Audax/Sportive Quandry

[RecordAceFromNew]

Also a new Campag groupset could end up costing me more than one of the new bikes I was looking at???

It is true that the major manufacturers have tremendous buying power and can offer bikes at a price that can often be significantly lower than how much it would cost us to build up. However while a Compaq groupset can indeed cost more than one of the new bikes you were looking at, you will most certainly get a superior groupset if you spend the cost of the bike on a groupset from, e.g., here. For example the CADD 8 costs about £800? Its Tiagra Triple groupset currently costs under £280.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

you need to upgrade your LBS.

 

[jimboalee]

Its a privelege to ride a Crowbar.

 

[boydj]

Arlowood,
I have an almost identical Mercian - it's from 1995 and I bought it on e-bay last year. It's done almost 3500 miles commuting, training runs and sportives since I got it and it runs extremely well. The mechs are still good, but I've replaced the brakes and it is getting hard to source 8-speed cassettes, so an upgrade to 10-speed will come with new wheels and a new set of shifters some time soon.

I've decided on the upgrade route, because the frame is top quality and it is a classy, traditional road bike. I've kept costs down so far by shopping around and doing the work myself, so I've learned a lot and gained a lot of satisfaction from doing it.

 

[PpPete]

you need to upgrade your LBS.

As ever Greg is right on.... but should you decide to sell..... oh shoot I promised myself I wouldn't buy another steel bike....but for a Mercian I could (just) make an exception.

 

[arlowood]

Looks classy.

If you've allready got Campag mechs, then you could keep them get some 10 speed shifters for under £100, or £150 for carbon Centaur from Parker. Put on new cassette & chain and that's around £200.

New chainrings or chainset if needed and you're sorted.

Hi MichaelM

The saga continues.

Just been to Mercian shop near Derby and had a chat about options. Tech man there said that my 8-speed cassette is no longer a standard item but that he could source a Campag compatible unit for a refurb. New bearings would be required required for bottom bracket (it has started giving out ominous creaking noises in the last week or so) and a new chain. Existing triple crank would probably not need replacing. Rough quote was £135 + labour (total £200 - £250 possibly). No firm promise either on how long it would take to do. Quote:- "We're pretty snowed under at the moment. If you left it with us while you were on your 2 week holiday it might be ready when you get back"

If I opted for an upgrade eg to a 9 or 10 speed Campag unit, this would need new shifters, new triple crank, new rear cassette, new rear hub, rear wheel rebuild, new cables, new front and rear derailleurs and a handlebar retape. Rough quote £600 + labour (£700 - 800 total). He did say that they might be able to use the existing shifters and derailleurs but would not know definitely until they had dismantled them and examined the geometry.

Out of interest I asked him to price their current Audax Triple and he said the basic spec bike was £2000

So there you are guys, I can spend £200 - £300 to stand still with my Mercian. Considering any sort of upgrade is out of the question.

I then called in at a nearby Leisure Lakes Bike shop and they offered to quote me for the refurb but said they would order all parts in advance and the bike would only be in their workshop for 1 day. While there I discussed other bike options and the sales guy recommended the Trek 1.5 Triple or the Cannondale CAAD 8 Tiagra Triple.

Still pondering

 

[MichaelM]

Hi MichaelM


Just been to Mercian shop near Derby and had a chat about options. Tech man there said that my 8-speed cassette is no longer a standard item but that he could source a Campag compatible unit for a refurb. New bearings would be required required for bottom bracket (it has started giving out ominous creaking noises in the last week or so) and a new chain. Existing triple crank would probably not need replacing. Rough quote was £135 + labour (total £200 - £250 possibly). No firm promise either on how long it would take to do. Quote:- "We're pretty snowed under at the moment. If you left it with us while you were on your 2 week holiday it might be ready when you get back"

How about sourcing them online, and using the cost of the labour charge towards some tools. There are some good site with instructions (Parktool), and there's loads of handy clips on youtube.

Not sure whether you need a tapered bottom bracket or external bearings but have a look at the prices at PARKER


Bottom Bracket £31.75
Bottom Braket tool £11.75
8 speed chain £8.09
8 speed cassette £38.02
full cable set £22.50

That's £112.01, call it £150 for some cleaner, degreaser, lube etc etc

If I opted for an upgrade eg to a 9 or 10 speed Campag unit, this would need new shifters, new triple crank, new rear cassette, new rear hub, rear wheel rebuild, new cables, new front and rear derailleurs and a handlebar retape. Rough quote £600 + labour (£700 - 800 total). He did say that they might be able to use the existing shifters and derailleurs but would not know definitely until they had dismantled them and examined the geometry.

Out of interest I asked him to price their current Audax Triple and he said the basic spec bike was £2000

So there you are guys, I can spend £200 - £300 to stand still with my Mercian. Considering any sort of upgrade is out of the question.

I then called in at a nearby Leisure Lakes Bike shop and they offered to quote me for the refurb but said they would order all parts in advance and the bike would only be in their workshop for 1 day. While there I discussed other bike options and the sales guy recommended the Trek 1.5 Triple or the Cannondale CAAD 8 Tiagra Triple.

Still pondering

Have a look at Parker, Ribble, ProbikeKit etc and do the same for the 10 speed kit. (Probikekit have 2009 Veloce 10 speed groupset but no triple cranks). I'm not sure you will need a new 10 speed chainset - replacement rings these days are 8/9/10 speed compatible.

You could pick up a new set of decent factory wheels for under £200, Aksiums are nearer £100. You could get a new bike for for £800, but £800 on wheels/ components will give you a much better bike.

Michael

 

[GrumpyGregry]

£300 to stand 'still on' i.e. update, a classy, dare I even say classic, bike you bought 14 years ago?

300 / 14 = less than £25 a year. Sound like good value to me.

Even if you spent more, assuming you have the bunce to do so

600 / 14 = less than £50 a year. To maintain/update a Mercian? Still sounds like good value to me.

 

[arlowood]

How about sourcing them online, and using the cost of the labour charge towards some tools. There are some good site with instructions (Parktool), and there's loads of handy clips on youtube.

Not sure whether you need a tapered bottom bracket or external bearings but have a look at the prices at PARKER


Bottom Bracket £31.75
Bottom Braket tool £11.75
8 speed chain £8.09
8 speed cassette £38.02
full cable set £22.50

That's £112.01, call it £150 for some cleaner, degreaser, lube etc etc





.

Michael

Hi there

After some deliberation I took your advice. Have managed to source a new Mirage BB on Ebay for £15 and an 8-speed Campag Record cassette for £37 - also on Ebay. Confirmed elsewhere that the 8-speed Record cassette would be compatible with my existing hub which is fitted with the 8-speed Mirage. Adding costs of a BB tool, crank puller, lock ring tool and chain whip brings the total to £100. May have to add a new chain to that cost also.

Various instruction texts and video clips seem to indicate that the refurb should be relatively straightforward so hopefully I should be able to perform the changeover without too much difficulty.

Once refurbed I will think again about the future of my ageing Mercian. At least if I decide to sell, the bike will be mechanically sound for any potential purchaser

 

[John the Monkey]

I'd like to add to the general chorus of people
a) Wishing this bike was mine and
Encouraging you to keep it going.

It's lovely, and will be the envy of most riders.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

arlowood - do it up and keep it for sunday best. n+1 and all that

 

[arlowood]

arlowood - do it up and keep it for sunday best. n+1 and all that

Just to report on the final chapter (possibly). Replaced BB and rear cassette without any real problems. Had a quick ride but realised that the chain was shot and also there was significant wear on the 50T chainring. Ordered replacements and have just fitted them. A quick run round suggests that all is working fine but I will do a longer ride on Monday just to confirm.

So hopefully I now have a few more years/ miles left in the Mercian.

Alternatively, if I see a really good deal on a new steed, I might be tempted. Seems the manufacturers might be launching new models while Le Tour is on and there may be some bargains to be had on older stock.

Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement.

 

[arlowood]

Just to report on the final chapter (possibly). Replaced BB and rear cassette without any real problems. Had a quick ride but realised that the chain was shot and also there was significant wear on the 50T chainring. Ordered replacements and have just fitted them. A quick run round suggests that all is working fine but I will do a longer ride on Monday just to confirm.

So hopefully I now have a few more years/ miles left in the Mercian.

Alternatively, if I see a really good deal on a new steed, I might be tempted. Seems the manufacturers might be launching new models while Le Tour is on and there may be some bargains to be had on older stock.

Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement.

Well guys

Another chapter unfolds in my 58cm Mercian Audax saga.

Just could not resist those tempting end of summer offers out there on the web and have bought myself a new Specialized Secteur Elite. Just waiting for Leisure Lakes Bikes to complete the initial set up and hope to collect it today or tomorrow.

Plan to spend a few hours fettling up my Mercian and will probably offer it for sale, either on Ebay or on the "Classified" section on the BikeRadar Forum.

Having spent over £100 on the recent refurb of the drive train, I am keen to recover those costs at least. Beyond that I am not sure where to pitch my selling price. The bike still has quite a few years/miles left in it and would make a good starting steed for a newby to road/sportive/audax riding. It could equally offer a winter training option for the more serious road rider (full mudguards fitted)


A look on the Mercian site quotes north of £2000 for a new basic spec Audax bike.

Anyone out there with advice on a fair second hand value?

 

[vorsprung]

Well guys

Another chapter unfolds in my 58cm Mercian Audax saga.

Just could not resist those tempting end of summer offers out there on the web and have bought myself a new Specialized Secteur Elite. Just waiting for Leisure Lakes Bikes to complete the initial set up and hope to collect it today or tomorrow.

Plan to spend a few hours fettling up my Mercian and will probably offer it for sale, either on Ebay or on the "Classified" section on the BikeRadar Forum.

Having spent over £100 on the recent refurb of the drive train, I am keen to recover those costs at least. Beyond that I am not sure where to pitch my selling price. The bike still has quite a few years/miles left in it and would make a good starting steed for a newby to road/sportive/audax riding. It could equally offer a winter training option for the more serious road rider (full mudguards fitted)


A look on the Mercian site quotes north of £2000 for a new basic spec Audax bike.

Anyone out there with advice on a fair second hand value?

Login to ebay and do a search for "Mercian bike"
When it's done that search look at the panel on the LHS and tick "show only completed listings" you need to be logged on as a user for this option to work
When I did this 6 results came up. There were 2 bikes with starting prices > 600 quid and they had not sold. All the bikes that had sold were around 200 to 300 quid

Then try the same with "Dawes Galaxy". Now I know your bike is better than a Galaxy but it might be instructive to see what a similar age/condition Galaxy is worth

Less than 500 quid I would guess

 

[PpPete]

Login to ebay and do a search for "Mercian bike"
When it's done that search look at the panel on the LHS and tick "show only completed listings" you need to be logged on as a user for this option to work
When I did this 6 results came up. There were 2 bikes with starting prices > 600 quid and they had not sold. All the bikes that had sold were around 200 to 300 quid

Then try the same with "Dawes Galaxy". Now I know your bike is better than a Galaxy but it might be instructive to see what a similar age/condition Galaxy is worth

Less than 500 quid I would guess

I'd start it on ebay at £200 and expect to it fetch £500ish
A really really nice 531 Galaxy with STIs and decent wheels will sometimes go for over £500 and you have the rarity value of Merciam + it's 531 comp tube.

My advice is don't sell it until you sure about the new one. Friend of mine had really bad experience with rear wheel on a new Secteur. Went back twice to shop in first few weeks for loose spokes, then still had to be replaced 2 days in to a 3 week tour. Dealer could only offer him a replacement wheel, not the cash to make up for buying a non-spesh wheel at first LBS he could get to.