Should I sell my Mercian?

bikepacker · Post by **bikepacker** » 23 Sep 2018, 10:13am

Last night while having a tidy up in my garage I looked at me Mercian hanging on the wall where it has been for the last 3 years and wondered if I should sell it. It really needs the frame respraying after being badly scratched in transit and I cannot be bothered to strip it down and get it done. Although I have climbed Alpe d'Huez and the Galibier on it I have never really enjoyed riding it.
So my options are leave it hanging on the wall. Get the bike restored and sell it. Just sell it as it is.
What do you think I should I do as I have 3 other bikes I prefer to ride?

Bonefishblues · Post by **Bonefishblues** » 23 Sep 2018, 10:20am

Post up images, perhaps?

Post by **Mick F** » 23 Sep 2018, 10:29am

My 1986 Mercian was in up in the loft from spring 1997 to autumn 2004 ............. just over seven years. :oops:

I reassembled it, rode it for a while, then modernised it.
It's a delight to ride it. Fast, light, springy. I'll be out on it early next week with a 75mile ride planned.

My advice is to love it and cherish it.

bikepacker · Post by **bikepacker** » 23 Sep 2018, 10:29am

I can't remember any pictures with the bike on them I will have to do a search this evening. As yet I have not put it up for sale just wanted to get the thoughts of others.

Bonefishblues · Post by **Bonefishblues** » 23 Sep 2018, 10:33am

Understood, but looking at the condition might help with the advice you seek.

bikepacker · Post by **bikepacker** » 23 Sep 2018, 10:34am

Mick F wrote:My 1986 Mercian was in up in the loft from spring 1997 to autumn 2004 ............. just over seven years.

I reassembled it, rode it for a while, then modernised it.
It's a delight to ride it. Fast, light, springy. I'll be out on it early next week with a 75mile ride planned.

My advice is to love it and cherish it.

The frame was made in 2000 and restored in 2011 when I rebuilt it with all new parts since then I have probably only ridden it for less than 2000 miles.

Ke1th · Post by **Ke1th** » 23 Sep 2018, 10:43am

It doesn't seem like there's much affection for it.May be time to move it on.

gaz · Post by **gaz** » 23 Sep 2018, 11:02am

BITD I bought myself an audax bike with the intention of using it for faster, longer rides. It was good in this role and I enjoyed riding it. In practice it saw little use, initially I considered this to be because I felt it was over-geared and switching to a triple helped but not much. In reality it saw little use as there were very few occasions when I wanted to ride longer or faster. It saw some brief service as a light tourer when my usual machine was "off the road" following accident damage but it was barely adequate in that role.

Having concluded that the bike was not suited to the type of cycling I enjoyed and that I was unlikely to return to the cycling I would enjoy on it, I stripped it down and sold the frame and those parts that I wouldn't use again. Much of the rest has been recycled onto bikes I'm riding today or are waiting in the spares box for the same fate.

What did you originally get the bike for? If you envisage yourself doing that again in the future keep it, if not IMO it's time to sell either as a whole or in parts.

hondated · Post by **hondated** » 23 Sep 2018, 12:56pm

I think your find that many of us on here also own bikes that we very rarely ride but just dont have the heart to sell them on. One of the over riding factors to why I have a few bikes is that the resale value of them is pitiful so I would rather keep them.

The fact that you have ridden the Galibier ( was it from the hard or softer side. I have ridden the softer side ) and the Alpe Dhuez would be enough for me to keep it if it was mine.

I also write having had the experience of selling a very nice Roberts Audux frame set and ever since bitterly regretting doing so.

Brucey · Post by **Brucey** » 23 Sep 2018, 3:36pm

bikepacker wrote:...... Although I have climbed Alpe d'Huez and the Galibier on it I have never really enjoyed riding it.....

What do you think I should I do as I have 3 other bikes I prefer to ride?

Ask yourself why you have not really enjoyed riding it and whether you could fix that or not. If the answer is 'definitely not' then unless your cycling preferences change in some way then you are unlikely to get much use out of it. Some folk would still keep it just as a wall ornament though!

It also seems to me that one reason you are not riding it at present is that the paintwork is damaged. Given that one of my pet hates is waiting for the first scratch on a new paint job (be it bike or car or motorcycle) once that threshold is crossed I can get on and just use the thing without worrying about it too much. A bike with scratches in my shed is likely to be ridden more, not less! I'd suggest that you get a matching car paint or something, repair the scratches (perfectly or imperfectly, it makes little difference), and just use the bike.

BTW the only person that really cares about what your bike looks like at close range is probably you. As long as the frame isn't going too badly rusty or cracking up , resprays can always wait.

You can always try changes in the bike to make it work better for you; if nothing else it might tell you more about your likes and dislikes, and such knowledge is almost priceless; fiddling about with a bike you have is nearly always much cheaper than buying the wrong one in future.... :wink:

cheers

Cyril Haearn · Post by **Cyril Haearn** » 23 Sep 2018, 3:46pm

Why/how do you not enjoy riding it, why did you acquire it?

My advice is in any case, not sell yet, wait a while, you might regret selling it, who knows, the value may go up

Post by **slowster** » 23 Sep 2018, 4:35pm

There's something to be said for a bike for which you have no affection. If it gets damaged or stolen, it's far less upsetting than losing a bike which is your pride and joy. If I leave a very nice bike while I go into a supermarket or cafe, I find that I cannot entirely relax even though it is locked. In contrast I've other bikes which I can lock and leave without any further care, and a couple which I would almost rejoice at finding stolen.

A bike like your Mercian sounds perfect to me for cycletouring (and similarly for use as a runabout/conversion to a hack bike), when it's impossible to keep an eye on the bike all the time and sometimes you have to lock the bike up in places which may not be as secure as you might like.

bikepacker · Post by **bikepacker** » 23 Sep 2018, 6:23pm

Why do I not like riding some ask? Compared to my other bikes it is a much harsher ride and no matter what make of tyres the ride does not feel as comfortable. I purchased it because at the time it was a lighter frame so I built it as a lighter bike. Plus most of the Sunday group I rode with a the time had them and from discussions I thought I was it would be a better ride.

The paintwork does not bother me that much but it does not look good as at the moment I have only sprayed over the scratches with a primer.

I am going riding around Wales for the next few days so I will consider your ideas as I am cycling along.

Xilter · Post by **Xilter** » 23 Sep 2018, 7:21pm

N+1 would suggest not to sell but just add to the collection.

NB. Did not read anything but the title

delilah · Post by **delilah** » 23 Sep 2018, 7:54pm

I'm reluctantly selling mine. See "bikes for sale". Great bikes but technology has moved on.

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