Mercian - Approximate value?

deandean

This bike has been hanging around unused for about 20 years, it might not be used again here.

I have seen mad values on 531 bikes, e.g. from 150 to 2500 (if you're Sean K).

I'd appreciate if someone in the know could put a value on this before we decide if it's gonna be sold. This is owned by the OH, so the chainset hasn't been moidered. She raced with Wheelers, then with CTC hence the mudguards.

And - who would buy this bike? I hear horror stories of lads butchering them to make a fixie, is that where they end up? :eek:

• Mercian Racing Bike mid-late 1970s.
• 20.5” frame (c/l of BB to top of seat tube), Reynolds 531, hand built.
• 12 speed, rear 14-33T, front 42-52T.
• Front Derraileur: Campag.
• Rear derraileur: Raleigh.
• Lightweight mudguards.
• Brooks Leather saddle.
• Carrier with Carradice bag hanger is booked by a.n.other & is not included in sale.
• Rims: Woller Super Champion.
• Needs tubes & tyres, handlebar tape, brake lever covers, clean and lube.

Some photos:
https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/328127/201304.jpg

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/328127/201305.jpg
https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/328127/201306.jpg

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/328127/201307.jpg

ROK ON

deandean wrote: »

This bike has been hanging around unused for about 20 years, it might not be used again here.

I have seen mad values on 531 bikes, e.g. from 150 to 2500 (if you're Sean K).


And - who would buy this bike? I hear horror stories of lads butchering them to make a fixie, is that where they end up? :eek:

I would buy it.

I wouldnt use it as a fixie.

What's it worth.

Depends.

More than 150, less than 2500.

A brand new Mercian frame starts at £600

Mycroft H

Its not actually in bad condition. Any mercian is worth more then the bog standard peugeots/raleighs that do be about.

(And sadly not in my size, which makes me sad as I do want a mercian)

Its worth about 300 to the right person, its a small frame and not a full campag groupset.

The raleigh rear mech is probably the licensed version of the Suntour VX (which was one of the best out there back in the day, many miles ahead of campag, but it just does not have the name). Not too sure if its original though, perhaps a replacement for a broken campag part, or Mercian put the superior part on to start with.

The Wobler rims were top notch, one of the best of the day. Still good now to use I would imagine.

The brake hoods could be a pain to come by if there a campag specific ones, they often sell for silly money. There is probably spurious variants you could get a hold of.

The brooks is a nice plus too.

Tonyandthewhale

It's hard to say how much these are worth since there aren't many mercians on the market so it's hard to establish what the norms are. I'd say BX 19 is in the right ballbark with 300e though, maybe more if you clean it up and everything works ok. I would not like to think anyone would turn this into a fixie but that's always a danger when you sell an old road-bike.

Have a look round ebay and the like and see if you can find similar bikes and see what they're going for, work from there.

dubmess

Yup, you should beware of people paying you money for an item and then doing what they want with the item once it's theirs.

Perhaps you should have some sort of vetting process, maybe check out how tight the jeans of prospective buyers are, always a dead giveaway.

Seriously though, it's a nice restoration project for someone, cleaned up I'd say it's worth at least the 300 mentioned.

Mycroft H

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

It's hard to say how much these are worth since there aren't many mercians on the market so it's hard to establish what the norms are. I'd say BX 19 is in the right ballbark with 300e though, maybe more if you clean it up and everything works ok. I would not like to think anyone would turn this into a fixie but that's always a danger when you sell an old road-bike.

Have a look round ebay and the like and see if you can find similar bikes and see what they're going for, work from there.

I will throw a rather heavy brick shaped object at someone who turns a mercian into a fixie. Unless its a track mercian, in that case it should be on the velodrome

But yea, Its kinda hard to put a value on these. There is so few of them about and its worth noting that a complete mercian professional sold for about £2200 punt (well thats what a friend said they paid for one back in 1980. A complete professional with campy super record components sells for about 3700GBP presently)

If anything, now that I've thought of it (and have had a good browse of the web) it could be worth more then 300. Have a look yourself. Post on some other forums for more valuations (BikeForums have a decent appraisal forum).

I'd hate to see you be short changed on this (unless you were selling it to me :P)

happytramp

Interested in this. Would it be possibly to get it re-sprayed after removing the derailleur hanger and downtube braze-on's??

ck101

My father used to ride a Mercian back in the 50's, when he married and left home my grandad gave both his and his brothers bike to a scrap metal collector.

He didn't find out for a few years and and was understandbly pretty pissed about it.

I was tracking Mercians for a few months on eBay as I wanted to buy him one for a present. There are some listed for over 6 months at crazy money ie over 1k stg. Ive seen some really great examples in excellent condition selling at 3-400 stg. All in the UK.

I go with the earlier valuation €300 for one in the condition of yours. It's not much and if someone close to you would value it would be better hanging onto it.

I saw Gay Byrne riding his Mercian in Howth recently.

LastGasp

Nice bike, too small ! I was going to buy a Mercian frame last year, but the 6 month wait put me off. You could get it resprayed in many places, but Mercian themselves offer a repaint service which would really be the right job. As to who would buy it, this would make a class Audax bike with the rack and mudguard mounts, many Audaxers still like the old school steel frames. It does need a good bit of TLC, so I'd go along with the 300 ish figure for my guess. Cheers, LG.

hesker

Valuation at 300 is about right. If it was bigger I'd be interested.

There's loads that could be done with that bike to make it look great again.

At quick glance the paint looks in good condition. Clean, wax and polish would get it sparkling again. The nicks here and there could be touched up.

The rust can be removed very easily. There are known non-destructive methods. Abrasives like sandpaper or brillo pad should be avoided at all costs.

Professional repaint will cost more than the value of the bike. And it doesn't look like it needs it anyway.

feck sake lads

i gave away a mercian frame to a guy in the uk few weeks later i seen the prick sold it for 150 quid more fool me :mad:
but is it worth anything yes but only to someone who wants a mercian frame its more than likely rusted from the inside all the other gear would need to be recromed .