Saturday 9th May - Mercian King of Mercia - Service and local evening ride

 Out for an evening ride after dinner on the King of Mercia Mercian.

First time out this year for the Mercian and so it was a quick service this afternoon between jobs. Not much needed really as I tend to keep it always ready to go back out but after not being used since about November from memory I thought I better clean and grease everything ready for what we hope will be a great summer. 
Was a bit breezy but sunny and with the forecast looking rubbish for up here tomorrow I needed to get a ride in even if it was just a couple of hours meandering. Mercian rode sweetly as usual, a real stable and comfortable ride but never feels sluggish or unresponsive. 

Looking forward to maybe getting a bit further afield again this year and loading the tourers up and getting a couple of longer tours in. Last couple of years work has meant that time off was for shorter periods which meant with other things weekend tours were the longest I could manage. This year, fingers crossed for a few longer trips. 

Jamie 

12 April 2025 - Mercian Coast ride - Mercian King of Mercia

 What with work being so busy lately, as is normal for spring time, it means that I have barely any time at home during the week to get things done and so when the weekend arrives, with jobs needing attention I seem to be able to grab only a few hours here and there for riding. Which means short local rides the last few weekends. 

This weekend was no exception with finally managing to grab a bit of time late on Saturday afternoon for a meander around the coast roads. Not very long but a nice ride to help clear the head. 

I pulled the Mercian out as I wanted to change the tyres  over from the 30mm to the 30.33 as they look a good bit larger volume on the Jack Taylor Super Clubman and ride really nicely, very supple and quite forgiving on the rough tarmac around here. So I thought I would swap wheels around and see how they felt. Having been commuting on the Mercian recently I was confident I would be able notice any difference.  They are both Jackie Brown tyres from the old Rivendell moulds just different sizes. 

This now gave a slight purpose to the ride and so I picked a route that would take in the various types of tarmac round here from bad potholed main road to better but gravel strewn singletrack farm roads through to dirt farm tracks. From the first ride out of the yard it was apparent they felt better and certainly are part of the planted solid feeling of the Super Clubman as it felt even more stable and planted than usual. This secure feeling extended to all surfaces so certainly a noticeable difference. Now to try and find another pair, not easy I think. 

Jamie 

 

Sat 07th September 2024 - Mercian - King of Mercia - Local Coastal Ride

Wow!  I didn't realise it's been so long since I posted one the rides on the King Of Mercia! 

I have been riding it, honest, just not posting clearly  

It has seen a fair few commutes and local rides when I have a couple of hours to spare, longer rides away tend to have been on the Jack Taylors this year, or my Long Haul trucker for my few and far between Audax rides.

So yesterday was glorious up here after a foggy start and I had to go to one of the local markets for lunch and then head to town to get a couple of electrical sockets for the house, I checked the tyres on the trusty KOM and headed out into the summery afternoon.

It may have been a while since I had ridden the KOM but it only took a few peddle strokes to feel right back at home and realise what a joy this bike is. It fits like a glove, handles anything and everything with such calmness and poise that it's hard not to relax and enjoy it. It just handles so nicely and is a joy to ride.  

I stopped at the market and had lunch before heading into town, picking up the sockets before deciding on a coastal ride home. This consisted of a small bit of walking path and then some singletrack path with a bit of farm track before the last part on the main road. All of it handle with ease and a few stops for a couple of photographs, before realising the time and having to race home as we were going out. Time flies when you are having fun.

Hopefully won't be so long before posting the Mercian next time. 

Jamie

Sunday 28th May 2023 - King of Mercia Tourer - Beauly - Carrick, Glen Affric Loop

 Had a lovely ride out of the King of Mercia on Sunday with Brian on his Cube. We did the loop out from Beauly down Glen Affric to Cannick for lunch and then returned on the singletrack road on the other side of the river. Great way to spend the afternoon. 

We had nice weather for it as it was fairly clear, warm and with little wind, which made a change from the last week or so. 

The King of Mercia ran perfect whether it was climbing or just rolling along, it is so comfortable and stable. I did have one little incident early on when we were on a run downhill after a decent climb my chain jammed between the big and middle ring, which is unusual as this thing normally shifts really fine and I just put it down to me crossed the chain a bit much and a one off. I realised it was jammed and I was doing a fair speed at this point but managed to just cruise of the other side of the road into a driveway opening. Fixed it within a minute and was back on my way. Bike was superb the rest of the ride and didn't think of it again. 

I drove home and got the bike out the van the following afternoon after work as I got back up north quite late after the ride only to find the sound that I thought was my multitool jingling in the Carradice was in fact my chainrings all loose. All three rings were tinking away as I had lost one bolt completely off the big/middle ring and all small ring bolts were loose. Lost a spacer as well!  Never felt a thing and shifted its usual slick way so can only assume it was at the end. Very lucky as it could have caused a crash easily enough, let alone an injury. Anyway it's stripped now and new bolts all round ordered and most likely fit new rings while I am at it as the ones on it are getting a bit worn. 

Jamie 

Sat 6th May - Mercian King of Mercia Clean up and check over

 Well a busy couple of weeks at work but I managed to do a bit of fettling getting the newer Mercian cleaned and change of saddle etc, fitted the old Mercians wheels just to see how it would come up. Not bad actually and was well pleased. I will probably strip it right down now and it will wait until other projects are finished and I have some 650b wheels for it.

Bar tap is half white faux leather and the black is actually duct tape over a thick layer of what feels and looks like laminate floor insulation. Strange.
Cleaned up nicely though. Everything is free and not seized, which is always good.

Jamie

Sun 30th April 2023 - new addition - 1993 Mercian King of Mercia 653 Road Geometry

 Well a pretty driech day here today but I managed to get down to Brians and while the weather sort of dissuaded us from riding but we did make a car journey over to the other side of Inverness to pick up a bike, minus wheels that I had organised earlier in the week.

Perfect size, and complements my other King of Mercia nicely with this one being 653 like my tourer. This is road geometry King of Mercia and is due to be converted to 650b to allow slightly wider tyres. Besides it was a bargain as when I originally enquired about it, it was already a great price, and then the guy who was selling it said he needed the wheels for another project, I said that was fine as I wanted to try and convert to 650b and was there any adjustment on the price? He then almost halved what was a good deal anyway so I said I would take it. He held onto it until I was down at Brians and could go pick it up. When we got there it was far better condition than I was expecting so was well pleased.  
I got home and dropped my other Mercian wheels in to see if there were any surprises and no, all was as smooth. So this will join the project Que.
It is 653 tubing, 21" square, two bottle cage with rack and mudgaurd fittings, 105 shifters, crank, derailleurs, with Miche brakes and levers and a nice Mercian stamped Tange headset. This was the guys fathers bike but was too small for him so was moving it on. He did know it was on the cheap side but wanted it gone and also to a good home if possible, so I will do my best. 

Will strip it, deep clean it and regrease it next weekend hopefully. Then we will see where we are up to with components etc. I have new bar tape and a saddle put aside already for it.
I really like the colour and is what drew me to it, others not so much. 

After selling my other green road geometry King of Mercia I often regretted it and wished I had been able to hold on to it just to see about converting to 650b to allow a slightly wider tyre. So now I am lucky enough to be able to have another King of Mercia and also thankful it was a very good price which is what allowed me to do it. 

Here are a few photos from when I got home Sunday night and dropped the wheels off my other Mercian in.