Since having begun tweaking and tinkering with bicycles, I have often gotten lost seeking perfection. Whilst this may well be important when it comes to a moving vehicle, it has led to an excessive amount of time spent inspecting flaws and contemplating bicycle practicalities. As a result, the search for the ultimate do-it-all bicycle for the everyday and anything continues.
Following lots of trial and error, the summer of 2022 came with a rash decision to clear-out and start afresh. Four of my most heavily time-invested bicycle projects were sold to new owners to extend their lifecycle further. Indeed, a fair amount of work and brainstorming had been done to get them to their running state. Even today, I drift between regret and relief. So, as to share these conflicting emotions, I thought I’d write about them.
First of all, I present…
Number 1: The Mystery Mercier
This one’s a mystery because it was very hard to find out anything about its history. Several aspects of the bike hinted a combination of French and Italian heritage: Mavic stickers and an Italian flag on the frame as well as a bottom bracket, headset and stem threaded and sized to French standards. I found the frame & fork through ebay and picked it up in Paris when passing through one year. The seller was cheeky as they didn’t mention that the seat post was in fact seized. To their advantage, a pretty naïve buyer let that slip but excitement abound nonetheless.
After releasing the seat post, suitable components were sought. This process lasted much longer than anticipated but the final setup saw an old-school Shimano 105 7×2 speed with very thin racing tyres. A Velo Orange (VO) French-threaded bottom bracket was the saviour of this bicycle as the past cup-and-cone model kept loosening itself whist riding – a typical occurrence with this threading I learnt. Even still, a modification had to be done to the crankset by filing down the inner area where the axle slots in otherwise it would rub on the VO bottom bracket’s tool-latching area (should’ve taken a photo).
A lovely racing bicycle, which allowed for some great adventures. Over time though, I decided to move on from the high-saddle low-handlebar outstretched riding position.
Number 2: Raleigh Randonneur
This randonneur will have had to be a true masterpiece of tinkering and parts salvaging. It was bought (again) on eBay as a complete-bicycle and shipped to Edinburgh from northern England. It was quite an exciting time as I had been reading about utility/touring frames and was set on the idea that frames used to be built to transport not only people but their belongs too. The double eyelets on both the rear dropouts and the front fork-ends was the catch.
The project ended up having a lot of lucky part-finds that kept the costs of the re-build low. The rear rack was second-hand, as were the front racks. Although, the rear rack needed to be stripped as it was originally matt grey. In fact, the fenders too had to be stripped since the previous owner had spray-painted them fluorescent green… The front pannier bag was an old Canon camera bag from a charity shop that I repurposed. And, did you notice the way it opens? This was an important feature for practicality as the front of the bag met the front of the rider so it could be opened on the move. Even the latching method I designed was made possible from some metal scraps during a demolition project and random bungee cords. Lastly, the right-side 7-speed indexed bar-end shifter – a rarity for a mere £15 or so. With the cables running under the handlebar tape, the setup was satisfyingly streamlined.
The final modifications were the tall stem to level the handlebar with the saddle, the double kickstand, and the lowrider front rack, making the front section look like some sort of Star Wars TIE fighter. So why did I sell it? Imperfections aside, it was in fact not the best commuting bicycle given its close-to-race-riding position. Following a wonderful tour along the north-western coastline of Finland, the bicycle found its new owner.
Number 3: Nishiki Continental
Of the four bikes that were sold, the Nishiki Continental I think back of the most. Not because it was a mistake to sell but because it was so close to being the anything-everything bicycle. I found it on the second-hand market in Espoo, Finland. Poorly looked after, the stem was seized and front fork slightly bent. Once these issues got seen to, the bike became quite the workhorse and saved me huge chucks of time commuting to a bakery at 4am when public transport routes were nonexistent.
There wasn’t anything overly special about the setup of the bicycle given that it had been designed to be long-haul tourer. The only unique difference was the Shimano-Campagnolo combination. Through an internet rabbit hole, I came across an ingenious way to marry an 8-speed Shimano rear derailleur with a 10-speed Campagnolo ergoshifter. I figured too since 7- and 8-speed cassettes have the same spacing that either of them would work – and so it did. Having now gotten accustomed to ergoshifters, I can’t envisage a return to downtube or bar-end thumb shifters.
Sadly, the major downfalls were the weight with all the accessories and the awkward outstretched length of the top tube. So close, yet so far.
Number 4: Miyata 610
The last gasp effort to find the anything-everything bike took inspiration from an old design – the Bridgestone XO-1, albeit with 700c wheels on a Miyata touring frame. Some radical calls had already been made, so why not make one more? By chance, a local bike shop had a moustache handlebar in stock (the last) and with some money from selling other bike parts I snapped it up for a decent price. Finding the correct stem proved difficult since these are no longer typically kept in stock. The 9-speed bar-end shifters had also been a lucky find from a second-hand bike shop in Edinburgh, and I had kept them for an eventual project – bingo!
Following a frame swap, part exchanges, and expended time, my immediate reaction on finishing the setup was fascination and confusion. Perhaps it needed more familiarisation coming from a different cycling background, but for the new owner it was all smiles indeed.
With all that said and done, the search continues, and with it perhaps another blog update in the future. Onwards and upwards.
the baker's bicycle blog 