Cycling UK Forum

If I recall, when Bob Jackson ceased trading, one reason given was that there was no one who was prepared to take on the business.
This suggests to me that youngsters today do not see this sort of artisanal engineering as a career path.
If so, that is a great shame. At one time (1940s, 1950s) almost every London Borough had one or more bicycle frame builders. Sometimes
several on the same street.
It is tempting to think that the demise of Mercian (if proven), Bob Jackson, Roberts etc., is symptomatic of an inexorable decline of indigenous manufacturing. As an aside, I do wonder how Reynolds 725 cycle tubing (assuming that it is still made in this country) can be exported to the Far East, made into bicycles and re-imported into this country to be sold at a cheaper price than a bike made here.

Labour, power, property, water, fuel, all lower in eg Taiwan, Cambodia; just the same as for eg mobile phone, which incorporates many parts of Western origin. Also, frame nowadays (if not custom made) is a minority of the cost of the complete bike; components are the majority.

jimlews wrote: ↑22 May 2024, 5:11pm As an aside, I do wonder how Reynolds 725 cycle tubing (assuming that it is still made in this country) can be exported to the Far East, made into bicycles and re-imported into this country to be sold at a cheaper price than a bike made here.

Don't know if it still happens, but Scottish prawns used to be sent to Thailand for shelling etc, before being sent back to UK for sale.

As a frequent visitor to 'the East' almost everything is much cheaper. Add on a little air freight and it's job done.

There's been quite a few posts on this thread relating to (high) cost. I had a Mercian built about 18 months ago, a present to myself for a significant birthday.
This involved a couple of hours chatting about intended use and being measured up. I'm a fairly standard size so a custom fit wasn't totally necessary.
It's 853 with rim brakes and as much room for tyres and 'guards as the (57mm drop) brakes allow. It's exactly the colour I wanted and sparkles in the sunshine.
It was £1400. Because I bought it on the cycle scheme it was probably a fair bit less than that.
Like many on here, I have a stash of spare bits and pieces, enough to finish the bike with the addition of some nice light wheels and tyres, for well under 2k. I had a lot of fun doing so and it has built into a beautiful machine that I will keep as my summer 'best' bike for a good few years.

Derby is my adopted home town. When I first moved here, from a more agricultural area, I really noticed all how much making of things went on here, from jet engines to bicycle frames, (and beer!).

So I've been pleased to support, and be part of, that tradition. I think it was good value for money.

I also have a Spa Audax. I bought the frameset second hand for a couple of hundred quid. I added some winter wheels, £5 huret downtube shifters and rode PBP on it. It's a great bike and I love riding it. I think it's great that such a modest sum can buy such a capable machine and with it access to all the enjoyment of cycling.

I shall be sad if Mercian (perhaps more specifically, traditional UK frame-building) becomes a thing of the past. I hope there proves to be room for both the (very well made) far eastern mass produced stuff, and something a little more bespoke.

Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑22 May 2024, 9:22am

Hemipode wrote: ↑22 May 2024, 9:11am From information I've gathered from elsewhere it unfortunately appears that Mercian are no more

That's a shame. Is there information you can share?

According to posts made on Facebook the company directors have stepped down and all employees were laid off about 3 weeks ago.
Still hoping if this is true someone will step in the save the business.

willcee wrote: ↑22 May 2024, 2:42pm COUPLE OF POINTS.. any good shop will have shoes on show, doesnt mean they do a lot of sales ....with respect if you realised anything about professional cycle sales one needs them to hand..
secondly ave salary at 35K is way above realistic, yes the news media trail it out but in real terms amongst the non professionals its about 10k too high...how do i know , well i may be a thou or two wrong but many years of professional sales completing finance agreements, working with finance houses, banks etc you tend to get to know what people in various work earn..
.As regards what things are worth compared to years back i use a 20 pack of cigarettes, good ones today are 16/17 quid, i dont smoke now, but when i started on 1970's about 6 bob or in todays money 30p, a gallon of petrol was approx 7 shillings or 35p, and a pair of Grenson tiger chukka boots were 3 quid...will

Mercian have not had a “shop” for more than 10 years, when they did have a shop, they did indeed sell shoes (I bought some Sidi touring shoes from them many years ago). They closed their shop in Alvaston, Derby, but continued to trade from their workshop premises - also in Derby, so they didn’t sell all the things that a normal bike shop would sell. They specialised in frames, complete bikes and spare parts, particularly Campag spares.

Hemipode wrote: ↑23 May 2024, 9:09am

Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑22 May 2024, 9:22am

Hemipode wrote: ↑22 May 2024, 9:11am From information I've gathered from elsewhere it unfortunately appears that Mercian are no more

That's a shame. Is there information you can share?

According to posts made on Facebook the company directors have stepped down and all employees were laid off about 3 weeks ago.
Still hoping if this is true someone will step in the save the business.

According to Companies House they still have two active directors, but I don't know how regularly that's updated.
https://find-and-update.company-informa ... 2/officers

jimlews wrote: ↑22 May 2024, 5:11pm If I recall, when Bob Jackson ceased trading, one reason given was that there was no one who was prepared to take on the business.
This suggests to me that youngsters today do not see this sort of artisanal engineering as a career path.
If so, that is a great shame. At one time (1940s, 1950s) almost every London Borough had one or more bicycle frame builders. Sometimes
several on the same street.
It is tempting to think that the demise of Mercian (if proven), Bob Jackson, Roberts etc., is symptomatic of an inexorable decline of indigenous manufacturing. As an aside, I do wonder how Reynolds 725 cycle tubing (assuming that it is still made in this country) can be exported to the Far East, made into bicycles and re-imported into this country to be sold at a cheaper price than a bike made here.

There is also the recent loss of Dave Yates, as I understand through retirement rather than lack of business. The options for getting a steel frame custom built in the UK are diminishing.

Sorry to hear that Yates has retired. He repaired a frame for me many years ago and did a great job of it, and we shared a pot of tea and a biscuit and some stories too. It seems like all the 'characters' from the age are either packed up or dead. You don't get a cup of tea in Halfords!

SORRY Pete I Disagree.. When comparing what a man has or hasnt in his pocket , what hes earning and what stuff he may puchase compared to what things cost for a working chap back 50/60 years ago.. duty etc still has to be paid for.. and my way is simple if a good machine totally equipped was 50 quid top end stuff in the early 50's and a chap was earning a fiver a week perhaps less, lets say its London they are dearer, and in shillings thats 1000 and a packet of cigs was perhaps 3 s.. est. so 333 packets of fags and today fags are 17 quid a pkt. i make that bike would cost today 5661 so back then 10 weeks to pay for the bike and today lets say hes on 500 a week .. 11 weeks slightly over.. strangely i felt it would be more perhaps my fags were too dear in the 50's..lol .will

JerseyJoe wrote: ↑23 May 2024, 10:31am Sorry to hear that Yates has retired. He repaired a frame for me many years ago and did a great job of it, and we shared a pot of tea and a biscuit and some stories too. It seems like all the 'characters' from the age are either packed up or dead. You don't get a cup of tea in Halfords!

I assume he is retired as he has dissolved his limited company and has taken down his website, but maybe in his shed he brazes on? I have the pleasure of owning what is likely one of his last frames, built to measure for me in 2018.

As has been said above in this thread, I was never going to be a repeat customer. This was a one-off for me and at 6 years old I still consider it my "new" bike. Likely when it is 16 years old I will still consider this my new bike. Bespoke frames are special and the builders will always be having to find new customers.

And yes, when I met Dave at his Lincolnshire workshop he was indeed a lovely man with so many interests, not just bikes.

https://road.cc/content/news/mercian-cy ... ion-308501

Article on road.cc about it now

Thankyou

Jonathan

There is still demand for custom made bikes and plenty of people making the bikes to satisfy that demand. How else has Bespoked kept going for 13 years and now grown to two shows a year (UK and Germany)? Individual companies can go bust for a variety of reasons applying to them only.

road.cc story today...

https://road.cc/content/news/mercian-cy ... ion-308501