# My new Mercier Corvus AL



## shill (May 8, 2011)

Finally completed my Mercier Corvus AL. It came Monday, but with a broken brake/shifter level. A quick email with pics to Bikes Direct and the part was shipped on Tuesday-ish. It arrived today. A new lever was promised but I got the whole brifter assembly. An hour later, spent mostly staring and thinking, I had the brifter replaced.

The bike was ride-able in the interim. I've been on two 18 mile rides. Here are my impressions:


Beautiful red garnet color with metallic flakes.
White paint logos don't look all that great, but at least people will know this is not a Trek or Cannondale. I cannot bear to be one of the masses.
Overall, the bike's appearance is pretty good, I think.
Snappy shifting (Ultegra drivetrain). Some shifts were a clean 'snick' while some were a tad rattlely, but not bad at all. User error, probably.
Less stable than my 29 lb Walmart Fixie (a Kent Genesis). I can't look over my shoulder with abandon any more.
Pretty darn fast, accelerates well.
Seat is surprisingly comfortable.
Seat post does not have a tilt adjustment, even though the website claims a micro-adjust seat post. The seatpost looks on the cheap side.
The pedals look on the cheap side.
The electrical tape finish to the handlebar wrap needs re-doing.
Everything else looks high quality.

Price: $799
Weight: 21.5 lbs (with pedals)


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## sj528 (Dec 7, 2010)

Did your bike come with 700 x 25 tires or 700 x 23's?

Have you checked for larger tire clearance? It seems like people recommend a 1 cm gap for safety. A No. 2 pencil is about 7mm from one flat side to another.


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## shill (May 8, 2011)

It came with 23's.

In terms of larger tires, 28's for sure, maybe 32's (I could fit a pen, no pencil handy). There is more clearance in the back than in the fork. I don't now how easy it would be to install 32's though. I'm not sure if the brakes would release that much.

Also, I should mention the white graphics do have a silver drop shadow that looks classy, but you have to be real close to see it.


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## sj528 (Dec 7, 2010)

Thanks for the info. I'm a Clyde so I'm always looking for a little extra tire clearance. My ancient steel road bike has the rear brake mount too close to use larger than 25mm tires.

The rear tire and wheel seems to take most of the abuse so I think a 25mm front/28mm rear works well for a lot of heavy riders.

I looked at cyclocross bikes but not sure if I want the cx gearing and cantilever brakes.


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## GFish (Apr 4, 2011)

Nice looking bike, congrats!! 

I was seriously considering this bike when it was $899 and if they dropped the price a week earlier, I'd probably have the bike too. 

How comfortable is the ride? Does the Geo feel race oriented?


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## shill (May 8, 2011)

sj528: I tried fitting a 700x32 wheel on front. It *almost* fit (had to take a brake pad off, though) so I'm sure a 28 would fit nicely.

gfish: Thanks. I was going to get the Windsor Knight (I thought it a tad better looking), but then the Corvus dropped $100. I'm not shopping at BikesDirect to pass up a bargain! The geo is definitely racey, but I flipped the stem and maxed out the stem spacers so I'm a little more upright. If I wanted to be even more upright, I could have bought the next size up on the bike and then bought a 70mm 40 degree stem and a zero offset seat post (approx $25 each on ebay). This is the best/easiest way to keep the racing geo (I dislike the relaxed geometry look), but get a more comfortable riding position.


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## dgblum (May 9, 2011)

My Corvus is on it's way to Iowa. I should have it by this weekend in time to put some miles on. I hope for my first road bike that it treats me well.


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## shill (May 8, 2011)

dgblum: Are you going to do the final assembly and adjustment yourself? If so, and if you haven't done it before, read a lot and be patient, patient, patient!


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## dgblum (May 9, 2011)

One of my good friends worked in a LBS for a few years and I am recruiting him to help with the assembly. I want to learn to do most of my minor bike work in the future. I will post up some pics once the bike gets here.


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