Mountain Bikes · Public discussion

Reincarnation

Anthony Sloan · 2003-07-03T15:00:09+00:00

A while back my beloved Merlin XLM broke. That persistent bb creak turned out not to be ti syndrome after all, but a crack originating at the glide side bb weld and extending into the bottom of the seat tube. http://www.anthonysloan.com/xlmcrack.jpg I was quite sad. That frame had taken me places. We had a relationship. I'd always maintained that if it came down to it and I could only have ONE bike (shudder) it would be the XLM. It had worn several hats, xc machine, and blinglespeed among them. http://www.anthonysloan.com/xlm.jpg http://www.anthonysloan.com/xlmx1.jpg So I sent it off to Merlin Metalworks and waited. I figured that they would probably come through with warranty, but since new XLM frames are selling for something like $2,800.00 they would probably try to repair rather than replace. Which would mean a bit of a wait. A few days later Merlin lets me know that they will be sending a new frame and what sort of geometry do I want. Disc brakes? Too cool. I was in a spate of traveling when it showed up, so I had to drool over a bare frame for a few weeks until I could settle down to building it up. http://www.anthonysloan.com/newxlm.jpg (Don't be confused by the book, I needed to snap a shot for a client, so I killed two birds w/ one stone via photoshop.) I slapped it back together after I got back from Mexico. I was putting some old and some new parts on a new frame. I tell you, this bike WANTED to be put back together. Usually doing a franken-build like this is asking for trouble, delays, and hidden expense. I'm running a 2x9 SRAM setup. Avid mechanical disc brakes, but Hayes rotors. The only issue was the front mech., which is a traditional top pull on the new frame, whereas on the old frame it was a bp ts. No matter. The front derailleur can be the other XTR part on the bike. Easy as pie, I had a bike again. http://www.anthonysloan.com/xlmreincarnation.jpg Getting back in the saddle after several months was nice. It's like coming home to wife and home after a long trip. It's just...right. It's familiar, comfortable. No surprises. I haven't ridden the Blur since the phoenix like reincarnation of the XLM.

Started by Anthony Sloan · 3 July 2003 · Last activity 3 July 2003 · 3 posts · 1,265 views

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Original section: Mountain Bikes
Published: 3 July 2003
Last activity: 3 July 2003
Original author: Anthony Sloan
Posts: 3
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 1,265
Views / 30 days: 0
Topics: Disc brakes Front derailleurs Titanium frames Bottom brackets Frame cracks Mechanical disc brakes

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Original post
Anthony Sloan
Archived post

3 July 2003, 15:00 UTC #1

A while back my beloved Merlin XLM broke. That persistent bb creak turned out not to be ti syndrome
after all, but a crack originating at the glide side bb weld and extending into the bottom of the
seat tube.
anthonysloan.comxlmcrack.jpg
I was quite sad. That frame had taken me places. We had a relationship. I'd always maintained that
if it came down to it and I could only have ONE bike (shudder) it would be the XLM.
It had worn several hats, xc machine, and blinglespeed among them.
anthonysloan.comxlm.jpg
anthonysloan.comxlmx1.jpg
So I sent it off to Merlin Metalworks and waited. I figured that they would probably come through
with warranty, but since new XLM frames are selling for something like $2,800.00 they would probably
try to repair rather than replace. Which would mean a bit of a wait.
A few days later Merlin lets me know that they will be sending a new frame and what sort of geometry
do I want. Disc brakes? Too cool.
I was in a spate of traveling when it showed up, so I had to drool over a bare frame for a few weeks
until I could settle down to building it up.
anthonysloan.comnewxlm.jpg
(Don't be confused by the book, I needed to snap a shot for a client, so I killed two birds w/ one
stone via photoshop.)
I slapped it back together after I got back from Mexico. I was putting some old and some new parts
on a new frame. I tell you, this bike WANTED to be put back together. Usually doing a franken-build
like this is asking for trouble, delays, and hidden expense. I'm running a 2x9 SRAM setup. Avid
mechanical disc brakes, but Hayes rotors. The only issue was the front mech., which is a traditional
top pull on the new frame, whereas on the old frame it was a bp ts. No matter. The front derailleur
can be the other XTR part on the bike. Easy as pie, I had a bike again.
anthonysloan.comxlmreincarnation.jpg
Getting back in the saddle after several months was nice. It's like coming home to wife and home
after a long trip. It's just...right. It's familiar, comfortable. No surprises. I haven't ridden the
Blur since the phoenix like reincarnation of the XLM.

Report
Spademan O----L
Archived post

3 July 2003, 16:00 UTC #2

"Anthony Sloan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
A while back my beloved Merlin XLM broke. That persistent bb creak turned out not to be ti
syndrome after all, but a crack originating at the glide side bb weld and extending into the
bottom of the seat tube.
anthonysloan.comxlmcrack.jpg
Thats exactly where my Orange Ti frame cracked. I wondered if it was the flexible properties of Ti
which means that over time the welds are subjected to twisting forces etc. OR it could just be that
Ti frames are usually built to be lightweight, and manufacturers sometimes are a bit too keen..
Anyhow I sent mine back and got nothing, only a one year guarantee apparently.
Quoted message said:
A few days later Merlin lets me know that they will be sending a new frame and what sort of
geometry do I want. Disc brakes? Too cool.
Great! out of interest how old was the frame?
Quoted message said:
I was in a spate of traveling when it showed up, so I had to drool over a bare frame for a few
weeks until I could settle down to building it up.
anthonysloan.comnewxlm.jpg
Nice. Long head tube, is that your spec?
Quoted message said:

(Don't be confused by the book, I needed to snap a shot for a client, so I killed two birds w/ one
stone via photoshop.)
I slapped it back together after I got back from Mexico. I was putting some old and some new parts
on a new frame. I tell you, this bike WANTED to be put back together. Usually doing a
franken-build like this is asking for trouble, delays, and hidden expense. I'm running a 2x9 SRAM
setup. Avid mechanical disc brakes, but Hayes rotors. The only issue was the front mech., which is
a traditional top pull on the new frame, whereas on the old frame it was a bp ts. No matter. The
front derailleur can be the other XTR part on the bike. Easy as pie, I had a bike again.
anthonysloan.comxlmreincarnation.jpg
Getting back in the saddle after several months was nice. It's like coming home to wife and home
after a long trip. It's just...right. It's familiar, comfortable. No surprises. I haven't ridden
the Blur since the phoenix like reincarnation of the XLM.
Gee, sounds like some tough choices there :-)
Steve E.

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Jd
Archived post

3 July 2003, 19:00 UTC #3

Anthony Sloan <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
anthonysloan.comxlmreincarnation.jpg
And here I thought that was when you come back to life as a flower, only to end up on a lapel.
JD

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