George's Bikes: 1980 Mercian Olympic


The Mercian finally completed.

I finally completed the initial build of my restored 1980 Mercian Olympic. I emphasize initial because I always like to tweak my bikes, so it's highly likely that this one will be a little different a year from now!

Here is a list of the componentry I've used on this build:

Frame: Mercian Olympic, circa 1980, size 61cm (24inch).
Headset: Specialized steel with caged ball bearings.
Handlebars: Nitto Classic 42cm
Stem: Nitto Deluxe 11cm.
Seatpost: Campagnolo Record, 27.2
Saddle: ~~Ideale Rebour~~ edit- scored at Brooks Swallow at Cycles4Hope and have now installed that!
Brakeset: Campagnolo Nouve Record, Standard (long) reach, nutted. Nouvo Record levers.
Shift levers: Simplex, "Retrofriction" on brazed on posts.
Front derailleur: Shimano RX100
Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105 RD5500
Crankset: Velo Orange compact double, 175mm arms, 48/34 chainrings.
Pedals: Shimano PD-A520 spd.
Wheels: Shimano 105 freehub rear, and 105 front hub. rims Sun M13II in polished aluminum.

I had the frame powder coated at "Powdercoat-It", located in north Sacramento, selecting RAL 3004 as a color, a deep red that very nearly matched the original paint.I ordered the Mercian and Reynolds stickers from Cyclomondo and applied them myself. I was able to line the lugs in gold, using a "Decocolor" extra fine pen. You can find them at arts and crafts places. I don't know how durable the paint is but it looks pretty good and is easy to apply. I tested it on my Nishiki Fixie and it seems to be holding up.

With the finish completed, I began to reassemble the Mercian using mostly components I already had on hand. A few exceptions included some fresh Nitto bars and a tall stem. I also picked up a decent pair of legendary Simplex "retrofriction" levers on eBay.

While cleaning up the wheels, I discovered a nasty crack around a spoke hole on the rear Mavic Open Sport. I was a little surprised because these wheels had not really seen hard service. Actually, this is the second Open Sport I've had fail, so I guess i'm done with those!

I decided to replace the Mavics with a pair of Sun M13II's which can be found in a nice polished finish for not a lot of money. Fortunately, the dimensions of the M13's are close enough to the Open Sport that I was able to just transfer the spokes over. After trueing, they seem as good as new.

As it's been raining a lot in California, I had plenty of time to assemble the bike. I'm waiting for it the dry out a bit before I really get it out on the road and fine tune everything.

Below are some pictures of the bike as it now is.