Lovely bike! I’m surprised by the critical comments. You’re clearly a very experienced cyclist and know what you want from your winter ride (reliability and simplicity and the added training benefits of a fixie).

This is the content this channel needs.

Over 30 years ago, I started riding a fixed in the winter here in Canada. Much better for traction and stability on slippery roads with the bonus of keeping your warmer because you are always pedalling. My current bike uses a 38/16 with a 9 speed chain and 34c winter tires with disc brakes. I find the modern narrow/wide chain rings work well.

Love this very well built. Good choice of parts . I bet she rides lovely with that frame with the wide rims and challenge tyres.

Now that’s a bit of fun I hope you enjoy it good one👍😊

Wow! That is an interesting garage! A beautiful Mercian frame and the Marsh Grayford Special in the same place.

Beautiful old school build. Love it. Would love to see it out on a spin next.

Smart! That is a beautiful winter steed! And a nice build video too!

@cyclingweekly

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Great bike . I'd add the rear break, will help stopping the bike and also will support your left hand when climbing. Will look better also, I think. Just a note don't know if everyone knows...breaks in continental Europe are interchanged, rear at right hand and front left.

Congratulations ! A lesson . Lovely looking bike in the end . I have a Mercian 1981 from new and it's bomb proof . Happy cycling .

Amazing build. Love this more than buying a new one and unboxing it!

@cyclingweekly

2 жыл бұрын

It's always nice when you can ride something a bit more personal to you isn't it!

Nice! Mercian frames are wonderful, as you say.

Very nice. The old bikes have a beauty that the modern aero carbon stuff just doesn't have.

Wow this is so cool! Im not into bikes really but looooove how this one looks and would love to hang something like this on my wall

NICE! Very inspiring. Might give it a go with an old Serotta Colorado II

Fantastic build! Great colors and style!

It looks fabulous! I just wish I had so many spares kicking about, but I am inspired 😊

@matthewlewis2072

2 жыл бұрын

It's possible to do it off eBay. I did last year, mostly secondhand bits. Time consuming, but the result is fab.

Great build.. i would love to own a Mercian!

I love it! You obviously have been around the block a time or two and know what you want. I believe that bike will be a joy for you to ride every day to work. I also think if it were mine I'd want to ride on the weekends too! I'd probably want to ride it to TT's and Hill Climbs, strip it down and race it.

@simonsmythe7648

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you - glad you like it! Yes, it makes a perfect weekend/clubrun bike and I am planning to see how it goes in club TTs with a bigger gear. You’re right - with lighter wheels it would make an excellent old school hill-climb bike 😁

@matthewsmith6486

2 жыл бұрын

@@simonsmythe7648 I like "old school"!

Just love it!

Wow!! What an amazing find. That’s does not happen every day!

Just finished an Olmo. Cost me 350€ in total. Great for winter. No phaff, just ride and spray down with a hose.

I enjoyed this video. Thanks However now I want that bike. It’s glorious.

@cyclingweekly

2 жыл бұрын

It is pretty stunning! Simon is a lucky man!

Great job Simon 👍

Very nice bike 👌

Well that’s lovely beautiful good fun inspires me to walk out to my shed and take an inventory if not for myself to share on eBay or otherwise

Bike looks great, as you say, far to nice for a winter bike. The only surprise to me was taking the headset bearings from that beautiful TT bike. A headset can be bought on the bay for 10/20 quid, and now the TT bike isn't usable ☹️

You sure got a bargain with that frame, I get a lot of bits from cycle jumbles. I built up a Dolan fixed a few years back, but I added 2 brakes for stopping power to help my poor knees!

What a brilliant build, however a gold chain would really set it off. Does remind me of my teenage years when we built our bikes from scavenged parts. Never got them to look that bling though 🤣

Yes, beautiful machine, well done! How does it ride?

i feel like this wasn't a winter bike build. It feels like everything about this was searching for a particular vintage asthetic, rather than searching for parts that are best for winter functions

@DjCringefest

2 жыл бұрын

and... a vintage TT build and also a PropeR winterbike were destroyed in the proces. to keep the cost down? why not sell em and use the cash,,,,,to keep the cost down.

@simonsmythe7648

2 жыл бұрын

@@DjCringefest Those bikes weren’t destroyed - they will be moved on and will become projects for someone else. You know how it works!

@rob-c.

2 жыл бұрын

What says winter bike more than a steel frame, full length mudguards, threaded BB and simple bomb proof wheels?

Bit of a cheat to say it was £500. Most of it's recycled. Astonishing frame, new that would be £1k. I actually built a bike using eBay during last year, £700. CX, use it a lot.

This is a sweet bike… but it’s not going to go well in a Canadian winter, lol. Big studded tires, beefy breaks and lots of layers are required!

@simonsmythe7648

2 жыл бұрын

Haha, definitely 🥶

@simonsmythe7648

2 жыл бұрын

And thank you 🙏

Great video and a beautiful looking bike. Love the baby blue colour and lug lining. Does it not feel odd having only one break hood? I can see both or neither, but 1?

@newttella1043

2 жыл бұрын

Some jurisdictions it is mandatory to have two brakes. The rear fixed gear counts as one. The couriers in my area put on a dummy front lever to just look compliant.

Can you ride a fixie like this on this old frame in the L'Eroica ? Or do they require a bike with derailleurs and gears?

@simonsmythe7648

2 жыл бұрын

You can ride fixed on a pre-1987 frame. This build would comply except for the brake cable - has to be external/outside the handlebar - and you need toe clips and straps of course.

what was wronge with the frame of the old bike?

Weird. I have a very similar Mercian that Ive had for about 11 years. Old faithful thing it is.

A try and buy seat are you not meant to return them at some point 🤐 Super nice bike though I like it shame to use it on the UK roads over winter

Very doable project by any bike geek over the age of 40. I mean why is everyone hanging onto those old parts for? No one's going to pay a sliver of what you think those old campy parts are worth. BTW - smart extension on the front fender.

@simonsmythe7648

2 жыл бұрын

Well said and thank you!

That is a lovely frame. Short dropouts though.

@simonsmythe7648

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed. You have to be lucky with the chain length (and be ready with a half link)

Nice frame; but I've never understood the draw of fixies....

@simonsmythe7648

2 жыл бұрын

There are so many great things about riding fixed… where to start?! They are perfect for winter because they are so easy to maintain - all you have to worry about is lubing the chain. As long as it’s not ridiculously hilly I’ve always found fixed is faster. My 10 mile PB was done on fixed (19.52, a long time ago now!). The bike itself is lighter without gears and rear brake, which makes it feel great to ride. You get a good workout because you have to push harder instead of changing down and finally (for now) I like the traditional look of a fixed ‘clubman’s’ bike like this 👌

That seat post isn't a 27.2 if it's going into a 531 frame..... 531 ID is 26.8.

@simonsmythe7648

2 жыл бұрын

It’s definitely 27.2. It went in fine but was a bit short so I used a longer one in the end - also 27.2 and is perfect 👍

@harryrowland4734

2 жыл бұрын

531 should be 27.2 very old 531 plain gauge could be 26.8

@matthewlewis2072

2 жыл бұрын

LOL my 531 same year had 27.0mm tubes...

@harryrowland4734

2 жыл бұрын

Probably better to take advice from a real framebuilder than get advice from someone on social media. I say this as someone who works in the cycle trade and sees the results of bad advice.

@Flatmint911

2 жыл бұрын

Old , old plain gauge is 26.4 , old plain gauge is 26.8 . This one is Special Tourist so it's 27.2 later Super Tourist is 27.0 pretty much all the rest are 27.2 , unless you're French . Probably .

The belly in the chain tho

I think you’ll have trouble riding it with no pedals.

Should have kept it as a road bike with gears as it was originally intended

@simonsmythe7648

2 жыл бұрын

It’s much lighter and faster without gears 😁

It's a nice bike, no doubt, but it's not a winter bike, that is a commuter bike. Single rim brake??? Come on! My 2 bike setup is: carbon frame summer bike with rim brakes and aluminium frame with discs for winter

@matthewhuang3092

2 жыл бұрын

It's fixed gear, you can brake with your legs!

@richardggeorge

2 жыл бұрын

I have the same summer bike as you, have a 14kg steel flat bar commuter bike with hydro discs (cost $160aud 2nd hand with 50km travelled). I also have a Aluminium CAAD10 for racing crits as I don't want to damage the carbon bike. 😁

@matthewlewis2072

2 жыл бұрын

On the UK, if you ride fixed (NOT single speed) you only need a front brake, fixed wheel counts as second brake. Personally, I would have gone geared but that's me.

500 pounds?? C'mon You will have to buy new wheels and tires, but you can build such a bike with parts you take off old bicycles that people put out on the street with the rubbish. Oh wait, Thats a Mercian, its made Reynolds 531 tubing.

Not really my cup of tea. I do my winter riding on a Specialized Enduro FSR full suspension with a Shimano XT build. Can't beat hydraulic brakes in the cold and wet.

Very beautiful and very useless bike. Could have gone with Michelin Dynamic sport classic tires saving yourself 80 pounds.

My summer bike is my winter bike and cost me £600… why have a bike just for winter….. just change the tyres

@sir.bendover3299

2 жыл бұрын

You'll wear out the bike faster, but a tire change is sufficient

I stopped watching once you started ‘Cannibalising’ other bikes. I don’t have other bikes lying around to cannibalise 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️😆

Shame to use such a beautiful frame for winter. Hope you treated inside the tubes. Those mudguards...🤮

Pretty expensive for such a useless bike. I can't understand why you don't need gears and brakes in bad weather??? Or hills becomes flat in the winter???

Crap