My Favorite Bike

[mimbresman]

1996 Merlin MTN…I don’t have a very good digital action shot of this bike yet, which is ironic since I’ve had this bike (or its predecessors) since 1990. I have some good prints of this bike in action, but they are in storage in the USA. I took these photos inside my old apartment last year.

How can I have a 1996 bike since 1990?

After riding a friend’s Merlin in the spring of 1990, I saw the future. I saved my money, got a summer job to augment my teaching job, I bought my Merlin in 1990. I ordered it sometime in June or July and got delivery of it the week after the first Worlds at Durango.

At the time the two choices in titanium were Merlin and Litespeed. Merlins were just nicer looking with their brushed satin finish and incredible welds. They were real works of art, though they had some quirky design features with the most obvious, the tiny BB shell with the oddball pressed-in bearings.

I rode the 1990 Merlin for about a year when I discovered a small crack migrating up the seat tube from the BB shell. I sent it back to Merlin and I talked to Rob Vandermark on the phone a couple of days later. He said they had decided to do a “bottom bracket-ectomy”, where they were going to machine out the old pressed-in BB shell and replace it with a new titanium conventional-design BB. I received my modified bike in less than a week. Their service was incredible.

I rode the repaired 1990 frame until 1993 when I discovered a crack at the down tube/head tube junction. I sent the frame back to Merlin and they decided to replace the frame with a 1993 model.

The 1993 bike had a conventional BB shell and a bigger diameter down tube and top tube. I rode it with a purple Specialized rigid fork that came off a Stumpjumper. I liked that bike a lot. I rode it all over including a 10-day tour of Baja. This was the bike that appeared in the full-color Mimbres Man ads in BIKE magazine back in the 1990s. I rode that bike till 1996 when again, I found a crack at the down tube/head tube junction, so I sent it back to Merlin.

This time I talked to Matt O’Keefe. He confirmed the frame was cracked, and yes they could repair it, but he said I was the only one doing this to their bikes and felt that I deserved their latest frame, the 1996, because they were the best ones they’ve built to date. He wanted to see if I could break it. He asked if I was still going to run a rigid fork and said he had a whole pile of Ritchey forks laying around that nobody wanted. He also asked if I wanted any modifications. I asked for a 3rd water bottle mount. Again, I had the new bike in less than a week. Little did I know that Vandermark and O’Keefe were to go on and form Seven the next year and Merlin was sold to Saucony (shoes).

The 1996 frame is/has been great! 1 1/8 head tube, suspension adjusted geometry (though I’ve never really taken advantage of it), and even bigger tubes.

Last year I converted it to single speed out of curiosity. I wanted to see what the hubbub was about. It’s a good SSer as far I know. It weighs only 20 lbs or so. Killer ride. Super fun!

This bike is my baby! I love this bike. My wife is jealous of this bike.

[McDuff]

Nice!
I've been riding with a guy on a mid 90's Merlin. It's pretty close to original I believe, ie fr. sus. and 7sp. gears, and he freakin' hauls on it! There was a ride in the works for this past thurs. nite in fact, and he wanted to keep it on even knowing a snowstorm was predicted. The storm turned out to be too much though, massive gridlock in N.E. so he called it. Crap!
Next time I ride with him I'll throw some pics up.

[mimbresman]

Nice!
I've been riding with a guy on a mid 90's Merlin. It's pretty close to original I believe, ie fr. sus. and 7sp. gears, and he freakin' hauls on it! There was a ride in the works for this past thurs. nite in fact, and he wanted to keep it on even knowing a snowstorm was predicted. The storm turned out to be too much though, massive gridlock in N.E. so he called it. Crap!
Next time I ride with him I'll throw some pics up.

Mine had 7-speed till I moved to Venezuela. Just before coming down in 2000, I upgraded it with XT 9-speed. I skipped 8-speed all together.

I now want to put an Easton stem and carbon riser bar on it. The bar and stem on it right now are as they say here, "provisional" (temporary). When it was a geared bike, I had a narrow Ti bar for it, but when I converted it to SS I put a free cheap short 100 mm stem and some Zoom risers bars I bought at the local shop.

That'd be great to see other vintage Merlins. Post pics please.

[50 Mission Cap]

1996 Merlin MTN…I don’t have a very good digital action shot of this bike yet, which is ironic since I’ve had this bike (or its predecessors) since 1990. I have some good prints of this bike in action, but they are in storage in the USA. I took these photos inside my old apartment last year.

How can I have a 1996 bike since 1990?

After riding a friend’s Merlin in the spring of 1990, I saw the future. I saved my money, got a summer job to augment my teaching job, I bought my Merlin in 1990. I ordered it sometime in June or July and got delivery of it the week after the first Worlds at Durango.

At the time the two choices in titanium were Merlin and Litespeed. Merlins were just nicer looking with their brushed satin finish and incredible welds. They were real works of art, though they had some quirky design features with the most obvious, the tiny BB shell with the oddball pressed-in bearings.

I rode the 1990 Merlin for about a year when I discovered a small crack migrating up the seat tube from the BB shell. I sent it back to Merlin and I talked to Rob Vandermark on the phone a couple of days later. He said they had decided to do a “bottom bracket-ectomy”, where they were going to machine out the old pressed-in BB shell and replace it with a new titanium conventional-design BB. I received my modified bike in less than a week. Their service was incredible.

I rode the repaired 1990 frame until 1993 when I discovered a crack at the down tube/head tube junction. I sent the frame back to Merlin and they decided to replace the frame with a 1993 model.

The 1993 bike had a conventional BB shell and a bigger diameter down tube and top tube. I rode it with a purple Specialized rigid fork that came off a Stumpjumper. I liked that bike a lot. I rode it all over including a 10-day tour of Baja. This was the bike that appeared in the full-color Mimbres Man ads in BIKE magazine back in the 1990s. I rode that bike till 1996 when again, I found a crack at the down tube/head tube junction, so I sent it back to Merlin.

This time I talked to Matt O’Keefe. He confirmed the frame was cracked, and yes they could repair it, but he said I was the only one doing this to their bikes and felt that I deserved their latest frame, the 1996, because they were the best ones they’ve built to date. He wanted to see if I could break it. He asked if I was still going to run a rigid fork and said he had a whole pile of Ritchey forks laying around that nobody wanted. He also asked if I wanted any modifications. I asked for a 3rd water bottle mount. Again, I had the new bike in less than a week. Little did I know that Vandermark and O’Keefe were to go on and form Seven the next year and Merlin was sold to Saucony (shoes).

The 1996 frame is/has been great! 1 1/8 head tube, suspension adjusted geometry (though I’ve never really taken advantage of it), and even bigger tubes.

Last year I converted it to single speed out of curiosity. I wanted to see what the hubbub was about. It’s a good SSer as far I know. It weighs only 20 lbs or so. Killer ride. Super fun!

This bike is my baby! I love this bike. My wife is jealous of this bike.

Beautiful! Perhaps I should re-think my coconino.

Got any teaching jobs down there for a non spanish speaking gringo for the summer?

Mick

[mimbresman]

Beautiful! Perhaps I should re-think my coconino.

Got any teaching jobs down there for a non spanish speaking gringo for the summer?

Mick

You could probably free-lance teach English down here a few hours a day and pay for your summer, rent, and plane ticket. Cost of living is high for Latin American standards but still dirt cheap for an American.

BTW I am embarassed to say that after 8 years, my Spanish is pretty sucky, but can get by most of the time.

I wouldn't change your mind on the Coconino. I watched Steve work on a bike in 2006, the summer after his accident. It was really neat how he was thinking about the person who would be riding it. He had an idea how the bike would be treated.

Steve is not an engineer but he's a really smart guy and has been around bikes his whole life. He knows bikes.

I was just IM a friend today on gmail and how both of us would like to have a Coconino. My comment was, "I like both my mtn bikes and can't commit on what other kind of bike I want." I like the Coconino Cruiser or a touring bike, but I need to move back to the USA for either of those bikes, because here they'd both be somewhat useless.

[Upchuck]

I traded a late 80's Yeti for this 1990 Merlin frame. The frame is in pristine condition. It just begged for an eclectic build. It handles like a dream on the trail. I'm still trying to dial in the brakes.
Frame: 1990 Merlin
Fork: Rock Lobster steel
Rims: Mavic 717
Hubs: White Industries ENO Eccentric
Quick: Release: Ringle
Tires: Kenda Nevegal
Pedals: XTR
Crank: Paul Components
Chain: SRAM PC1
Freewheel: WI ENO
Bottom Bracket: Phil Wood Ti
Front Derailleur: NA
Rear Derailleur: NA
Shifters: NA
Handlebars: Black Sheep Ti Enduro Mountain Moustache
Grips: Brooks Leather
Stem: Thomson
Headset: Chris King 1"
Brake set: OnZa HO front/WTB Roller Cam rear (front changed out to Paul Canti/rear changed out to black WTB RollerCam)
Brake levers: Paul Components Canti's
Saddle: Brooks B17
Seat Post: Vintage Syncros Ti
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/1156/medium/Merlin_SS.JPG
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/1156/medium/Merlin_Headbadge.JPG
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/1156/medium/Cork_Barend.JPG
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/1156/medium/Paul_Comp_Crankset.JPG
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/1156/medium/OnZa_HO.JPG
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/1156/medium/WTB_Rollercam.JPG
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/1156/medium/ENO_eccentric_hub_and_FW.JPG
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/1156/medium/Ringle_WI_hub.JPG

[mimbresman]

Chuck,
You're right...they do handle like a dream on the trail. I love Merlins. :cool:

[mimbresman]

Today I put my Thomson stem (105 degree, 100 mm) and a carbonfiber riser bar. Lightened the front end by at least 1/2 pound, maybe more. The other system I had was a generic stem and Zoom aluminum bar. Heavy.
Tomorrow I'll put the ENO wheel on it.

[Upchuck]

Nice! Looking forward to the ride report.
Today I put my Thomson stem (105 degree, 100 mm) and a carbonfiber riser bar. Lightened the front end by at least 1/2 pound, maybe more. The other system I had was a generic stem and Zoom aluminum bar. Heavy.
Tomorrow I'll put the ENO wheel on it.

[mimbresman]

Nice! Looking forward to the ride report.

By the looks of your pics, we'll have almost identical bikes. :cool:

[Upchuck]

That's pretty funny! Especially since jh4rt just acquired and built up a Ti IF SS...hmmm...maybe he won't notice if I pilfer it and store it in my garage.:p
jh4rt rig:
http://lh5.google.com/mavsolve/R3bwF0uDDBI/AAAAAAAAAZg/P0mWvvNJ0gY/s800/IMG_1978.JPG
My rig:
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/899/medium/Ti_IF_SS_profile.JPG
By the looks of your pics, we'll have almost identical bikes. :cool:

[mimbresman]

Ti bikes are bad-ass!

[mimbresman]

My old bike just got a little more fun. ENO, White Industries 18T freewheel, Thomson stem, Performance Forte' carbonfiber riser bar. YeeHAW! What a fun bike! I'll post pics tomorrow. Forgot my camera on today's ride. Going out tomorrow.

[Upchuck]

Nice! Looking forward to pics and ride report.
My old bike just got a little more fun. ENO, White Industries 18T freewheel, Thomson stem, Performance Forte' carbonfiber riser bar. YeeHAW! What a fun bike! I'll post pics tomorrow. Forgot my camera on today's ride. Going out tomorrow.

[mimbresman]

Old photo tweeked

[blu-haus]

seems as how you are good at breaking things, you might reconsider the Ritchey fork. A guy I know in Fruita almost lost his face due to a broken Ritchey fork on his Merlin...

link here :http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=19051

[mimbresman]

Ouch! Thanks for the heads up. Ritchey stuff seems to do that from time to time.
I have a new Salsa fork in reserve. Maybe I should check out my fork. The Ritchey going on 12 years now.

[mimbresman]

Back to #1 status. Litespeed was grounded by Continental. Luggage embargo!

[mimbresman]

While MB was racing, I was messing around with my camera...

My decals have seen better days...
26337

Titanium Alloy
26338

I've had this on my bike(s) since at least 1995. It is from Boquillas, Mexico...a little village across the Rio Grande at Big Bend Nat. Park in Texas. Not sure if you can get there anymore due to 9-11. :confused::(
Anyway, I paid a little girl $1.00 for it.
26340

Found a hard hat my first year in Venezuela and it had this cool Red Adair sticker on it, so I put it on the Merlin.
26339

My wife found this sticker in a box when she was cleaning the apt. and decided the TT was a good place for it.
26336

[kpomtb]

I've had this on my bike(s) since at least 1995. It is from Boquillas, Mexico...a little village across the Rio Grande at Big Bend Nat. Park in Texas. Not sure if you can get there anymore due to 9-11. :confused::(
Anyway, I paid a little girl $1.00 for it.
26340

Found a hard hat my first year in Venezuela and it had this cool Red Adair sticker on it, so I put it on the Merlin.


Don't think you can do those informal crossings anymore. The ride from Lajitas to San Carlos is no more for this reason.

[kpomtb]

Found a hard hat my first year in Venezuela and it had this cool Red Adair sticker on it, so I put it on the Merlin.

Speaking of Red Adair, Mimbs did you ever hear this one?

So this new oil well company has a fire at one of their wells. It burns for a few days and they have no luck putting it out. They call Red Adair for help. Well it's been a very busy time for Red, and he doesn't have any crews available to send to this well. He does however know of some boys who are from Texas A &M (Aggie jokes are the TX equivalent of Polish jokes for those from other parts of the country--oh and before anyone freaks out, I have both polish and aggie relatives, so no offense meant to anyone of any particular ethnic or educational persuasion) who have just started an oil rig fire company of their own. They are new, but Red has faith in them and thinks they can do the job. Well the company calls these aggies and tells them they have a situation they could use some help with. The aggies agree to come out and the company boys tell them they'll meet at the top of the hill near the rig. Well the company fellas are waiting at the top of the hill and here comes this old red fire truck full of aggie fire fighters. The truck comes screaming up and blows past the guys that are waiting, and drives down the hill right into the middle of the rig that is still burning like crazy. A whole bunch of aggies jump out of the truck and start beating the fire out with wet burlap sacks. They put the fire out in amazingly short order and the company guys are so impressed that they decide to give the aggies a big bonus. As they are giving them the check, they ask the aggie in charge what they're going to do with the extra money. He says he's not sure what they'll do with all of it, but the first thing they're going to do is fix the brakes on that goddam red truck!

[mimbresman]

Don't think you can do those informal crossings anymore. The ride from Lajitas to San Carlos is no more for this reason.

Those damn terrorists wrecked everything! :mad:

Good joke too.
When I lived in Anaco, VZ (one of the centers of the oil industry) there at an oil well capping service company was a yellow Ferrari Dino. I guess those guys do pretty good. :cool:

[kpomtb]

Those damn terrorists wrecked everything! :mad:

Good joke too.
When I lived in Anaco, VZ (one of the centers of the oil industry) there at an oil well capping service company was a yellow Ferrari Dino. I guess those guys do pretty good. :cool:

I'd say they earn it. I don't think I want to go into the middle of a rig fire.

I just hope somebody stops the insanity that is the proposed border fence. I mean, the fences are working so well where they are already in place.

[BMAC]

I'd say they earn it. I don't think I want to go into the middle of a rig fire.

I just hope somebody stops the insanity that is the proposed border fence. I mean, the fences are working so well where they are already in place.

They had to increase security at some of the work sites as illegals were using the contractors equipment to knock down the new fence to cross.Sorry to interupt your thread Mim's.

[mimbresman]

I hate the concept of a wall.
Back to the Merlin...
I love my Merlin...mainly because it been on so many crazy trips with me. :D:D

[rockhound]

This post reminded me of the jet-powered oil rig fire "putter-outer."

http://uk.gizmodo.com/2006/11/18/jetpowered_fire_extinguisher_d.html

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/01/07/video-russian-tank-w.html

[robcycle]

I hate the concept of a wall.
Back to the Merlin...
Back to Berlin indeed, my red friend :rolleyes:

:p

I seem to remember someone putting out oil fires with dynamite .... anyone have anything on this?

-Rob.

[2dumb4gears]

I love that you guys are so devoted to these older (but classic) frames. So much of what we buy anymore is disposable (even our bikes). It's really nice to see the pride of ownership in a craftsman product. I'm going to start looking for one now myself.

[phlatlander]

I love that you guys are so devoted to these older (but classic) frames. So much of what we buy anymore is disposable (even our bikes). It's really nice to see the pride of ownership in a craftsman product. I'm going to start looking for one now myself.

Right on. Am I nuts for trading my SC Superlight frame —even up — to my little brother for my old 1994 Trek 930 frame that I gave him years ago? That was a smooth-riding bike. :)

[mimbresman]

I love that you guys are so devoted to these older (but classic) frames. So much of what we buy anymore is disposable (even our bikes). It's really nice to see the pride of ownership in a craftsman product. I'm going to start looking for one now myself.

Your Vulture is an instant classic and should be around for a while since it was over built. :cool:

[2dumb4gears]

Your Vulture is an instant classic and should be around for a while since it was over built. :cool:

Thinking the exact same thing. I'm just tired of all of the disposable crap in the world. Materialism in a modern world isn't getting attached to things, but the exact opposite--it's having such a lack of connection, enjoyment and pride of ownership that we trade crap in without a moment's hesitation.

[ExTxn]

I seem to remember someone putting out oil fires with dynamite .... anyone have anything on this?

Rob-
What you wanna do is find a copy of "Hellfighters" with John Wayne. It's a dramatization of Red Adair's role in oilfield fire fighting. Pretty kitschy at times, but still kinda kool-yeah, I bought it a few years ago. Red grew up a few blocks from where I used to live in Houston, close to the U of H campus in the Third Ward area. Tough old fart, that guy. Some of his workers branched out later to found Boots and Coots International Well Control-same line of work...got passed on the freeway in Houston a few times by speedy red Caddies with the big funky decals on the doors. Good money if you live...//Dave