Merlin Cyrene Titanium Beauty

dirtymonkey1985

This is my Merlin metal works Cyrene which I've had for around 6 months but only just built it up. It's my first foray into titanium and I am very impressed with the ride quality but mostly with the beauty of it in comparison to most carbon frames I've seen.
It was going to be my dedicated winter 'hack' but as it's been progressing I've upgraded from shimano 105 to dura ace 9000 and the forks have been somewhat upgraded. It also has the beautiful engraving instead of decals. So it may become a good weather bike as it's almost too nice to risk in our glorious british weather. Specs are as follows
Frame - Merlin Cyrene
Forks - Enve 2.0
Gears - dura ace 9000 front/rear mech with ultegra 6800 shifters/cassette
Brakes - Planet X ultralight cnc
Chainset - bontrager x-lite compact with rotor Q rings
Wheels - swiss side franc evo 2
Bars - Deda something or other
Stem - as above

Apologies for the awful full pic, it was windy and my hands were frozen!






I need a few odd bits to really complete it, like a k-edge garmin mount as the one on there is a bit shit and a better chainset which I'm on the lookout for but no luck so far

nweststeyn

I apoligise for criticising your photography skills but I would really really love to see some better shots of this Looks like it is a beautiful bike but the 'full body' shot is too fuzzy for me to tell

No need to worry about being rubbish at photos though when you have a really sweet bike

dirtymonkey1985

I've just given it a good clean so I'll see what I can sort out as these were taken mid ride as it was about to hammer it down

tim_wand

You are blocking the time plate on that post box, That's wilful delay of mail and impediment of the postal network.

I fine you one Titanium Bicycle. Tis the law I tell ya. I'll take the Merlin, don't want any of that Dutch stuff.

dirtymonkey1985

Not sure how much better these pictures are but it shows a few of the little details

sloppyschleckonds

Too much niceness for winter riding!

Bordersroadie

Tasty!

apreading

Why are there no mudguard or rack mounts? Surely the main point of a Ti bike is practicality and versatility - that it can be used in all weathers for all jobs. Dont understand why they dont spec these in what otherwise is a fabulous do-it-all bike...?

cgraley77

Beautiful. The engraving is such a pleasant feature - enjoy riding

dirtymonkey1985

Thanks. I'm really pleased with how it looks so far, just a few bits and it'll be finished. I wasn't sure about the mudguard/rack mounts but it would look a bit odd having them on the rear and not on the front i think so i'll stick with the sks guards i have for really bad weather

nweststeyn

beautiful

look565wong

Bloody gorgeous!

Too beautiful just for winter, but then again ride it winter & summer. A great example of a bike for all seasons!

norvernrob

Really nice, too good for winter! What cable outers are those, they look pretty cool?

dirtymonkey1985

Cheers. The cables are Jagwire Racer in titanium. http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Jagwire-Racer-B ... _33423.htm

bencolem

Lovely but needs a DA9000 chainset and matching stem/post. Definitely a 'for best' frameset.

markyone

I like that well done

dirtymonkey1985

I'm in the process of getting the funds for a new chainset but i'm leaning towards a rotor 3d as i want to keep my Q rings and the dura ace 9000 looks fugly with them but beautiful as standard. I suppose i could lose the Q rings

earthvspace4XTuUWcX

Lovely bike. Iḿ surprised however that the wall thickness of the tubeset allows engraving like that without weakening it. I guess the guys at Merlin know what they are doing though

rolf_f

xdoc wrote:

Lovely bike. Iḿ surprised however that the wall thickness of the tubeset allows engraving like that without weakening it. I guess the guys at Merlin know what they are doing though

That's exactly what I was thinking. Presumably the un-engraved versions use thinner tubing in which case I wonder what the weight penalty of the engraving is. Probably a fair bit.

Have to say that to me it looks like a tattoo'd titanium beauty - I think it would look nicer without the engraving!

MountainMonster

That's beautiful! Loving the pink bits for some flair!

FransJacques

The crank needs to go, simply fugly on this bike. The DA 9000 is a grower, true, but anything will improve on that Bonty.

Can you cut the steerer? it will help the front end from looking so high.

It's a pity there was a phase around '07-'11 where they tried to incorporate integrated headsets by bulging the head tube. It just doesn't work aesthetically and a nice, trim Super Record with a straight-edged HT would look so much better.

Hope you enjoy riding it!

First.Aspect

Is that a repair by the head tube and down tube junction?

Captain Fagor

First Aspect wrote:

Is that a repair by the head tube and down tube junction?

I'm getting flashbacks to the American Bike Group thread! Defects in that area are not unknown...

Frans Funnekotter

Hello you all,

I am very lucky and happy; last week I bought a Merlin Cyrene second hand 61 cm frame, Campagnolo Chorus / Super Record, Zonda wheelset, Chris King, Ritchey Classic, Brooks Cambium C13. The bike looks and feels just like new.
I wonder if there is more technical information, and I would love to get in touch with otner Cyrene owners.
Maybe someone could tell which year my Cyrene was built, but then I have to figure out how to post a photo first...

love to hear from you, Frans, Haarlem, Netherlands

Frans Funnekotter

ow, posting an image / photo seems too cpmplicated for me, according to the FAQ I need an external server or something, I can't simply copy-paste a photo that is stored on my MacBook...
what a pity..

FRans

socrates

Beautiful. Merlin made super bikes. Would never sell my Works CR.

sloppyschleckonds

3 year old thread, think the OP sold it