Mercury Sizing

[uksteve58]

Hello,
I'm interested in a Mercury to use with straight bars so looking at the frame geometry the 580L looks the obvious choice as all my frames have been 58cm over last 30 yrs.
Unfortunately the 580L in my preferred Gunmetal finish finish wont be in stock till next March.
Apparently they have to order a minimum 100 frames and they want to sell more of their existing stock in other finishes before re-ordering.
Allowing for any possible delays and then building the bike means I'm looking at best part of year from now...which is too long.
So my possible options are 580L in Matt Black or 580S in Gunmetal (Both in Stock now)
While considering the available options, it's made me reconsider my size requirements:-

My existing Rohloff setup is a 58cm Surly Disc Trucker with straight bars, a frame that I would change from straight to drop bars without questioning, is the top tube too short/long?, if there was any adjustment needed I would obviously just move the saddle or change the stem.
Although the likelyhood of me doing that is slim at best because the bike is built up as a commuter/tourer with rack, dynamo hub and lights and weighs 36 pounds. I have a Cannondale Evo for my more sportier moments. So the Surly and it's replacement will realistically always be with straight bars. I currently use Surly "Torsion" Bars with Ergon GP5 grips, which I find a very comfortable setup.

The effective top tube length of the Surly is 586mm, the Mercury 580L is 600mm and the 580S is 575mm.
I couldn't see overall wheelbase dimensions for both Mercury frames but the fork offset is longer on the 580S so I'm guess they're identical in that regard.
So my logic is that the 580L would if anything be a little on the long side so the 580S might be the better option anyway. 
So i'm leaning towards the 580S and adjust stem length to suit.

...any one got any thoughts/opinions/advice?

Thanks for reading.
Steve

[Swislon]

Hi Steve,

I guess you have taken all the key measurements of your contact points from your current set up.
I would then be talking to Thorn and discussing your options.
They don't show all the dimensions and measurements on the brochure but they are happy to discuss them on the phone.
I have had several conversations with Andy Blance on the phone and always felt I've had the best possible advice.
Give them a call tomorrow.

Cheers
Another Steve

[uksteve58]

Thanks, yes I've sent Andy Blance the same question in an email.

[Hubs]

Picture of my matt black Mercury here if that helps at all..

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=10411.msg75049#msg75049

[in4]

What a great-looking Mercury, in stealth black too. N+1 gear engaged 

[Slammin Sammy]

Hi Steve,

I arrived at the same conclusion you did. Get the 580S, and adjust your stem length (+10mm?) IF NECESSARY.

I'd love a Mercury, and if I hadn't just splashed out on two top-of-the-range Bromptons  , I would be considering another bike build. Best of luck, and enjoy!

Sam

[uksteve58]

Thanks Hubs, for the pic...yes the matt black one with red hubs looks well nice!
If I was buying from scratch then I'd definitely buy red F&R hubs.....but I'm not....I have black Rohloff & Son28
I've been exchanging emails with Andy Blance, and have decided the 580S is ok for me, so I have a choice of matt black or gunmetal....I just need to decide on a fork/brake setup.

[uksteve58]

Thanks Slammin'...Good to know someone else agrees.

[Hubs]

If it helps to know, I found getting a mudguard of any type on the carbon forks was a challenge: tried two or three different solutions, now on a crud catcher with some modifications which gives me the coverage where I want it..!

Thanks Hubs, for the pic...yes the matt black one with red hubs looks well nice!
If I was buying from scratch then I'd definitely buy red F&R hubs.....but I'm not....I have black Rohloff & Son28
I've been exchanging emails with Andy Blance, and have decided the 580S is ok for me, so I have a choice of matt black or gunmetal....I just need to decide on a fork/brake setup.

[uksteve58]

Yes, mudguards are a must have for me, over the years I've tried several "clip-on" style guards on road bikes but for me they were all pretty useless.
I would've liked the clean lines of the 853 steel fork and looked at a deep drop caliper but that would give me mis-matched levers and besides I have disc specific rims...and I don't want any extra un-necessary expense so unfortunately that fork isn't an option.
I have XTR discs on my current setup (which I think caused Andy Blance some amusement, he started talking about full suss forks....) Admittedly they're quite fiddly to bleed properly, but they work for me. I appreciate that if I were cycling through a 3rd world wilderness they wouldn't be the best choice, but until then........the XTR's are stayin', I've actually got two full sets of them and lots of new pads/hoses, so it makes sense to stick with them.
I just ordered the 580S and steel disc fork...in gunmetal......hope it's the right size choice!!

[Slammin Sammy]

I just ordered the 580S and steel disc fork...in gunmetal......hope it is the right size choice!!

I'm sure you did, Steve! Can't wait to see the photos.