Merlin Malt 1 2010

Hairylegs66

My new Merlin Malt 1 with SLX groupset and Rock Shoc Recon SL upgrade. I immediately ditched the horrible Ritchey saddle supplied and swapped it for the Charge Spoon from my now semi-retired GT; everything else is spot on.
Really impressed with the build and finish quality on what is described as an 'entry level' bike and looking forward to hitting the trails with it at the weekend.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hairylegs66/4518606912/[/url]

Full Spec:-
Kinesis 7005 Aluminium Frame
FSA Orbit Headset
Rockshox Recon SL fork
Shimano SLX Crankset,Brakes, Shifters, Front & rear mech & cassette.
Shimano MT15 wheelset
Panaracer Fire XC Pro tyres 2.1"
Race Face Ride bars, stem & seatpost
Charge Spoon saddle
Outland CNC pedals

stubs

Sweet me like. You have got good kit there the SLX and Recon is a top combo tough as and not too heavy

I like the silver and blue paint job

sparrowlegs78

Nice bike, another Merlin owner here
Caz xx

Hairylegs66

Thanks guys and gals; Stub, it is actually a polished aluminium finish rather than silver paint and looks even better in real life than in the photos. Yeah the SLX and Recon kit upped the cost a bit but should be a good long term investment.
Nice bike Caz - I looked at the Malt 2, loved the spec just not too sure about the colour for me, clashes with me silver accessories LOL

dunker

congrats it's a beauty

sparrowlegs78

Hairylegs66 wrote:

Thanks guys and gals; Stub, it is actually a polished aluminium finish rather than silver paint and looks even better in real life than in the photos. Yeah the SLX and Recon kit upped the cost a bit but should be a good long term investment.
Nice bike Caz - I looked at the Malt 2, loved the spec just not too sure about the colour for me, clashes with me silver accessories LOL

Know what you mean about the Malt 2 colour, it looks a bit odd with my pink tat on it
Cracking bikes these Merlins
Caz xx

Baggyman

Cool looking bike mate. Welcome to the Malty 1 Club. For the cash these bikes are total value for money. Mines not mist a beat in the last three months. How do you fined the charge spoon saddle, is the wiggle version, is it a comfortable ride?

jpv987

nice bike bud. took mine out for the first time on saturday and it performed perfectly. good idea to change the saddle tho as my a**e was a bit sore after, think i mite try an sdg bel air.

Hairylegs66

Baggyman wrote:

Cool looking bike mate. Welcome to the Malty 1 Club. For the cash these bikes are total value for money. Mines not mist a beat in the last three months. How do you fined the charge spoon saddle, is the wiggle version, is it a comfortable ride?

Thanks Baggyman. Wasn't too sure about the Spoon at first, gets a Marmite reaction from a lot of people. However it was only 17 quid from Wiggle and I found it quite comfy after the first ride. It doesn't look bad either. Having said that, I have a Brooks Swift (titanium rails) saddle on my road bike which I am thinking about trying on the Malt as it seems a shame not to use a saddle with a RRP of £179

Anyone think it would be sacrilege/bad idea/suicidal to use this saddle??? Let the debate begin!

Hairylegs66

jpv987 wrote:

nice bike bud. took mine out for the first time on saturday and it performed perfectly. good idea to change the saddle tho as my a**e was a bit sore after, think i mite try an sdg bel air.

Thanks mate, glad to hear you're happy with yours; I had to make do with looking at pictures of yours before mine arrived so thanks for posting
My Outland CNC flat pedals will hopefully arrive before the weekend and complete the spec. I went out yesterday with the Time ATAC's on the bike and I'm not sure I want to bed in my new ride on the trails with clipless pedals just yet LOL
Yeah ditch the Ritch, the SDG is a popular choice but it is such a personal thing; beg borrow or steal some different ones before you buy.
Everyone raves about the Fizik Gobi XM but it is a lot to weigh out if it isn't right for you...

jpv987

they are definetly a lot nicer in the flesh the fizik is a bit steep on price for me.

sparrowlegs78

I like my charge saddle, I have the Ladle ladies one but I have ridden the hubbies bike with the Spoon saddle and my butt likes both
Caz xx

stubs

Hairylegs66 wrote:

Stubs, it is actually a polished aluminium finish rather than silver paint and looks even better in real life than in the photos. :

Even better I like polished aluminium

Hairylegs66

Went out last Saturday over to Thorndon Park and spent 3 hours having the most fun I've had on a bike for years. The Malt flies up hills and soaks up the bumps. It's a great ride and I am glad I did my homework to get the spec right before I bought it. I've been reading some of the other posts from people on the forum who have been looking at £600 bikes and dismissed the Malt as 'boring' and 'gash'. Their loss in my humble opinion; I'm now a big fan. I could have blown a lot more money and come away with a lot less bike. My Malt cost £731 with the upgrades and I think it is worth every penny.

stubs

I know what you mean one review I read marked it down because in there words it had plain old boring straight frame tubes. They werent interested in how the bike handled they preferred a fancy swoopy hydroformed frame that weighed and cost more just because of how it looked.

My opinion if your spending all your time looking at it your not riding it and you might as well hang it on the wall and go and do something else.

Hairylegs66

stubs wrote:

My opinion if your spending all your time looking at it your not riding it and you might as well hang it on the wall and go and do something else.

LOL totally agree Stubs; I like your choice of bikes as well; very businesslike looking they are too. Nice to see some dirt on them as well!!

Hairylegs66

Just an update on my Merlin Malt 1 and the complete latest spec. Very happy with the bike still and have made only minor changes to the original spec. I do clean it after most rides but there are enough shiny bikes on this site already
I have noticed that Merlin have wound down their stocks of the Malt 1 - is this the end of the Malt 1 or are we going to see a 2011 incarnation??

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hairylegs66/5476266087/

Frame: Kinesis; manufactured from 7005 aluminium
Forks: Rockshox Recon SL
Bars: Race Face Ride
Stem: Race Face Ride
Headset: FSA Orbit
Grips: Race Face Sniper lock on
Bar Ends: N/A

Front Brake Lever assy: Shimano SLX
Front Caliper: Shimano SLX
Front disc: Shimano SLX centrelock
Rear Brake Lever assy: Shimano SLX
Rear Caliper: Shimano SLX
Rear Disc: Shimano SLX centrelock

Hoses: Shimano

Shifters: Shimano SLX
Cables: Shimano
Front Mech: Shimano SLX
Rear Mech: Shimano SLX
Chain Device: N/A

Seat: Fizik Gobi XM
Seat Post: Race Face Ride
Seat Post Clamp: Merlin

Cranks: Shimano SLX Hollowtech 11
Chainring(s): Shimano SLX
Chain: Shimano HG70
Cassette: Shimano SLX
Pedals: Outland CNC flats or Time ATAC
Bottom Bracket: Shimano SLX

Front Wheel: Shimano MT15
Rim: Shimano
Spokes: Black flat bladed, brass nipples
Hub: Shimano centrelock
Tube: Continental
Tire: Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1"

Back Wheel: Shimano MT15
Rim: Shimano
Spokes: Black flat bladed, brass nipples
Hub: Shimano centrelock
Tube: Continental
Tire: panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1"

Weight: 26 lbs

Other info: Race Face cordura chainstay protector

Crudcatchers & Neoguard for winter use only to keep the washing machine grit free![/img]

Hairylegs66

The Recon fork on my Malt 1 was sounding a bit asthmatic towards the end of last Summer so I treated myself to a fork upgrade and fitted a Reba Team air jobbie – much lighter and smoother than the coil Recon SL with lots of adjustment options for set up.

When I bought the bike new from Merlin I did compromise on the wheel spec as I had already upgraded the groupset to SLX and stretched my budget. The Shimano MT15 wheelset that came with the Malt has been no trouble at all, it is pretty tough but it is not the lightest around, so I decided to have a lighter set hand built (by Merlin). I ordered a pair of Stan’s Crest Rims on Shimano XT Centrelock Q/R hubs, with DT competition spokes, giving me the option to go tubeless later with the pair of Nobby Nics I also bought. Mounting these tyres (with tubes) was very difficult indeed and made my thumbs bleed under the nails!! I then had to buy the genuine Shimano tool to remove and refit the rear rotor as my Cyclo version wasn’t the right fit and my LBS didn’t have a clue which ones they sell would fit. (The Shimano version is expensive but it is top quality and will fit onto a standard torque wrench drive; worth the investment for me as I will be swapping the rotors and cassette between wheelsets depending on where I am riding.)

First impressions are how much more sprightly the bike is, especially noticeable when climbing and accelerating. Very happy with my Malt still and I think that will be it for now until something breaks or falls off. Having said that, the new Shimano SLX brakes look very nice……………

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hairylegs6 ... otostream/

Hairylegs66

Well. my Malt has now been reinvented as my commute bike. All the good bits went onto a new build leaving me with the frame. MT15 wheels, bars. stem, seatpost & saddle. I thought about building it up from 2nd hand parts but couldn't be bothered with the e-bay lottery shenanigans. So new it was, but on a budget. First issue was a fork - a quick trawl around the web found me a brand new alloy rigid disc compatible fork for £20, bargain.
Next issue was should it be geared or singlespeed? Doing the maths was interesting. Buying a chainset and singlespeed conversion plus hydraulic brakes & new rotors came to only about £20 less than buying a full 10 speed Deore groupset with everything (cassette, rotors, brake & gear levers, mechs, chainset, BB, chain, cables etc) in the sales with a 44% discount.
A Hope Head Doctor, headset spacers, disc brake caliper adaptor & a set of slick tyres were the only other bits I needed and all were found heavily discounted on the web.
The Head Doctor was ok to fit, laying the bike on its side and removing the rubber O ring made the job straightforward.
Things I learnt from the build:-
I wish I had bought a workstand and torque wrench after my last build.
A 10 speed Shimano Derore chainset will fit on a 9 speed SLX/XT BB.
It's easier than you think to fit gear shifters on handlebars the wrong way round after a beer.
Make sure you have all the tools for the job beforeyou start - the LBS will always be closed when you discover that you don't have an allen key/lockring tool/whatever that fits the part you want to fit.
10 speed Shimano Deore chains break quickly (under 15km)
The Deore kit isn't light but works really well and was a doddle to set up.
Slick tyres are the way to go if you commute on your MTB.
Weight with pedals is about 24lb (incidently the same as my air-forked Rock Lobster)

Pics to follow......

Hairylegs66

Build pictures & finished item:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/hairylegs66/sets/72157629768518870/

Baggyman

What make are your slick tyres as I am looking for a set for when I do MCR to blackpool on my Malt in july?

Hairylegs66

Hi; they are Schwalbe City Jets in the 1.9 inch size. £23 a pair on the web inc. delivery. They make they bike fly and they have puncture protection too. Def the way for any road riding.