# I wanna sell my early 90's Merlin Ti but...



## ED531 (Feb 14, 2006)

*Hi folks, 

I have an early 90's 54cm Merlin Ti with the folowing components (see pics)

Shimano 600 8 speed gruppo
Cane Creek brake calipers
SRP Ti 12-21 cogs
Cinelli Grammo Ti stem (100mm)
King Ti headset (1 inch threadless)
Prima 199 bar (42cm)
Selle Italia Carbon Flite saddle
American Classic Ti seatpost
Topline crank (170mm)
White Industries hubs with Mavic 280 front and 330 rear rims
Conti tubulars

My question is how much do you think I could get for this bike on Ebay. I am having a really tough time letting it go but I rarely use this bike.

Thanks
Ed

Check out the pics...*

































































































*PS. This is my new Merlin Lunaris*


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## jplain (Apr 14, 2006)

I purchased a '92 merlin road bike on ebay similar to yours a few months ago for $760. Mine has full dura ace but some of your components are nicer and it looks like your frame and everything is very clean, i had to clean up mine quite a bit and get new cables, housing, and had to spend a little money to upgrade the fork, bars, tires, etc. so i'm guessing you should get around $900-1000. -jay


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## steel515 (Sep 6, 2004)

is the 90s merlin built with 8 speed sti? do you know top tube length? also the chainring looks new but the chain doesn't - how many miles are on it? I was going to tell you how beautiful it is until I saw the 2nd one- how do they compare?


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## ED531 (Feb 14, 2006)

The Merlin Ti has an 8 speed STI, the top tube lenght is 55cm. The chainring and chain were assembled at the same time frame. And it has approx 700 miles ??? maybe...

The Merlin Ti was somewhat of a "let's see how light I can make this bike" project. It weighs at 14.75 lbs with pedals. The Merlin Lunaris is a compact frame with an upright riding position which is much more comfortable.


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## jplain (Apr 14, 2006)

wow that is light. i should put my old merlin on a scale, i've got some similiar components to yours, i got some topline cranks recently on ebay for $26 and love them, and some clincher wheels with the white industries hubs, titanium seatpost and flite saddle. the only things holding it back pricewise is the ultegra shifters/der., the tubular wheels which are definitely out for training wheels and not so fashionable as racing wheels anymore in the aero age, and that godforsaken bottom bracket which was an adventure in changing the bearings without the proper tools. maybe you could get up to $1200 but I doubt any more than that, personally I would put the starting price at $1000 with a buyitnow of $1200 and see what happens and lower the price from there if it doesn't sell.


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## f1junkie (Feb 19, 2006)

Hi - 

Like some others, I think I like your original bike better - it looks more classic and elegant. Was there any way to keep it and get a higher position? I have a Litespeed with a horizontal top tube, and I think that look is still killer. Not a big fan of the sloping top tube look.

Good luck selling the bike if you decide to...

Dave


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## ED531 (Feb 14, 2006)

f1junkie said:


> Hi -
> 
> Like some others, I think I like your original bike better - it looks more classic and elegant. Was there any way to keep it and get a higher position? I have a Litespeed with a horizontal top tube, and I think that look is still killer. Not a big fan of the sloping top tube look.
> 
> ...


Hi Dave,

I too like the horizontal top tube alot more than sloping top tube on road bikes. I purchased the Merlin Lunaris because 1. It's out of production and I've always liked the concept of etching the titanum tubes and matching with carbon fiber and... 2. I'm getting old and I needed a bike that I can grow old with, strange as that sounds.

But if $1200 is the maximum I will get from the Merlin Ti, I don't think that I will aucion it off on Ebay.

Thanks
Ed


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## jplain (Apr 14, 2006)

I could be definitely be wrong about the $1200 price, it was just an educated guess, you could search the completed items from time to time to see what merlins of that vintage are fetching. Perhaps selling it via the classifieds on this site you could obtain a higher price, at least on ebay it seems merlins don't have any collectors status right now unlike maybe some vintage steel bikes. From a pragmatic standpoint and what others have said in this forum, these grease guard bottom bracket frames are shied away from, but after my experience of changing the bearings it's really not such a bad configuration, in fact there seems to be a trend at least with mountain bikes back towards pressed-in bottom brackets. In some ways they are not user friendly but in theory it is probably a superior setup to the threaded bottom bracket; it is simpler, lighter, with no threads that could seize, etc., and you can still easily find aftermarket spindles and bearings.


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## axebiker (Aug 22, 2003)

It's used, and unfortunately, people looking for used are looking for something "near new" for big bucks off new, or they are looking for an older bike for a STEAL! The market will bear what it will, and I don't care who says otherwise, eBay is the benchmark of the used market on nearly everything. Put your reserve at the minimum you'll take for it and give it a whirl - you may be surprised! There may be someone out there looking for EXACTLY what you have and are willing to pay for it. With that said, Most people will want a newer component group, so regardless of what you want for it, they're probably saying that "I'm looking at sticking another $800-1000 into it for new components, and I can get a pretty good NEW bike for $2000".  They will pass yours up if you're wanting alot for it. I'd just keep the thing - Ti bikes never get old, and will always have a classic look to them no matter what you do.


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