Craftsmanship

Why choose a "Mercian" when there are so many alternatives?

From the first stage of taking your order to the final clear lacquer paint finish - each member of the Mercian team is committed to service to you, as well as the production of a high quality product. We all have passion for the lightweight and sleek machines that Mercian Cycles produce and with over 200 years experience between the 9 team members - you can rely on their guidance, skill and expertise to produce the frame you really want.

Customers visiting our showroom to order a frame are sat upon a specially designed jig where skill, time and patience ensure a correct frame size and design - tailored to match the intended use of the cycle or frameset. The components to be used also play an important part of the frame order process, our framebuilders use the same model of component whilst building the frame to ensure that the finished frameset is built to suit you, your equipment and your cycling style. All of these minor details make sure that the complete cycle is the very best it can be.

Large selection of frames and complete bikes always in stock at our Alvaston showroom Jeff Bowler, Shop Manager measuring a customer on frame jig. Jeff was a competition record holder in 1978 for the Tandem 50 with Richard Allen, a record that stood for 25 years with a time of 1 hour 40 mins & 5 secs Open hearth brazing Derek Land, Workshop Foreman and framebuilder of 33 years, seen here preparing a Vincitore bottom head lug

Once the tubing, geometry, frame model and size have been decided upon, then comes the choice of braze ons and optional extras. Allen key seat lugs, concealed cables in the top tube, number and positions of bottle bosses, pump pegs, front and rear rack eyes, disc brake mount, your home postcode stamped on the bottom bracket - choices, choices! All to ensure that your frame is just how you want it to be.

Finally the decision needs to be made on the finish of your frame - selecting from our 60+ colour options for the main frame, contrasting panels, overspray and lug lining and the finishing touches - Mercian transfer styles and colours to compliment your frame colour scheme.

The order is scrutinised before passing to the workshop where each order is numbered - allocating a unique frame number to your frame.

At Mercian's frame-building workshop there are no production lines. The method of building our frames has barely altered since the very beginning of Mercian Cycles. It really is a very traditional environment - looking back to the very best methods of hand-made quality.

The frame order is passed to the framebuilder, who builds the frame from start to finish. With great skill and incredible patience he begins by preparing the lugs - drilling and filing, by hand, the cut-outs and intricate designs which make Mercian frames distinctive and beautiful.

Preparation of hand crafted Vincitore bottom head lug Tony Phillips, frame builder of 25 years, seen here finishing one of his King of Mercia frames Rob Poultney, sprayer of 33 years, finishing a frame in Leaf Green Pearl Stewart Wakefield, frame finisher of 34 years, lining head lugs on Vincitore

The Reynolds tubing is then mitred and placed against an alignment board, which will create the angles just as the customer ordered and the frame is constantly checked for alignment through each stage of assembly. Then - the part which takes many years of experience to perfect - the tubes are brazed free-hand by the craftsman in an open hearth using a combination of air and natural gas, where bronze is carefully flowed into the lug to position the tubing.

Mercian have brazed frames in an open hearth, since the 1940's, as we believe this reduces the possibility of overheating the tubing, unlike a welding torch which can be too harsh in the wrong hands. Open hearth brazing, in our experience, is much kinder to the lightweight metal tubes and also means that should a frame tube be damaged in use, we can undo the braze and replace a single tube meaning your frame gives you many years of pleasure.

Once the frame is complete and checked for track once more, the braze ons are added according to the order. When the frame builder is completely satisfied that he has once more produced a "masterpiece" and all the visual and alignment checks are positive, the frame goes through for final checking with your chosen wheels and components, prior to shotblasting and into the spray shop.

From this point the skill and artistry of the paint sprayer and the frame finisher take over. Once more time and patience are paramount. The frame is primed with etch coat primer, which is allowed to air dry in the clean conditions of the finishing room. Many of our 60+ colours are hand mixed from up to 8 colours to offer the deep and striking colours we have to choose from. The sprayer then coats the frame with layers of paint, before baking in a state-of-the art gas stoving oven to harden the surface at just the right temperature for a hard wearing and durable finish.

Once the layers of paint for the main finish have been stoved, the frame is then masked off by hand, using low-tack masking tape, prior to the application of contrasting colour panels or bands, before baking once again after each layer of paint.

Stewart finishing Vincitore Special's bottom bracket lugwork Rob adding clear laquer to protect the finished frame Gav Evans, keen mountain biker and Cycle Mechanic of 10 years building a customer's order John Eley, Sales Advisor of 17 years, carefully packing a Mercian frame for despatch

The transfers are then positioned on the painted frame by another skilled craftsman. The transfers used are not "stickers", but traditional varnish-fix transfers, which may be more difficult to apply - but give a better finish, with no vinyl "step" at the edges of the transfer. This means that they are applied by adding a thin layer of transfer varnish to the area where the transfer is to be placed, once tacky, the transfer is then applied in position and the backing tissue paper carefully wiped off with water. The excess varnish is then removed with delicate solvents and wiped dry with a soft cloth. The transfers are then left to air dry for 48 hours to prevent crinkling or lifting during the varnish process.

The lug-lining is added by hand with a small pen-like device, carefully filled with the selected colour and lug lines followed to pick-out the lugs and finish the frame beautifully. Contrast band or barber's pole edges are finished by hand with the finest paint brush.

The transferred frame is given two coats of hard-wearing clear lacquer to protect the finished frame, before stoving in the oven once again, before being checked over prior to despatch to the showroom for building into a complete cycle or via carrier directly to the customer.

As Mercian was established in 1946, we have had many years of experience to perfect our product. Our long-term relationships with our suppliers gives you the assurance that only the best possible quality of components and equipment go into making our frames and cycles. If we haven't made it in our workshop - we won't put a Mercian transfer on it.

Our complete cycle packages have been designed, once again, using the experience of our cycling team members and their many years of experience with Mercian and our customers. Selection of the highest quality up-to-date components available bought and offered at very competitive prices. Add to this the vast experience of our skilled wheelbuilder and mechanics who build the cycles ensuring that the finished Mercian cycle not only looks fantastic, but is a responsive, comfortable machine you will enjoy for many years.

As Michael Kone (Bicycle Classics) was recently quoted, "That's the difference between buying craftsmanship and buying technology. Craftsmanship increases or at least maintains its value over the years, but technology gets severely devalued the minute it is sold, because everyone knows in a year it's going to be old news."