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Comments - The Merlin Acquisition, And Other Catch-Up
November 27, 2011
My dream for Merlin? A stock “tall person” frame for those few of us 6' 3" and up. Perhaps make it with straight gauge tubing for stiffness. Custom Ti pricing is just too much.
- Richard, Mt Pleasant
April 20, 2011
Merlin rebirth: please delete the engraving. really dumb on a bicycle...a crack waiting to start growing.
- mike, greenville, sc
April 14, 2011
Brilliant! - I ride a a Merlin Magia today, albeit with the latest in componentry and I find it not only to be a fantastic ride but beautiful to simply look at as well; oh and it weighs only 13.9lbs for a size XL (virtual 60). I look forward to seeing the brand reintroduced and yes, like the others I have always wanted a newsboy.
- Declan Sinclair, Toronto
March 25, 2011
@ 2:40 in... didn't know Charlie Sheen used to race. Winning... Duh!
- Joe C, Bow, NH
March 25, 2011
I have a Merlin CR3/2.5 from 2005 and I do mainly longer distance sportives. Best one I've ever had and I have tried a few (steel bikes included). No not wait too long before putting Merlin bikes out on the market again !
- - Petter, Larvik, Norway
March 24, 2011
Titanium is the way to go. Although i love my Colnago EPS, i will always regret selling my CT-1.
- Dave, Newmarket
March 24, 2011
I really don't understand this, you buy a brand name bike with no plan. Keep Merlin's moving, we need more of them on the road and dirt and bring back the Cyene.
- Kevin , Leesburg VA
March 24, 2011
The kind of guy that champions ti bikes in 2011 has become as painful to bear as a recumbent rider. It's a small niche at best - good luck
- Dan , Kansas
March 24, 2011
Ultimate Ti bike is not a problem. Steve Potts in Mill Valley, CA is a master Ti bike builder. He makes road and mountain bikes that track like a dream. I got mine in 2005 for two grand and have not ridden anything since.
- Jim, Sparta
March 23, 2011
How do I get on the wait list for another Magia?
- David , Kaysville
March 23, 2011
Congratulations on the Merlin purchase, I look forward to seeing this develop. I've been riding a Cyrene for the last 6 years and it's my favorite worldly posession. To answer Charles below "...How could you guys buy a bike brand you love without a strategic plan? That's a sure recipe for destroying the thing that you love. The contradictions keep on coming at Competitive Cyclist..." The brand was already dead, Charles, ABG ceased production quite a while ago. I say keep those contradictions coming CC. I'm happy to see a decision made on emotion for a change - that's what the name Merlin brings out in people.
- Dave, Geneva, IL
March 23, 2011
Brendan, I think it's obvious to you who should be making the new Merlins. Tom Kellogg knows. You might as well have the O.G. Cambridge crew who birthed the brand doing them. The question is, can you get a top-notch Ti frame made and still keep the price where you want it?
- Swami, New England
March 23, 2011
"We need to invent a word for recidivist doping".
How about "Business as Usual"? Oh wait, that's a phrase.
Congrats on Merlin. As a Boston-area, mid-20s kid, I always coveted one. Still do.
- Cinghiale, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
March 23, 2011
Clean, simple, well-performing non-CFRP bikes made in the USA that don't cost a billion $? You're a bit early...April Fool's Day is still more than a week away.
- PawleeWalnutz, NYC
March 23, 2011
Coop wants to know what comes along with the purchase of a brand... A brand isn't a factory, workers, tubes or much else. It seems that purchasing a brand gives the new owner the right to put a certain name on a bikes. What else does it include? Wouldn't it be cheaper to produce great titanium bikes under a different name than spending money to buy a name?
- Coop's assistant., Anse Betsy
March 22, 2011
I own an '05 Kellogg-designed Merlin Extralight and consider it one of the finest Ti frames I've ever ridden and I've owned 'em all! I hope the future of the Merlin brand is a successful one.
- Jeff, San Diego
March 22, 2011
Cipo's 12.7 HT is indeed designed to limit sales. Too bad, because I like the looks of the frame. When I read the CyclingPlus article where the factory owner said, "We're not firing them out like pizza from an oven. 10 to 13 frames a day is our maximum target," I thought that was a pretty ambitious target given the price and the geometry. The more limber the rider, the lighter the wallet. Look at the competition, stock and custom. The demand for 12.7 HTs is not evident. Interesting that North American distribution went to a Mexican firm.
- Dobbin, Horse Country
March 22, 2011
Here's another vote for reviving the Newsboy. As roadie as I am, I've never lusted after a bike as I have the Newsboy.
- Frank, Folsom
March 22, 2011
How could you guys buy a bike brand you love without a strategic plan? That's a sure recipe for destroying the thing that you love.
The contradictions keep on coming at Competitive Cyclist. Keeping Merlin frames competitively priced and keeping it made in the US by talented craftsman are at odds with eachother. As everyone knows, it's the reason why all of our stuff is being made overseas now. I wonder which one you will end up sacrificing.
- Charles, New York
March 22, 2011
Ah, I fondly remember the conversations about titanium bikes and CC selling them!!! Glad somethin finally panned out. From the wicked east to the smokey south, the brand finally lands in the middle west! I look forward to seeing the BQ brain go to work on this one.
- Zac D, Seattle
March 22, 2011
The reason I love reading this blog... I could not appreciate the coverage of Paris Nice because I was so distracted/disturbed at the sight of Gerdy's stem. Ick. I am relieved that I wasn't the only one.
- GA, OH
March 22, 2011
One vote for bringing back the Newsboy.
- Juan, Paradise Valley
March 21, 2011
Congrats on the Merlin buy. I wonder how different the emotional roller coaster is as compared to buying a bike - haha. I can only imagine a large percentage of fear can only ensue. Most of us just wince at the bill and ride ourselves into self-justified illusions of grandeur - wait, I hope that's not what you're experiencing. Also, you're right about headtubes - good for professionals, bad for business. You'd be surprised how many tools think they're PRO with a Dogma and a periscope though, so I wouldn't expect a decline in sales if Pinarello decided to drop the HT a cm. It takes A LOT of time to get used to zero stack on a 12cm HT. I'd like to think I earned by position by logging in the miles. Lastly, you can achieve good position with deep drop bars [oh how I miss thee].
- Anon, Anon
March 21, 2011
Kudos on the Merlin grab. i just wish your emotional investment in the business extended to keeping Pegoretti.
- Bud, Philadelphia
March 21, 2011
MSR - fantastic? Really? Bike racing is often beautiful. Exciting - rarely. And, MSR was not one of those times. Other than a few gallant but relatively brief efforts towards the end, especially Scarponi to bridge to the front group, it was 7 hours of tedium followed by a 10 second sprint. Yawn.
- Mario, Lucca
March 21, 2011
Ask yourself why you want to ride Cipo's TOOL.Is it for the RIDGIDITY or the STIFFNESS.
- Enrique, Upland,ca
March 21, 2011
Milan San Remo was f-a-n-t-a-s--t-i-c this year!
As for headtubes/frame sizes...buy one that fits you, not one you would like to fit.
- Ed, Edinburgh
March 21, 2011
Michael Barry says slam that stem and get on with it! If he hears about your love for long head tubes he will probably dump you as a riding partner. Thanks for buying Merlin, I sort of suspected it was an emotion driven decision. Like you, I have fond memories of my times on my Extralight, mostly because its time in my stable was also during a period of great form. I have a Works CR in my stable currently, so I am happy to see the brand getting some love again. And that Works has a super short head tube as well, so I have to run a bit of a spacer because I would NEVER use a positive rise stem!
- EKH, YVR
March 21, 2011
CC - did Di2 win MSR?
- mrg, sf
March 21, 2011
I thought it was common knowledge that pros always ride frames that are too small for them, and then make up for it with lots o seatpost and upturned stem. I never quite understood why, but i've seen it often.
- Brian, Denver
March 21, 2011
milan san remo was b-o-r-i-n-g thins year.
- marc, montreal
March 21, 2011
Man...I wanted a Mountain frame so badly around 93. Any MTB in the new Merlin's future?
- Dan, Woodstock, VT
March 21, 2011
awesome, I have wanted a Merlin for some time now but was having a hard time finding a way to get one. I even tried directly from the company but they just gave me the name of a dealer and never heard from them - so, kudos, I'll probably be a purchaser
- Steve, Tucson
March 21, 2011
IMVHO, Raph* caught shi* because they're Raph*. The silk scarf (and, err, denim for that matter) has been around for an eon. It's both functional (read requisite in some climates) and excellent on some necks. I know this because my father has worn one for centuries. // As if MC wasn't going to at least float that by. // The brand equivalent of Carhartt is, in fact, not a brand but the single-speed.
- Matthew, PRoB
March 21, 2011
Gerard Rue!
- TTT, Boulder, CO
March 21, 2011
Nice to hear you guys are blasting short headtubes also. Cervelo has a great post about it here, http://www.cervelo.com/en_us/bikes/2011/R3/geometry/
- Josh, Los Angeles
March 21, 2011
congrats on becoming a manufacturer, it was the next logical step for you.
- billy bob haystack, little rock
March 21, 2011
i think hes wearing a buff, he had it on at other races and it seems contador is a fan as well
- bespoke, east side
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