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Submitted by
widby
a Weekend Warrior
from Sheffield, UK
Date Reviewed: April 5, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Dore Drop | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | Merlin Cycles | | Strengths: | I looked at a few full builds and the merlin was best value bike. It has a high spec (Reba SLs, Deore LX groupset, Race Face Evolve finishing kit) and a great frame, they must be running at a great loss.
The customer service is brilliant and their aftermarket gear is also bloody cheap.
Their wheel builder is one of the best in the UK, a sound investment.
If you can, get it through the cyclescheme, i did and i saved a load!
| | Weaknesses: | The geometry is a little 'traditional' compared to its competitors, but the high spec does compensate for it. | | Similar Products Used: | dawes shuniah, spesh rockhopper, a claud butler | | Bike Setup: | reba SL, deore LX drivetrain, deore LX brakes, Mavic 717 on Deore LX hubs, RaceFace Evolve finishing kit, Wellgo V8s | | Bottom Line: | Well worth the investment. It is at home on the acsents and descends very well. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tommi Bass
a Weekend Warrior
from Newport
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Forest Drive (mountain) | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Merlin cycles | | Strengths: | It's ride, it's design and fabrication, and it looks the muts nuts! | | Weaknesses: | Are you stupid! | | Similar Products Used: | Too many to mention! (30 years of bike riding) | | Bike Setup: | Merlin 7005 xc (16 inch sexy polished)kore stem,club roost gs bars, drilled avid levers,rocket shifter,fsa conix,hope xc headset,drilled avid 20 v brakes,kona project 2(tripple butted ridged forks)deore 36 hubs with custom bearings,mavic d521,custom machined deore hollow tech crank,middleburn 36 ring,dmr v8,xt bottom bracket,kore seatpost,wtb rocket v,salsa lip lock,xt rear,dmr chain guard, | | Bottom Line: | I built this bike cus i wanted something different on the trail and to be honest i've got it! I'm a former kung fu champion, i'm very light and very strong so i didn't need front shocks (they are a pain cus i'm so light). I also wanted a solid lightweight bike, this is because i do at least 20 miles training every day. Merlin Cycles are very good at shipping the stuff to you and they really value your custom which is #@?*ing rare these days. I cannot stress how much i really enjoy my training rides, the frame (16 inch polished 7005 xc) is a awsome bit of kit, i can fling it about all over the trail. Its one of the best frames i've ever had, climbs very well, decends very well what more can i say? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark Strofton
a Cross Country Rider
from Herts, UK
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Merlin Cycles Ltd | | Strengths: | Great frame design and really well manufactured. Weighs well for the money (~3.7lb) | | Weaknesses: | Ridden for nearly a year - no compaints at all! | | Bike Setup: | 17" Malt 1, Bomber Z2s, Deore groupset, Ritchey hardware, Mavic 519s with Tioga Factory XCs | | Bottom Line: | I wanted to build a new XC bike myself from scratch, and liked the look of the Merlin range, so i chose a frame, fork and components, right down to the sizes/options on each little item, and placed the order with Merlin. Within a week i had it all, in one shipment, ready for me to build. The bike is great to ride. The frame is very stiff being aluminium, but i like that characteristic - loads of feedback. Really good frame geometry - looks good and handles great, climbing or on downhill stretches. Frame has hydro hose guides as well as cable stops brazed on, no need for zip-ties on hydros! Good forgiving polished finish on mine - stone chips don't show. Excellent, would recommend Merlin to anyone. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Tollan
a Cross Country Rider
from York, England
Date Reviewed: September 20, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything in North Yorkshire | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$750.00 | | Purchased At: | Merlin Cycles | | Strengths: | Superb frame for the price, fantastic discounts on components, brilliant ride, perfect ride position. | | Weaknesses: | You must be joking!!! No, seriously, there is a little bit of cable rub but thats it really! | | Similar Products Used: | Orange Gringo, Kona cinder cone | | Bike Setup: | Merlin malt 1 frame, Rockshox duke sl forks, deore groupset, easton bar and stem, irc mythos tyres, x157 black rims, selle italia saddle. | | Bottom Line: | The bike is absolutly superb and for the money it can't possibly be beaten. Ride, value for money and components are miles better than other 'big name bikes' at the same price and should relly be on a £1500 bike. For any Americans reeding this page, give merlin a ring, find about their amazing deals and buy British. You won't regret it! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Howard Poole
a Cross Country Rider
from Stevenage, UK.
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Local area. | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$445.00 | | Purchased At: | Merlin Cycles, Lancashire. | | Strengths: | Quality.
Value.
(Purchased as complete bike). | | Weaknesses: | A wee bit stiff at the rear! | | Similar Products Used: | Can only compare with home built Rock Lobster Team Ti (see separate review) and it does! | | Bike Setup: | Full Deore groupset with discs f + r. 2000MY RS Judy Race forks. Various finishing kit. | | Bottom Line: | My partner's bike bought to get front suspension and therefore a better ride than previous fully rigid and heavy steel Claude Butler (great bike in it's own right though). Does exactly as intended.
Not yet ridden enough to get any idea of longer term reliability but when you look at all the magazine tests and see the price of current mainstream models with full Deore gear you're saving £300.00. Nothing else to be said except why Merlin's phone lines aren't constantly engaged is a source of mystery. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Johnson
a Cross Country Rider
from Sheffield, England
Date Reviewed: June 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Hope Valley | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$778.00 | | Purchased At: | Merlin Cycles Ltd (Preston, England) | | Strengths: | For the money it can't be beaten. I bought the 2002 Malt 1 disc with full deore and deore cable discs and looks great. For me the geometry is spot on and makes the bike ideal for XC and day rides. It accelerates brilliantly and climbs even better. | | Weaknesses: | The polished finish scratches quite easily but what do you expect for £140? I agree with Pete Frederick it does kick like a mule. Could do with a bit more tire clearance on the seat stay too. | | Similar Products Used: | GT Arrowhead. | | Bike Setup: | Full Deore drivetrain, Deore mechanical discs with Avid SD7 levers, Marzocchi MXC Air, Ritchey finishing kit, WTB saddle. | | Bottom Line: | On the whole this is by far the best bike I have owned. It's value puts it streets ahead of any comparable 'big name' bike and its predictable handling inspires confidence even on the trickiest of terrain. Merlin provides an excellent service which allows you to spec the bike to your own individual liking which only furthers the appeal of the bike. I would recommend it to anyone. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Phil Web
a Cross Country Rider
from Ormskirk, Lancashire, England
Date Reviewed: May 16, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Merlin Cycles | | Strengths: | Great looks, strong, light for the money, disc compatable and the front mech, bottom bracket and seat post sizes are popular ones, not sizes that are unknown! | | Weaknesses: | Cable rub shows up really badly | | Similar Products Used: | Merlin Malt 3 | | Bike Setup: | Deore Hydro Discs, Full XT ( with XTR Front Mech ) X317, Trailblasters, KORE. | | Bottom Line: | BUY ALL YOUR PARTS FROM MERLIN BECAUSE THEY ARE GREAT AND EVERYTHING IS CHEAP! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ted Harvey
a Cross Country Rider
from England
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | That one | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$435.00 | | Purchased At: | Merlin cycles. | | Strengths: | Simply fantastic. Cheap | | Weaknesses: | Limited availability and only one stockist (manufacturer) | | Similar Products Used: | Several similarly priced MTB frames | | Bike Setup: | Judy C Deore group with LX R/M Deore disks rest is Ritchey | | Bottom Line: | There is nothing to touch this bike for the price. It is simply fantastic. I bought this as a special offer bike from Merlin cycles. This was one of their builds as they build the bikes to order, bespoke I suppose. The frame is great and as other reviewers have said, a bike with this equipment and this frame would go for a lot more cash from an "Off the peg bike" manufacturer. The special offer was £425 and had deore r/m and Judy TT but because they build the bikes for you you can spec what you want on there. I upgraded to the above for a mere £10 extra. If you are in the UK and are looking for a bike around this price then look no further. You will not find a better one! being as how this is a frame review I had better say that the frame would be £140 and the price I have quoted above was for the whole bike and is in pounds sterling! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pete Frederick
a Cross Country Rider
from London, UK
Date Reviewed: September 14, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Weight, cost, price | | Weaknesses: | cable rub on a white frame is not good | | Bike Setup: | Marzocchi Z4's, full Deore with Mavic 517 rims, Richley finishing kit | | Bottom Line: | Although it was a special offer, I picked up this bike for £475 ($665) with the spec shown above (bear in mind this is the UK, where bikes cost a hell of a lot more than in the US). Not only is it a good, solid aluminium frame but all the rest of the kit is branded and compliments the frame well. A major brand such as Trek or Giant would sell this bike at £700 in the UK so if you are looking for a good, cheap, light XC bike (mine weighs in at 26lb), its work checking out the merlin framesets. You have the added advantage that, if you're willing to pay, you can spec what you like on there when you order. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross-Country Rider
from West Sussex, U.K.
Date Reviewed: October 12, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Cissbury/Chanctonbury | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Light, strong, well built, nice looking, CHEAP | | Weaknesses: |
None so far | | Similar Products Used: |
Various | | Bike Setup: |
MALT1 frame, Manitou Pro C, LX/XT, Sachs Wavey, 517s | | Bottom Line: | We are talking about Merlin Cycles Ltd - UK here, not the `other` Merlin. I doubt they would sell you a frame for £140.00! I wanted a cheap but still good quality frameset for a winter `hack bike`. I had all (or most) of the parts and as i had had a Merlin UK Fujistout frameset a few years back i thought i`d try them again.
I don`t think i could have chosen better. Without trying to keep things too light, i have a 25lb hardtail. The frameset is butted 7005, (my 16inch weighed in at 3.7lbs)with a gusseted and reinforced headtube. Nothing too fancy just solid and reliable. Merlin UK`s sizing is slightly on the large size so beware (they are mail order unless you live up North)The colors apparently change quite often too. Currently they are in a very nice pearl white which seems to be quite hard wearing. Over all I`m well pleased!
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