I have two Mercians, and one of them was built in 1979 -- like yours, there were no shift lever bosses or front derailluer hanger, and the catalog I have from 1981 shows them built this way -- even though many builders were using shift lever bosses by that time. The standard spec on Mercians today still does not include the derailluer tab, but this is not unusual even today.
Mercian have been a full custom shop probably from the beginning, though they've also had some "standard" models. Custom paint and frame options have long been a part of the Mercian brand. While most of their bikes today come with shift bosses, you can order them with just about any arrangement you'd like.
Anyhow, the fact that yours was built without those attributes really isn't too unusual, whether that was still part of the standard specs, or if it was ordered that way by the original buyer -- at the time your bike was built, clamp-on levers and other bits were still pretty common, and somebody probably felt it allowed more flexible options for the equipment.
There is a ton of info on Mercians (new and old) on their website: http://www.merciancycles.co.uk -- or http://www.merciancycles.com
you can view a gallery of owners' bikes, look at the current frame offerings and options, and even pull up some company history and view old catalogs.
Also - the part that amazes me, is that you can still get a fully custom-built Mercian frame and fork for well under $1000 depending on how fancy you want it and the currency exchange rate.
Kyle Brooks
> [Original Message]
> From: <dgranger@comcast.net>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Date: 12/28/2005 9:39:29 AM
> Subject: [CR]Mercian (Duncan Granger)
>
> Sorry for the lack of a descriptive title to my email, but I couldn't
think of a brief way to summarize my question. I recently bought a Mercian
on Ebay:
>
http://ebay.com/
> or item # 7203187468
>
> The paint is in excellent condition (silver with red lug lining). Lugs
were cleaned and filed nicely, and the brazing was carefully done. I think
the lugs are bocamas? According to the serial number, the frame was made
in 1986. But I'm curious about the add-ons. It's full 531. The frame has
campy drops (w/ mudguard eyes), and campy cable guides on top of the BB
shell. There are no shifter bosses brazed on to the down-tube (although
there is the ubiquitous pip to prevent clamp-on shifters from sliding down
the tube). There is no front-derailleur hanger brazed on, either.
Overall, a beautiful frame with clean, simple lines. I like it very much.
Surely counts as on-topic as KOF, despite the date, no?
>
> So I guess that's my question: why would Mercian build a frame without
shifter bosses and front derailleur hanger as late as 1986? Surely the
customer spec'd it this way? It's a very large frame (65 cm c-to-t), so
I'm guessing it's not "off the rack" - although I admit I do not know
if/when Mercian started doing "off the rack" frames... Was there a demand,
even in 1986, for "retro" frames on which to hang your old campy or other
racing components?
>
> For those who are curious, I have chosen to build it up with Shimano 600
"arabesque" drivetrain and brakes, cinelli bar and stem, SR seat pin and
Sella Italia Rolls saddle. MA3 Rims w/ early Mavic sealed bearing hubs. I
will post pics as time allows. She makes a nice companion to my 1968
Mercian Professional.
>
> So why no bosses and front hanger?
>
> Duncan Granger
> Mountville, PA