Whenever I ride my Mercians, I find that I've actually ridden faster than I thought I was riding and, even when riding on rough stretches or climbing into the wind, I don't feel beat-up or worn-down at the end. This is particulary true of Arielle, my Mercian Audax.
It's a bike meant for longer rides, hence the model name. With such a purpose in mind, the bike is designed with a somewhat longer wheelbase and slightly shallower angles than a dedicated racing bike. On the other hand, its geometry is tighter than that of a full-load touring bike or even many randonneur bikes. It also has, according to my specification, a shorter top tube than is typically found on touring (and even some racing) frames in Arielle's size (56 cm center-to-center) to accomodate the rather long legs and short torso I have for a person of my height.
When I was ordering Arielle--the first Mercian I bought--I was going to specify 16mm diameter seat stays. At the time, Mercian was still offering 12mm on some models, including the Audax. Hal Ruzal at Bicycle Habitat talked me into going with the 12mm, in part because that's what he has on one of his Mercians, which is very similar to Arielle.
I'm glad he did. Tosca, my Mercian fixed-gear, has 16mm stays. It feels stiffer, but that may have to do with the geometry of the bike rather than the stay diameter. Arielle, however, never felt flexy or noodly to me. Yet those 12mm stays, I believe, absorb more road shock than the thicker stays, which--I'm guessing--is the reason why I never feel "beat up" after riding her.
I also am glad Hal--and the folks at Mercian--convinced me to buy an Audax rather than one of the other models. I didn't want a full-on touring bike: If I ever do another multi-day tour, it will probably be with a light load. On the other hand, I didn't want another racing-specific bike: I'd owned and ridden a number of those and felt as if I were past being even a "wannabe", let alone an actual racer.
On this bike, I can ride fast when I want to, but--more important to me at this point in my life--I can simply enjoy the ride. It has never felt like a "compromise": It's simply a bike that fits well and feels good.
Because Arielle fits and rides so well, specifying my next two custom Mercians--Tosca, my fixed-gear and Helene, one of my Miss Mercians--easy. Tosca's geometry is just a bit tighter; Helene's dimensions were tweaked to allow wider tires and fenders.
Vera, my other Miss Mercian, is the only one of my Mercians that wasn't custom-built for me: I bought it second-hand. So, while its fit is a bit different from that of the others (the imaginary top tube length is 15mm longer than on Arielle or Helene and 10 mm longer than on Tosca, and the chain stays are about 15 mm longer than the ones on Helene), my experience with my other Mercians served as a good guideline in helping me choose the right stem length and such. Overall, it has the cushiest ride of my "Mercs" and, not surprisingly, Tosca has the stiffest and most responsive.
All of them feel great, but, as the saying goes, there's nothing like the first. And mine (at least in terms of my Mercians) is Arielle.
It's a bike meant for longer rides, hence the model name. With such a purpose in mind, the bike is designed with a somewhat longer wheelbase and slightly shallower angles than a dedicated racing bike. On the other hand, its geometry is tighter than that of a full-load touring bike or even many randonneur bikes. It also has, according to my specification, a shorter top tube than is typically found on touring (and even some racing) frames in Arielle's size (56 cm center-to-center) to accomodate the rather long legs and short torso I have for a person of my height.
When I was ordering Arielle--the first Mercian I bought--I was going to specify 16mm diameter seat stays. At the time, Mercian was still offering 12mm on some models, including the Audax. Hal Ruzal at Bicycle Habitat talked me into going with the 12mm, in part because that's what he has on one of his Mercians, which is very similar to Arielle.
I'm glad he did. Tosca, my Mercian fixed-gear, has 16mm stays. It feels stiffer, but that may have to do with the geometry of the bike rather than the stay diameter. Arielle, however, never felt flexy or noodly to me. Yet those 12mm stays, I believe, absorb more road shock than the thicker stays, which--I'm guessing--is the reason why I never feel "beat up" after riding her.
I also am glad Hal--and the folks at Mercian--convinced me to buy an Audax rather than one of the other models. I didn't want a full-on touring bike: If I ever do another multi-day tour, it will probably be with a light load. On the other hand, I didn't want another racing-specific bike: I'd owned and ridden a number of those and felt as if I were past being even a "wannabe", let alone an actual racer.
On this bike, I can ride fast when I want to, but--more important to me at this point in my life--I can simply enjoy the ride. It has never felt like a "compromise": It's simply a bike that fits well and feels good.
Because Arielle fits and rides so well, specifying my next two custom Mercians--Tosca, my fixed-gear and Helene, one of my Miss Mercians--easy. Tosca's geometry is just a bit tighter; Helene's dimensions were tweaked to allow wider tires and fenders.
Vera, my other Miss Mercian, is the only one of my Mercians that wasn't custom-built for me: I bought it second-hand. So, while its fit is a bit different from that of the others (the imaginary top tube length is 15mm longer than on Arielle or Helene and 10 mm longer than on Tosca, and the chain stays are about 15 mm longer than the ones on Helene), my experience with my other Mercians served as a good guideline in helping me choose the right stem length and such. Overall, it has the cushiest ride of my "Mercs" and, not surprisingly, Tosca has the stiffest and most responsive.
All of them feel great, but, as the saying goes, there's nothing like the first. And mine (at least in terms of my Mercians) is Arielle.
