Merlin frames - any one use one?

[Simon Hawthorne]

Hi

I am looking at buying a Merlin Cycles frame - has onayone
out there used one? I am looking at using it from general XC
riding - nothing too wild. Do you think their Malt 1 will be
OK?
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/acatalog/Merlin_Frames.html

Thanks in advance

Simon

[Msa]

In article <t04950tt0rjk60n7l9fe5d3pojfts6td55@4ax.com>,
groups@thehawthornes.org says...
> I am looking at buying a Merlin Cycles frame - has onayone
> out there used one? I am looking at using it from general
> XC riding - nothing too wild.

> Do you think their Malt 1 will be OK?

This Merlin will be more OKer!

http://www.merlinbike.com/bikes/xlm.aspx

--
Mark (MSA) This post is packaged by intellectual weight, not
volume. Some settling of contents may have occurred during
transmission

[Bens]

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 17:28:46 -0000, MSA <onyerbikemark@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:

>In article <t04950tt0rjk60n7l9fe5d3pojfts6td55@4ax.com>,
>groups@thehawthornes.org says...
>> I am looking at buying a Merlin Cycles frame - has
>> onayone out there used one? I am looking at using it from
>> general XC riding - nothing too wild.
>
>
>
>> Do you think their Malt 1 will be OK?
>
>
>This Merlin will be more OKer!
>
>http://www.merlinbike.com/bikes/xlm.aspx

Mmmm, one day...
--
"We take these risks, not to escape from life, but to
prevent life escaping from us." http://www.bensales.com (http://www.bensales.com/)

[Fredster]

"Simon Hawthorne" <groups@thehawthornes.org> wrote in message
news:t04950tt0rjk60n7l9fe5d3pojfts6td55@4ax.com...
> Hi
>
> I am looking at buying a Merlin Cycles frame - has onayone
> out there used one? I am looking at using it from general
> XC riding - nothing too wild. Do you think their Malt 1
> will be OK?
> http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/acatalog/Merlin_Frames.html
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Simon

Have a look in google groups- there have been a number of
comments about merlin cycles frames before. I rode a malt1
for a while and was very impressed. Quite a stiff frame but
you don't get comfy aluminium at this price range.

Cheers,

Pete

[Md]

Simon Hawthorne wrote:
> Hi
>
> I am looking at buying a Merlin Cycles frame - has onayone
> out there used one? I am looking at using it from general
> XC riding - nothing too wild. Do you think their Malt 1
> will be OK?
> http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/acatalog/Merlin_Frames.html

They are often mentioned in MTB forums like bikemagic or
Singletrackworld. Hardly anyone ever has a bad word to say
about them. For the price, they seem to be very good. There
are a few equally good rival brands, but none of these do
anything at quite the budget end as the Malt 1. The webpage
says that this frame is built by Kinesis (all Merlin UK's
frames are of far east manufacture). Kinesis are a Taiwanese
firm that OEM frames for bike manufacturers. They also have
a few that they sell under their own name, the best known of
which is the Kinesis Maxlight. These are also popular and
highly regarded in their price range.

A friend has a Rock Lobster 853, which is also from Merlin,
and he thinks it's great. I've had a quick go, and would
agree that it seems good for the money.

In short, you won't go far wrong with a Merlin. These are
not the same as the tres expensive frames from a US company
with the same name.

--

Regards,

Mark Davies

[David Brown :O\]

I have an old Malt1 frame that was used to build up my first
homebuilt MTB. The model I have has round tubing thoughout
as opposed to that disgusting looking current model ;o) .
The only downside of this frame was the paint job (ice blue)
that looked nice when I got it but if anything more than a
leaf hit it, it would scratch. Contrary to Pete's (Fredster)
comment, I actually found the frame quite forgiving
(especially compared to my brothers much much more expensive
Klien). For the price I don't think you can go far wrong and
you may as well get a pair of wheels from them as well, as
they are very well made IMHO.

--
David Brown :o)
http://kitemap.co.uk/stack

[Simon Hawthorne]

Many thanks all for your comments - have gone with the Malt
1 - so looking forward to the first ride!

Regards

Simon

[Simon Hawthorne]

Superb service from Merlin - order placed Sunday - received
today.......

S.