New 650b Mercury owner

[Moronic]

Well since Thorn has notified me that they have detected my payment, I have concluded it is safe to share their image of my new bicycle that I understand is awaiting shipment.

First post in the forum from an avid lurker over the past several months.

Please refrain from making much of my self-deprecating screenname, adopted long ago on a motorcycle forum as a possible antidote to my potentially know-it-all presentation there.

I've learned a huge amount from following a big range of posts on this forum. You're a generous crowd.

Obviously I am looking forward to trying her from the saddle. I will say I am happy with the aesthetic, which I chose for its anti-theft properties. I'm not sure that aim has been realised.

Anyway:



The bike is a Mercury 61 S. It appears I have long legs for my height.

Gearing is 37-19. The use envisaged is local bicycle trails - there is an impressive network here in Melbourne, Australia - and tours of up to a few weeks with lightweight camping gear. Surfaces will be a mixture of tarmac and gravel, and predominantly the latter for the reduced frequency of encounters with motor vehicles.

Tyres are 650b 50mm Schwalbe G-One Speed. I'll be interested to try offerings from Rene Herse when these wear out, given that I still remember fondly my experience of sew-ups in my teens and early 20s. The front fork is the ST with low-rider rack mounts.

I've some apprehension about the Rohloff experience, but have been satisfied from online research that experience and appreciation over time correlate. Like some others who make this choice, I will be delighted to abandon thrown chains.

Thanks to you all for your valuable contributions on this forum for prospective purchasers of Thorn products. I'll confess to having been wooed by the transparency of Andy Blance in his extensive documentation of his design principles. Not to mention his exploits touring, whose authenticity I have not seen called into question.

I am looking forward to many happy miles. And to posting a ride review in due course.

- Ian

[JohnR]

Welcome to the Mercury owners' club.

My Mercury came with the G-One Speed tyres which were set up as tubeless by Thorn and were comfortable but don't have a lot of tread. The attached photo shows their condition after 1500 miles of mainly tarmac (the rear one is more worn) when I took them off and put a pair of 48mm Panaracer Gravelking SK tyres to provide more grip on the dirtier winter roads. However, although they are tubeless tyres I was unable to create a big enough surge of air to get them to seat on the rims so they were used with tubes + sealant.

I'm sure that you'll enjoy the simplicity, from the user's point of view, of the Rohloff hub. One of the incidental benefits of hub gears is that you can easily change the overall gearing by swapping the sprocket or chainring and possibly the chainring (if you increase the overall teeth count).

[PH]

Looks great.  There's something about 650B that transforms the look, I've been tempted by the aesthetic without having any real purpose in mind, so am resisting...
Seems very low gearing, is that what you were looking for? 
What rims are those?  I thought there was a thread on here about the lack of 650B rim brake rims being the reason it wasn't listed as a Mercury option.
Hope it lives up to expectations, look forward to hearing about it.

[Rouleur834]

Enjoy the Mercury! I have had mine for 4 weeks now and have no regrets. The Rohloff has been a revelation. It really suits my riding style and I would not go back to a derailleur. You are never in the wrong gear even when stationery. Since it was delivered I have spent no time on maintenance. With my previous bike there was always something to do, particularly drive train related. SJS got the bike fit spot on using the details I provided. Some minor tinkering and I am really comfortable.

Interesting comment about tyres. My previous, gravel, bike was 650B with 47mm tyres (WTB Byway) fitted tubeless on Hunt rims. Initially I asked for my Mercury to be fitted with 700c tubeless. Having read in the Thorn Mega Brochure (Page 42) 'We now believe that running tubeless tyres (without any tubes) is best left to those who have chosen 650b wheels.’ I swapped to lightweight inner tubes with sealant. Only time will tell how that works out.

Best

Ray

[JohnR]

You are never in the wrong gear even when stationery.

I think you mean that if you are in the wrong gear when stationery then you can do something about it before pulling away. Also remember that Rohloff hubs, like fine wine, improve with age. A new hub can be fairly noisy, particularly when in 7th gear.

[Rouleur834]

You are never in the wrong gear even when stationery.

I think you mean that if you are in the wrong gear when stationery then you can do something about it before pulling away. Also remember that Rohloff hubs, like fine wine, improve with age. A new hub can be fairly noisy, particularly when in 7th gear.
[/ quote]
Correct! Could have put that better. The noise does not bother me at all. However, I was glad that I had seen mention of it on the forum before riding the bike. If I hadn't, I would have been on the phone to SJS during first ride.

[Moronic]

Thanks for the welcome. Looks like I may get to try alternative tyres sooner than I thought, John R.

PH I've spent many a moment admiring your Mercuries while I contemplates ordering mine. You've posted some pretty shots. Thorn bikes seem to pick up a lot of ignorant criticism for their looks, but they've grown on me to the point where others look a bit odd. Im even starting to like the extended steerer tube amd its spacer stack. I suspect mine will come down a little, along with the seatpost (my long legs may not be quite that long). But I'll start with the 'bars where they are. Might like that too.

I think it's the Club Tour that's disc-only in 650b for some reason. Seem to recall that I saw an explanation but can't remember what that was. The rims are Thorn 650b, front and rear. The spec calls for a disc rim on the rear but these were on backorder apparently and had been for a year.

Lots of remarks from Thorn sales person Sarah on supply struggles for the bike industry generally. I imagine just about everything but tyres starts in Taiwan.

Yes the low gearing is intended, prompted in part by Andy Blance writing that he had hungered for a lower gear when touring in Thailand. He'd been running 41-19. It occurred to me that super-low gearing would be more accessible with Rohloff than on a derailleur triple with a huge rear sprocket, so why not have it. Especially since it's so easy to change. I'll spin out early but doubt I'll care, and especially on gravel surfaces. And I'll be thankful on steep loaded climbs. Thats the theory anyway.

Ray, thanks for the Rohloff comments. Yes I'm looking forward to the same ease with gear selection. There is a lot of gear changing on paved and unpaved suburban bike trails here, and once I started to think Rohloff I noticed that a lot of mental energy goes into planning them if you're using a touring triple chainwheel as I have been. You take it for granted but it's there nonetheless. I am hoping for less care and more fun.

[PH]

PH I've spent many a moment admiring your Mercuries while I contemplates ordering mine. You've posted some pretty shots.

Thank you

Im even starting to like the extended steerer tube amd its spacer stack. I suspect mine will come down a little,

It's just aesthetics, nothing wrong with that, but it ought to be in the right place on the list, which isn't anywhere near the top.
If when you've decided on the bar position and you're confident you're not going to want it any higher, flipping the stem reduces the spacers, without effecting anything else.

[Moronic]

Thanks for the tip re the stem. I'd seen a few with that more streamlined look and had assumed it required purchasing a new stem.   

[Mike Ayling]

G'day Moronic

Welcome to the happy Mercury owners club.
I live in Melbourne's eastern suburbs and have only encounter one other Mercury in my travels around the local paths.
Hope our paths cross at some stage. My Mercury is sky blue with red and white pin stripes. The dark colours don't do anything for me.
BTW what saddle are you getting?

Mike

[Mike Ayling]

Well since Thorn has notified me that they have detected my payment,

This reminds me that when I paid for my Mercury by credit card I had just hung up the phone after giving Sarah my credit card details and the phone rang again from the credit card provider saying  that someone had just processed a large payment to a British supplier and was I aware of it?
The out of the ordinary transaction scanner obviously worked that time!

Mike

[Moronic]

Hi Mike, I'm in the north east so there's a pretty good chance. Thanks for the welcome. It would be fun to meet a local Mercury owner. If it doesn't happen feel free to send me an invite once I've tried the thing out. I'm glad to hear our tastes don't coincide perfectly.

The saddle will be an ancient Brooks Professional which came my way well worn in 20 years ago via a circuitous route. It's pretty comfy, although not beyond improvement. I'll likely invest in a new B17 at some point, just to see if it's better after a bit of breaking in. I had one of those in a bike that was stolen 40 years ago, and my rose coloured view is that I preferred it.

Ive tried a few plastic saddles and have hated every one.

[Moronic]

Well I've just about built her and she looks amazing. Yes the seat is too tall and of course easily fixed.



Not so easily fixed: the chain seems too tight. I've sought to pull it together with a cable tie and then fit the split link, but there isn't the slack available (it's close).

Obviously the techs at Thorn had the chain on. Still seems like it would be quite tight if I got it on.

Do I join it and then try and fit the wheel with the chain on? Or do I need a longer chain?

I can't get any more out of the eccentric- its at min.

Thoughts welcome. Yes I'll enquire with Thorn Monday.

Oh those mudguards - fiddly or what!

I cannot believe the quality of the finish. As I sent to Sarah: this has to be the most undersold product ever.

And I am still yet to go for a ride.

[PH]

Do I join it and then try and fit the wheel with the chain on? Or do I need a longer chain?

Yes - the pre shipping photo shows the chain fitted and presumably it's the same one?  I'd join the chain, loop it over the chainring and sprocket and see if you can fit the wheel, that's basically what you do anyway when you remove the wheel.

Oh those mudguards - fiddly or what!

hahaha! Yes, but worth doing well, do avoid straining them, they then last longer.
What happened tot he rack in the first photo?  Thorn like to directly fit the mudguard stays to the rack, it's not my choice and I ended up doing something different.

[Moronic]

Wow PH thanks for the quick response. Okay I'll give that a go in the morning.

Yes it all just bolted up provisionally now, The rack is here but I thought I'd get the chain on first.

I'll go with the mudguards to rack option as supplied to start with. Then tighten everything up and adjust, or ather vise versa.

Front mudguard spacers falling into the steerer tube was an unexpected frustration. How do I shorten the bike for transport? Pull off the entire fork and all that goes with it? 😄