Miss Mercian on UK ebay – UK only!

[LeicaLad]

Oh, good.

The fact that it needs work may mean most will pass it over. That frame is VERY special. I see a couple nasty rust spots, but it no damage that looks structural. You can clean and ride, but you might actually consider sending it back to Mercian for a first class treatment. This baby is SPECIAL!!!

I wish I could buy it!

Keep us/me posted. Hope you win it! Do NOT bid until the last minute. Have you consider using Gixen or another bid snipe site?

Do it to win! http://www.gixen.com

[Rebecca19804]

Unfortunately I'm in the middle of a Surly build that can't be postponed (I need a winter/training bike up and running asap), so my budget for this kind of once-in-a-blue-moon is not what I would like!

I'm predicting this will go over £200. Reynolds 531 is the big draw here. Add the Mercian name and the relative rarity of a mixte frame and .... Yup, ditch everything else, the frame is gold dust. I'd bet, regardless of who wins it, the new owner isn't just looking for a cheap "old ladies runaround".

I'll keep you posted but I'm not optimistic I'll get it.

[LeicaLad]

Maybe. But I'm guessing that the poor title to the listing, ugly photos, and general condition will either escape wider notice or simply not be worth the bother to many. You may get lucky here.

I know the problems of both space and budget, but...

...deep sigh.

Good luck!

[Rebecca19804]

for what it's worth, there's another one on UK eBay at the moment, made by Holdsworth(y): http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[hebe]

I love both of those, but it's not the right time for me to get another bike yet. I will be watching though to see what they go for. Thank you both for sharing the links.

[Rebecca19804]

Yes, it'll be interesting to see what these 2 go for, because of the rare highest-quality steel frames. Obviously they both need a lot of work (and money) put into them - ideally, full bare-frame-upwards rebuilds to do justice to those frames!

hebe, I seem to recall you've had your eye on Lunar Bicycle's Therese mixtes, which they claim are built up on Mercian frames -- any idea what they're charging for those? I've been wondering, since my re-build plans for my Puch are going to leave a distinct "town bike sized hole" in my stable!!

[Zen]

More reason to move to Europe.
Le sigh.