have do show a semi-sloping crown similar to my Merz. The rear brake bridge is similar to mine (just no hole for a caliper). It is round with a clean\u201d miter joint onto the seat stays \u2013 i.e. no reinforcement tangs or other de coration.
As this was a very early Merz, I am not completely surprised there are some
differences in the frame design. Are there any functional reasons that wou ld explain the use of different brakes for front and back? The seller, who is
the second owner, did say the current charcoal/red color scheme is not the original paint (which was yellow). Interestingly, it was repainted by Mar k Dinucci who used to work with Merz. Maybe the front cantilever braze-on s were removed at that time? Any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated. Please respond either on list or to my email at <lem321@aol.com> Pictures available. Jim Merz, are you there? Any recent contact information for Jim Merz? Regards, Wilson Lem (where in San Francisco it\u2019s raining cats and dogs!)
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