Hope all is ok. Just wanted to say thanks for your help during my frame build. I am really pleased with it.
Mercian King of Mercia 531 Ltd track frame Mavic Open Pro rims Campagnolo 32 hole small flange track hubs Campagnolo Record Pista chainset 48T Campagnolo Record Pista bottom bracket Izumi track chain MKS chain tugs Campagnolo Record headset San Marco Rolls Titanio saddle with chrome trim Campagnolo Chorus seatpost Cinelli 1A handlebar stem Nitto RB010AA handlebars Cinelli Mash cork tape Campagnolo low pro tt carbon brake levers Campagnolo Athena skeleton brake calipers MKS Custom Nuevo track pedals MKS clips and straps Campagnolo strap pulls 19T chrome sprocket Vittoria open corsa evo cx black and white tyres
I think that's it. I have been wanting to build something like this for a while but never envisaged this. It was always going to be built with as many Campag components as I could afford but hadn't decided on a frame. Can't remember why I picked Mercian, apart from the style and tradition. It had to be Reynolds 531, having ridden this steel in my cycle speedway days. The Rolls saddle came from a German cycle shop on e-bay, because I couldn't get the chrome badged one in the UK. I loved the slight drop on the Nitto bars, but they weren't long enough to take the tt levers, nor were they drilled to allow internal cabling. A family friend welded a bit on each end and carefully drilled the bars, the drilled holes have rubber grommets to look after the cables, and I like how they turned out. This has helped keep the cables tidy and clear of the headtube, showing off the Mercian badge nicely. Internal cable routing on top tube keeps that today too. The MKS chain tugs are an amazingly engineered item, if you like that sort of thing.... Which I do.
An old cycle speedway mate who now owns a bike shop in Suffolk put the bike together, which he really enjoyed, and said how easy everything went together due to the quality of the frame.
I can't wait to get out on it and hope I enjoy riding it as much as I did buying and assembling it.
Kind regards Dean
