New Mercury Build

[uksteve58]

After some deliberation I finally bought a Mercury frameset.
I've had a Rohloff hub for the last 3 yrs on  a Surly Disc Trucker frame. I've been very happy with the bike but
the one thing that has always grated on me is the need for a chain tensioner...so I've wanted a Rohloff specific
frame for some time.
I have a few qualms about the EBB as I've had one before on a Cannondale 1FG and it suffered badly from "EBB
creak", it was really annoying and I never permanently solved it. But the EBB was a different design than the Thorn
one and I've not seen anything on this forum regarding that, so hopefully it's not an issue.
£900 for a steel frame is "top dollar" imho, so I'm hoping I can discern a difference in ride comfort.
Reading Andy Blance's blurb there's obviously a lot of thought gone into it, and the nice touches with the
stainless cable braze-ons adds value. Internal cable routing would have been nice, but the EBB probably makes that
too difficult if not impossible for Rohloff shift cables.
I've never seen any Thorn in the flesh, so when the Mercury frame turned up I was very impressed with the paint
finish so I can see where some of that money has gone.
In the 3 yrs since I put the Rohloff on the Surly I've only done about 4,000 miles on it as I use other bikes
as well. But in that time the Rohloff has been absolutely trouble free, so this Mercury is definitely going to be a
keeper and I'm hoping I can put a decent amount of miles on it.
Apart from headset and chainset, initially I'm just swapping all other components over from Surly to the Mercury,
but in the coming months I may ditch some of the more commuter oriented stuff in order to drop a little weight as
the Surly weighs in at a rather lardy 36 pounds.I'll add some more pictures when it's built up. I'm feeling rather
guilty in stripping the Surly, how mad is that?.
First time I've tried to post any image here..so bear with me if any problems.

[John Saxby]

Looks like you have a nice bike in the making there, Steve.  Other Mercury riders in this forum have been pleased with theirs.  Good luck, and we'll look forward to photos and reports.

Didn't realize that the Surly weighs 36 lbs. My Raven-with-Rohloff, with rear rack, alloy fenders & mudflaps, dynahub & headlight, small toolkit & Arkel handlebar mount, weighs in at just over 31 lbs, & with the front rack is an even 32 lbs. I use Mavic XM719 rims, BTW, and have been very pleased with them.  No hesitation in recommending them.

[uksteve58]

Hello John...well it weighs 36 pounds in commuter trim, the Surly rear rack weighs 3 pounds, the rear wheel with Rohloff and Marathon plus weighs a scary 8.3 pounds. The Son28 and lights probably must weigh a pound extra too. I'm sure with a derailleur setup it would build into a  26-28lb bike no problem.

[John Saxby]

Those individual components can add up, for sure. Changing a few things in building the Mercury, such as an alloy rear rack, Marathon Racers or Supremes, and lighter rims (if you choose) will mean losing a lot in the translation, so to speak.

[uksteve58]

Yes John, I was looking at a lighter rack ...maybe a Tubus Ti one, I like the look of the Tubus Airy but apparently it doesn't take rear Ortlieb bags and none in stock anywhere...but anyway something much lighter and prettier than the Surly one. My current rims are DT Swiss TK540 disc, not the lightest but I might consider changing them at a later date, but it would be a lot of expense to save 100gr/rim. The Maraton plus on the rear I know is one of the heaviest tyres, but it's puncture protection is great, zero punctures in 6000 miles of commuting. I used to have them F&R but I changed them to Durano plus and had 2 rear punctures in 3 days, so I put the Marathon Plus back on the rear. I'd like to lose it but...what to?.

[Peejay]

Hi Steve,
             The frame looks great - enjoy building the bike, and more important riding it!

I have built a Mercury over last winter with the same forks as you have. I tried to keep it light weight as John as suggested using DT Swiss rims and Marathon Supreme's. I have fitted Hope X2 hydraulic disc brakes with drops.

I don't know what disc brakes your Surly has fitted but my advice would be to ensure you have the Mercury disc brake mounts "spot faced" to ensure the brake caliper is square to the disc. I couldn't stop the front brake squealing on my Mercury until I had this done.

Enjoy your Mercury - I love mine - it rides brilliant and handles good.

Pete.

[uksteve58]

Thanks Pete, Yes I'm looking forward to getting the Mercury out on the road. As to weight, if I can keep it just below 30 pounds I think that's the best I can achieve as I need dynamo lights, a rear rack and mudguards. But if I get a Tubus Ti one then that will get me halfway there, just deciding which one to get...availability is a problem. My wheels are built with DT TK540 disc rims and DT competition spokes, the rims weigh 545gr, I think there's probably not a lot of weight to lose there, but there is on the Marathon Plus I'm using on the rear, so If anyone has any recommendations on a lighter one with decent puncture proofing I'd be interested to hear them. The dynamo setup I have is a Son28 and a B&M Luxos IQ....the one with the usb port on the bars, it's a decent light and I use the USB to keep my Garmin charged...so they'll stay. The disc setup is XTR's, I have 2 full sets of these and a quantity of new spares so these will be staying as well. I think there's a little weight saving on the frameset..but not much. Anyway...I think I cna just get it
Hope I don't have your squealing brake problem...I'll keep in mind your cure..I should have probably had that done to frame as well at SJS....but I've never needed it before on much cheaper framesets...so hopefully they'll be squeal free....I hate brake squeal !!

Anyone know if there's a 140mm Rohloff disc available?...I think 160mm is probably the smallest there is, but maybe someone knows of one?

[jags]

Steve any more word on the build looking forward to seening it finished.

anto.

[uksteve58]

Hello Anto, will get there in the end but the build has been delayed a bit due to lots of niggling issues.
Ebb adjustment...the supplied tool is totally unfit for purpose....took a while to realise that an open ended bearing cup tool would do the job, ordered one...it didn't fit, or would do but only as an interference fit and in the process marking my new overpriced bearing cups, so had to get some small needle files so the tool would fit like it should do in the first place!!....job done...but another sizeable tool to have to carry around if on a long trip.
Ebb I knew from Thorn blurb only gives minimal adjustment, so of course I positioned Ebb with axle towards rear to give maximum future adjustment, took some links out of the old chain (1000 miles old KMC X1) but...one link too many and the chain was too slack for the EBB to cope...so I took one more link out....now the chain was just too short, if I joined the chain, and then put the wheel in the wheel wasn't properly seated in the drop-out, and the chain like a bow-string. If the chain-stays were just 2 mm shorter it would have fitted. So this is using a 16T rear and a 42T chainring....this gearing has been fine for me and I don't really want to change it too much. So I had to take up 1 tooth worth ie half a link for chain to be adjustable. Middleburn don't make 43T rings so I ordered a 17T Rohloff. Next problem....not having removed a Rohloff sprocket before I didn't expect any problem, I'd already bought the Rohloff removal tool and just expected to be no more difficult than removing any rear sprocket....WRONG!!!!, I won't bore you with the details but I eventually got it removed after finding a very clever but simple method from Youtube, by holding the spanner on with a large washer...brilliant!!..whoever came up with that is a genius!!...but unfortunately and very annoyingly I managed to put a few small scratches on the Rohloff hub with the chain-whip....so if you do do this and haven't done it before, put some tape on the hub near the sprocket...it would have saved mine.
As other people have done, I will get a long handle welded to a chain whip, this will make it easier in future.
So now I have 17T sprocket on and a new X1 chain ready to put on...but at the back of my mind....Thorn blurb says total teeth must be divisible by 4 ie...44T+16T=60/4=15, which clearly 42+16 or 42+17 are not. Logically I can't see this makes a difference, but if AB has said this I'm sure it's for a reason and who am I?...just another monkey with some spanners!!...so before I reduce the chain to fit 42&17 which on reflection will be too low geared, I've just ordered a 44T chainring and will put the 16T back on to see if the chain will then fit optimally with expected amount of adjustment...can't see that it will, but I have to try.
Incidentally I'm using Middleburn bearing cups with Middleburn RS8 crankset and Rohloff X-Type Spider with Mono chainring, anyone else have experience of these on a Mercury?
So apart from some further probs with fitting mudguards on the brake bridge...clearance issues with 28mm tyres!!, that's as far as I've got, bit bored with it aswell to be honest, and fed up waiting for companies to send items. some are brilliant...some are <very poor>.

[Minor language edit by Dan, who surely understands and sympathizes with the frustration]

Ok Dan...fair enough....but ....Political Correctness....I despise it....with a passion, it invades and permeates our lives at every level.

Other bits I got for build...Tubus Logo Titan rack, and hopefully a seatpost that will go some way to cure my Ar*e ache
A Specialized CG-R, formerly known as the COBL-GOBLR...but Specialized renamed it...it's name must have upset someone, reviews on it say it's the bollo...   very good, it's now std fitment on S-Works Roubaix.

[jags]

Sounds like a lot of hassle Steve  just to fit a chain 
still bet it's worth it in the end ,i've only ever seen a rohloff bike in the flesh lovely job (raven  tour) but i'm as  shimano man meself i have the new 11 speed 105 on my terry dolan letape looks and works to perfection , but yeah i suppose if your going to be touring then rohloff is the way to go.
anyway best of luck with the build going to be a cracker.

anto

[uksteve58]

Succinctly put Anto...yes way too much hassle to fit a chain. Root of the problem is the EBB....it's the price to pay for the "simplicity" of no chain tensioner.

[jags]

Theres a ebb on the dolan tandem we ride hope to god it doesn't give trouble never tried fixing one before  .
Steve have u tried that new brooks saddle yet, it looks exactly the same shape as my fizik alanti saddle .

anto

[uksteve58]

I have Anto..but not much, certainly not enough to tell whether it's any good or not for me. I'll use it all the time once the Mercury is on the road. I'm hoping it's more comfortable than the B17, I used that for 2 yrs and 5 or 6000 miles but it never got any more comfortable for me. So the C17 together with this new post had better do the job, at the moment, I'm limited to about 30-40 miles tops. I don't actually get sore in my crutch...more a numbness/bruising feeling. It's a real nuisance as I want to do some long distance rides but hat's simply been out of the question. I'm recently early retired...so have lots of plans for future...just need the rear-end for it. I also read that Rivet Pearl is very comfortable and Selle Anatomica, which will be my next try if the C17 doesn't fit the bill. although the Anatomica doesn't seem to be available here in UK.

[jags]

Steve the fizik alanti is the best saddle i ever used.it was very expensive my son bough it for me in belgium he was racking over there,anyway its the carbon one with ti rails super comfy mind u saying that i found the b17 great but it went when i sold the sherpa.

[uksteve58]

Yes, now you mention it I think I heard that was quite comfortable..that's the Aliante..right?
There's many versions of Aliante..you know which one you have?
If this C17 doesn't work out..I'll put that on my list to try...cheers Anto.