Merlin Malt RS (Road Series) 2012
fgaffney
Posts: 49
Well here’s some photos of my first ever road bike. Being a complete newcomer I didn’t want to break the bank and plumped for the Merlin from a shortlist of three bikes including a Scott Speedster S30 and a BeOne Storm Race, which were all sub £650.00 after being heavily discounted.
I have to say I love the Merlin and would highly recommend it to a road newbie like myself. Here’s the stats:-
Frame - Merlin Malt-RS HFT HydroFormed Aluminium
Fork - Columbus Tusk Carbon
Chainset - Shimano Tiagra 4600 10speed 34/50 compact
Brakeset - Shimano Tiagra
STI Brake/Gear Levers - Shimano Tiagra 4600 10speed
Front Derailleur - Shimano Tiagra 10speed
Rear Derailleur - Shimano Tiagra 10speed
Cassette - Shimano Tiagra 10speed 12/28
Chain - Shimano
Headset - Integral
Handlebars - Deda RHM01
Stem - Deda Zero 1
Seatpost - Deda RS01
Saddle - Madison Prime
Wheels - Shimano RS20
Tyres - Michelin Lithion 2 Kevlar
Pedals - Shimano R540 SPD-SL
I have to say I love the Merlin and would highly recommend it to a road newbie like myself. Here’s the stats:-
Frame - Merlin Malt-RS HFT HydroFormed Aluminium
Fork - Columbus Tusk Carbon
Chainset - Shimano Tiagra 4600 10speed 34/50 compact
Brakeset - Shimano Tiagra
STI Brake/Gear Levers - Shimano Tiagra 4600 10speed
Front Derailleur - Shimano Tiagra 10speed
Rear Derailleur - Shimano Tiagra 10speed
Cassette - Shimano Tiagra 10speed 12/28
Chain - Shimano
Headset - Integral
Handlebars - Deda RHM01
Stem - Deda Zero 1
Seatpost - Deda RS01
Saddle - Madison Prime
Wheels - Shimano RS20
Tyres - Michelin Lithion 2 Kevlar
Pedals - Shimano R540 SPD-SL
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Comments
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Didn't realise they did road bikes but you can't grumble with that price!0
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Great value.
Two observations. 1) The Tiagra chainset is about 20 times nicer than 105. 2) Those shifters look identical to my Ultegra 6600 series and probably perform better.
*heads for Merlin site*0 -
Looks very nice -> the bar tape works well too!Great value.
Two observations. 1) The Tiagra chainset is about 20 times nicer than 105. 2) Those shifters look identical to my Ultegra 6600 series and probably perform better.
*heads for Merlin site*
Agreed on the chainset.. I do usually prefer black groupsets though. But silver works well on this bike.0 -
Thanks... Chain Reaction and only £2.45 a pair!!! My OCD shows itself!!! Oh and some small 'O' rings from B&Q to keep the washer off my rims.declan1 wrote:Nice valve cap!
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=57971
They're well known for their Malt 4 MTB which has received some fantastic reviews however I couldn't find any reviews for either of their 2 RS bikes ? Great components at a really competitive price though and the usual fantastic service from Merlin!Paul 8v wrote:Didn't realise they did road bikes but you can't grumble with that price!
I wish I could've stretched to a 105 or Ultegra groupset but I have to say the Tiagra is really smooth... especially after having the gears and cables adjusted during it's 'first service'.Chadders81 wrote:Great value.
Two observations. 1) The Tiagra chainset is about 20 times nicer than 105. 2) Those shifters look identical to my Ultegra 6600 series and probably perform better.0 -
fgaffney wrote:
Thanks... Chain Reaction and only £2.45 a pair!!! My OCD shows itself!!! Oh and some small 'O' rings from B&Q to keep the washer off my rims.declan1 wrote:Nice valve cap!
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=57971
They're well known for their Malt 4 MTB which has received some fantastic reviews however I couldn't find any reviews for either of their 2 RS bikes ? Great components at a really competitive price though and the usual fantastic service from Merlin!Paul 8v wrote:Didn't realise they did road bikes but you can't grumble with that price!
I wish I could've stretched to a 105 or Ultegra groupset but I have to say the Tiagra is really smooth... especially after having the gears and cables adjusted during it's 'first service'.Chadders81 wrote:Great value.
Two observations. 1) The Tiagra chainset is about 20 times nicer than 105. 2) Those shifters look identical to my Ultegra 6600 series and probably perform better.
Heard very good things about the new Tiagra. Now it's 10 speed you can upgrade whenever you want anyway.0 -
some good pics...
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i was chatting to one of the Merlin staff about this bike. the frame is the same frame used on one of the Sensa bikes - the Romagna I think?
it's a really good mix of decent kit at a decent price.
i'm very tempted - especially as it's only up the road.0 -
snipsnap wrote:i was chatting to one of the Merlin staff about this bike. the frame is the same frame used on one of the Sensa bikes - the Romagna I think?
it's a really good mix of decent kit at a decent price.
i'm very tempted - especially as it's only up the road.
As my first road bike I'm absolutely delighted with the Malt and all the components compliment each other really well.
The wheels were listed on Merlin's website as being Shimano R501's however my bike came with upgraded Shimano RS20's (although the tyres on them were black and not blue). For £608.00 it was an absolute steal!0 -
Lovely looking bike. Looking to buy one of these myself. Out of interets what height are you and what size did you buy. No geometry info on website and still waiting on them getting back to me about this.
Cheers0 -
bamboy74 wrote:Lovely looking bike. Looking to buy one of these myself. Out of interets what height are you and what size did you buy. No geometry info on website and still waiting on them getting back to me about this.
Cheers
Thanks... I'm 5'9" with an inside leg of 31" and went for the 54cm frame after discussing the sizing over the phone with staff.
My seat height was set using my inseam measurement multiplied by 109% which was double checked by my bike fitter and found to be pretty much spot on. I initially thought I could've done with the 52cm frame so I could've set the seat a little bit higher but that was purely for asthetic reasons and I actually find my riding position to be very comfortable.0 -
If you were an OCD roadie, you wouldn't have any valve caps
Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
ABCC Cycling Coach0 -
That is a great looking bike and a great spec for that money. Good find!0
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I thought I'd post a couple more photos showing what she looks like out on the road. Quite a neat little cockpit using my old Garmin Forerunner 305 (an Edge 500 is on my wishlist) and a nicely concealed rear light under my medium Topeak Aero saddlebag:-
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snipsnap wrote:i was chatting to one of the Merlin staff about this bike. the frame is the same frame used on one of the Sensa bikes - the Romagna I think?
it's a really good mix of decent kit at a decent price.
i'm very tempted - especially as it's only up the road.
You might be interested to learn that the Sensa Romagna was the Group Test winner when it was put up against 5 other sub £1k bikes in October's issue of Cycle Plus, managing 4 1/2 stars out of 5.
Having read the review I can confirm the frame on the Sensa is the same as my Malt RS which is nice to know seeing as the review was so positive.
The groupset, wheels and finishing kit were all different to the Malt but I'm absolutely delighted with my Shimano & Deda components.. especially for the price I paid!0 -
I know it's a great value for money package is this bike. I'm totally torn between this one and the Spesh Allez Sport 2013. Admittedly the Spesh doesn't have a comparable spec to this, being a 9 speed sora set up oh and being quite a bit more money!!!
But it's the frame geometry that i can't ignore after the reviews I've read. That and the lovely paint job!
Gonna try and test drive the malt-rs this weekend. Really enjoying your pics and thoughts on the Merlin tho as I couldnt find muh info online......and theres plenty of info on last years allez sport.0 -
snipsnap wrote:Gonna try and test drive the malt-rs this weekend. Really enjoying your pics and thoughts on the Merlin tho as I couldnt find muh info online......and theres plenty of info on last years allez sport.
I'd be interested to hear how your test ride goes?
Like you I couldn't find any info online and was a bit worried about ordering blind. It's really reassuring to read the Sensa review knowing that the frame is the same as mine as that was the only real 'unknown'.
My one and only critcism of the Malt is it's Madison Prime saddle which I've never really got on with. After 300+ miles and various Gel shorts I finally decided to order a Charge Spoon which should arrive over the next few days and sort out my posterior pain... at least I hope so!0 -
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Richard Farrant wrote:Looks very nice, I wonder how long it will be at that price? rrp is £900
To quote the Sensa review... "British distributor Merlin Cycles tells us that the discounted price of £754.99 is going to stick around for some time."
I can't see the Malt being any different?0 -
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Yeah, the Romagna has a further 10% off that price taking it to approx £680.
Has 105 setup too it seems.
Hoping to check these out in my size at Merlin this weekend. Will report back. Have the Allez Sport reserved until Saturday too............0 -
Looks very nice and amazing for the price.
I noticed that they have stopped their Rocklobster Ti MTB hardtail frame which was a great frame at a fantastic price (£650) as well as being well built.
It would be lovely to see a £650 Ti road frame from them
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snipsnap wrote:Yeah, the Romagna has a further 10% off that price taking it to approx £680.
Has 105 setup too it seems.
Hoping to check these out in my size at Merlin this weekend. Will report back. Have the Allez Sport reserved until Saturday too............
Romagna ordered. It was a close call between that and the malt-rs, but the 105 components won. Due to demand at Merlin there's currently a 2 week approx build time, so gotta play the waiting game now.
Test rode the Romagna as they didn't have a malt-rs in my size. The difference between that and the allez sport was clear to me. And as Merlin are only up the road for me, I felt it was too too much of an overall package not to take up.
Thanks for your views on your malt-rs which were a significant factor in my decision making, even if I ended up plumping for a (slightly) different bike!0 -
snipsnap wrote:Romagna ordered. It was a close call between that and the malt-rs, but the 105 components won. Due to demand at Merlin there's currently a 2 week approx build time, so gotta play the waiting game now.
Test rode the Romagna as they didn't have a malt-rs in my size. The difference between that and the allez sport was clear to me. And as Merlin are only up the road for me, I felt it was too too much of an overall package not to take up.
Thanks for your views on your malt-rs which were a significant factor in my decision making, even if I ended up plumping for a (slightly) different bike!
Excellent!!! The Romagna looks a really nice bike and received a great review. You really do get a lot of bang for your buck and I'm sure you'll be absolutely delighted with it.
It's just a pity you have to wait for the build although I was told it'd be a two week wait for the Malt but had it delivered after only 7 days so fingers crossed for you!
Looking forward to seeing some photos in a couple of weeks time!0 -
After reading and seeing your pics i have just ordered my Malt RS
It is also my first road bike and have been looking around for a few months and was close to a Cannondale caad 8 tiagra from pauls cycles but with the discounts offered with merlin i decided to take the plunge and order the Malt RS.
The shimano 501 wheelset is out of stock on their website so me to am hoping for a wheel upgrade like yourself.
Just playing the waiting game now till it turns up.0 -
richyharv wrote:After reading and seeing your pics i have just ordered my Malt RS
It is also my first road bike and have been looking around for a few months and was close to a Cannondale caad 8 tiagra from pauls cycles but with the discounts offered with merlin i decided to take the plunge and order the Malt RS.
The shimano 501 wheelset is out of stock on their website so me to am hoping for a wheel upgrade like yourself.
Just playing the waiting game now till it turns up.
Well done... I had my eye on a Scott Speedster S30 from Pauls Cycles but decided on the Malt as the discount and 10 speed Tiagra components were too tempting for me.
Hopefully you'll receive the wheel upgrade like me and even if you don't I'm absolutely positive you'll be delighted with the bike.
My Malt gets better the more I ride it!0
