Hi Norris, Many thanks for your very informative post.
You have said just about as much as I know now about my Mercier.
I am led to believe that many frames that looked like mine were also produced with Vitus tubes. Maybe this was before the change over to Columbus tubing. I have seen one on eBay (Belgium, I think) some time ago. It was identical to mine in all other respects.
Have you found and good websites, or other sources of information on Mercier?
Anyway, great work and I think you very much. At least I know the model name of my Mercier now!!
All the best, Peter Rogers
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Norris Lockley" <nlockley73@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, June 25, 2010 8:00 PM
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR] MERCIER - even more..
> Before my protracted computer and adsl line problems..and the holiday in
> France that intervened..I had made a start, but not a very promising one,
> on
> researching the Mercier company, so this recent CR List discussion has
> given
> me reason to become more focused..that and the availablity of other
> people's
> photos.
>
> The latest crop has help me establish a fairly definite time-line. The
> vntagevelos Poulidor-replica machine, given as a 1973 model is redolent of
> that period. The frame has Bocama long-point lugs , an RGF or Gargatte
> bracket shell..and one of those awful Nervex Pro pressed steel fork
> crowns,..standard non-engraved plated wrap-over seat-stay eyes, and
> Campagnolo long road drop-outs. The paint job is a sturdy pink/rose
> enamel.
>
> Hugh's silver Mercier is also from that period, no later than the
> mid-70s..largely due to its Simplex drop-outs. Mercier being very
> committed
> to Campagnolo groupsets at that time. Hugh's renovated red Mercier, with
> its
> drilled drop-outs , unusual engraved top-eyes, Prugnat lugs, non-aero
> brake
> bridge, TA bottle bosses, number plate boss and reinforced fork crown is
> most likely to be from around 1977/78, and is probably from the firm's
> Prestige range. The metallic pink frame with its unusual top-eyes, Prugnat
> lugs, TA bottle bosses, RGF braket..and rear drop-outs I cannot readily
> recognise - they look a little like Tecnociclo and its awful self adhesive
> flimsy decals is probably also from the Prestige or Competition range
> hailing from the very end of the 70s and no later than 1980.
>
> I wonder whether this frame might have been either a custom-build or one
> of
> Mercier's options built up with the TOUT MAVIC groupset.
>
> There is little doubt that Peter's Columbus SL tubed frame is post-1981 -
> the year that Mercier introduced the Italian tube throughout its
> Competition
> range. There was just one frame for that range..like Peter's and all had
> full chrome forks, and the metallic paint job and those cursive typeface
> decals. The frame when equipped with Campag Super Record was called the
> Tour
> de France Super Record, Peter's is the Tour de France Record, then there
> was
> the same frame with Shimano Dura-Ace called the Tour du Monde model, and
> finally the same frame with Shomano 600 equipment was called the Mont
> faron
> model.
>
> Another model that resembled these frames, but without the chrome fork,
> was
> the National, built from Super Vitus and equipped with TOUT MAVIC. The
> same
> frame equipped with Campag Gran Sport, but painted red was called the
> Giro,
> but painted dark blue and built up with 600EX it became the Lugano.
>
> The very top of the range at this time, using the Tour de France/Monde
> names
> were the bikes equipped as indicated, but built onto a Vitis Duralinox 979
> frame..anodised - Yes..you guessed it- in cyclamen pink. These frames
> appear
> occasionally on French eBay and are very tasty.
>
> I notice that on Peter's frame, Mercier has dropped the external Cinelli
> crown in favour of a sleeker internal model, possibly a BOCAMA one. What
> puzzles me about the frame is why it has VITUS rear drop-outs..and not
> Campagnolo short road ones.
>
> Leon's frame is also from the same period as Hugh's renovated Prestige
> model, but I have some serious doubts whether the front forks with their
> Tange drop-outs are original. However around that time, some very elegant
> Tange forks with Cinelli-like external crowns were appearing on the UK
> market..so who knows. I reckon that the difference in the number of drill
> holes in the rear drop-outs and the quality of their execution is
> prpobably
> a result of being made in the prestige workshop by a different builder.
>
> Also launched at the same time, 1981 as this range, Mercier decided to go
> very avant-garde..and introduced their FORMULE 1 de Mercier range. These
> were bikes equipped with the same top-of-the range groupsets but built up
> on
> aero-tubed frames. Formule 1 Standard frames had 35 x 20mm tubes of fairly
> standard steel, whereas the FORMULE 1 Performant frames looked identical,
> except for the fork crowns but used Vitus aero section tubes. .
>
> Bikes selected from these ranges were used by the MIKO-Mercier-Vivagel Pro
> team, Business for French bike-makers was becoming difficult by this time
> and there was much talk of grouping several manufacturers together,
> but Marcel Mercier, the boss of the company at that time decided that his
> strategy of launching new dynamic ranges of bikes would enable Mercier not
> only to survive, on its own, but even thrive. Unfortunately by 1983 a
> recession was hitting France and cycling itself was losing popularity to
> tennis and wind-surfing. Mercier tried to find strong partnerships with
> MAVIC and the grocery chain COOP, but the costs of contributing to the Pro
> team bankrupted the last named and shortly after, in November 1983,
> Mercier
> went bankrupt too. The company was reformed with cash from an
> industrialist
> who himself rode a Mercier bike..and he simply wished to keep the name
> going...but by 1985 La Nouvelle societe Mercier had closed its doors for
> good... it seemed at the time .or not quite.
>
> Norris Lockley
>
> Settle UK