My Merlin, Reborn! (Lots-o-pics)
Moderators: MrCurrieinahurry, maxim809, Moderator Team
Acquired in 2002. Sold in 2005... reacquired in 2009... rebuilt and ready to ride! Pretty much done save a few little bits I wanna add. Rides as awesome as I remembered... and the SRAM stuff is great! Hope you like.
Only planned upgrades now are a new fork, KCNC Skewers, a Ti seat post collar.
As a first time SRAM owner.... here's a quick Review:
I just built up this bike with the following:
Rear and Front Dérailleurs: Force (2010)
Brakes: Force
Shifters: Rival
Crankset: Rival
This is to me the best combination of performance, value, and great looks. The shifting is fantastic. The Force Dérailleurs are smooth and easy to dial in. The Rival shifters do a great job and the carbon levers are a nice touch. A big surprise was the Rival crankset. I had my heart set on Force or Red but when I saw the stiffness numbers on the Rival (one of the stiffest out there) I took the chance. Let me tell you that crankset is a steal for the money. Stiff as hell and looks great. With a KCNC scandium post and a Thomson stem... the black aluminum cranks on the Rival compliment the look great. I was skeptical of all the praise Rival gets on these boards... but the gang here is right on. Sram is awesome and Rival "rivals" anything out there at twice the price. Lastly, DoubleTap shifting makes more sense to me than both Shimano and Campy's versions. Just great stuff. Brakes also work great and were easy to dial in.
Only planned upgrades now are a new fork, KCNC Skewers, a Ti seat post collar.
As a first time SRAM owner.... here's a quick Review:
I just built up this bike with the following:
Rear and Front Dérailleurs: Force (2010)
Brakes: Force
Shifters: Rival
Crankset: Rival
This is to me the best combination of performance, value, and great looks. The shifting is fantastic. The Force Dérailleurs are smooth and easy to dial in. The Rival shifters do a great job and the carbon levers are a nice touch. A big surprise was the Rival crankset. I had my heart set on Force or Red but when I saw the stiffness numbers on the Rival (one of the stiffest out there) I took the chance. Let me tell you that crankset is a steal for the money. Stiff as hell and looks great. With a KCNC scandium post and a Thomson stem... the black aluminum cranks on the Rival compliment the look great. I was skeptical of all the praise Rival gets on these boards... but the gang here is right on. Sram is awesome and Rival "rivals" anything out there at twice the price. Lastly, DoubleTap shifting makes more sense to me than both Shimano and Campy's versions. Just great stuff. Brakes also work great and were easy to dial in.
Via Dolorosa
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- Redddraggon
- Posts: 982
- Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:59 pm
- Location: North Wales
This is exactly the reason I want a Ti bike - 7 or so years down the line and it still looks good and hasn't gone out of fashion.
It must be love!
- Redddraggon
- Posts: 982
- Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:59 pm
- Location: North Wales
I hope my Ti frame looks this good in 7 years
did you get shorter arms in the 7 years?
great looking bike.
great looking bike.
Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓ Broad Selection ✓ Worldwide Delivery ✓
www.starbike.com