NUKE PROOF TITANIUM

Received this today: A Nuke Proof Titanium.
I swapped this with the Ibis Mojo because that one was to big.

Will show some more very soon but i have to run right now, to the girlfriend ;)

The MERLIN NEWSBOY

no guys,..i have not bought one myself (yet) unfortuantely.

Merlin, founded in 1986, was one of the earliest maker of titanium mountain bikes
One of the bikes which made a big impact and still does is the MERLIN NEWSBOY.
If you would ask people to mention their top 5 mountainbikes i think there is a 99% chance that it will include the NEWSBOY although this is to my opinion more a beachcruiser then MTB, i don't think you will ever find someone who is using the NEWSBOY for some serious riding ..
Mainly because it looks like a cruiser but also because these limited to 100 pieces 1994 bikes are so damn valuable
Retail price was more or less 5000 USD back in '94
When it first came out my LBS had one, a 19" and i was tempted but the frame was 2 big and I do not like big frames, it was out of proportion.



They made in 2001 the follow up, still 30's retro styled frame but now with discbrakes and a special designed suspension fork.



In 2004 Merlin introduced the ROOTS.
This was in the same retro line, look and feel but styled like a 30's Klunker:


here are some pictures stolen from the internet...
Isn't a beaut?








i would live to get one myself one day,.but would build it like a cruiser with a Rohloff hub and classic details (brown Brooks stuff) like this one :

BARRACUDA by MARK

Many many many years back i had a bike buddy , i guess we are now talking 93/94 or so, who was riding a BARRACUDA.
Unfortunately he does not have the bike anymore because he had to leave it behind in order to save his life, he went biking on it's own in a very hot area, got lost, did not have any water left,...long story short,it's gone.
When I was riding along with him here in the Netherlands I was amazed by the bike handling and the build quality.
You do not see that many of them either.

A few months back I came in contact with Mark from Toronto Canada, and he is a big fan of BARRACUDA bikes.
He also has a fan based internet site , you should check it out, it is great, and if you have some info/pictures about the BARRACUDA brand you should drop him a line, he would love that.

I asked Mark why BARRACUDA is so special for him and this is his story:

My fascination began like most people who are back into the Retro MTB hobby. I was in my late teens back in the early 90's, and loved the sport. Unfortunately, since I was a kid, just then, I didn't have a whole lot of money. I frequented a few bike shops in my town, but they were mostly influenced by Roadies.

After a year or two, a new shop opened up. This was something quite different. They had the racks of bikes, but they also had some old livingroom furniture in the front, and tons of MTB magazines lying around. It was like the fusion between a Starbucks and a bike shop!

They also carried a new bike I had only seen in the magazines: Barracuda. I looked around and my eyes fell upon the Dos Equis XX Team bike. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. A sales rep asked me if I needed any info on it, and I simply asked for 15 minutes on the bike. They said "Take your time, have it back in 30 mins). Luckily for me, there are trails right near the shop!

I was sold on the bike but could only manage to scrape together $600. I planned on using the frame with some second hand bits I had lying around. So I purchased the frame and off I went. I couldn't believe all the stares and double takes I got on the walk home with this frame.

Now, right around this time I lost my job, and with a girlfriend, most of my money went into dating. I ended up taking the frame back to the shop and told them not to sell it as I would be back shortly to reclaim it. Unbeknownst to me, the shop folded up. The internet wasn't much back then and I had no other Barracuda resources in town. The dream died and the bike went with it.

Fast forward a few years, and the internet was a bit better. Ebay had taken off and I managed to find a 97 Dos Equis XX Team bike at auction. I won it for a few hundred dollars and was stoked, since it was NOS. It wasn't the same frame as what I had in 95, but it was close. It's been a good bike to me.

Not long ago, I'd say within the past year or so, I purchased a nice little application called Craig's Pal. This thing scours all of Craig's List for whatever searches you want to save. Of course, I put in a few Barracuda strings and have since come up lucky a few times now. I have in my posession once again a cherry 95 Dos Equis XX Team bike, but I've also managed to find a mint 94
A2X and even a custom built, professional Team Only frame, never offerred for public sale.



As with most out on the Retro MTB forums, this has become quite a hobby. We are now fortunate enough to have the money we wished we had when we were younger, and the sport and the bikes help us to hold onto our youth. Me? I'm not building wall art or trophies. All of my bikes will be ridden daily, and will see plenty of mud and dirt, as they were meant to.

Now, my web development background usually plays a part in my hobbies. I found it so difficult in obtaining information about Barracuda, I decided to put an end to it and create my own site. (http://www.barracudabicycles.com/)

I managed to track down former Pro riders, a Manager and I even spoke to some frame builders who were contracted to build up the team bikes. All had similar things to say in that Barracuda was EXTREMELY poorly run, and that when it folded, a lot of bills and debts went unpaid. Because of this, most people in the know, don't like to hear the word Barracuda.


I had no idea that it was that bad, or that (Barracuda owners) Jonathan Wege and Dave Southwell made so many enemies. It was hard for me to get information, as the people I spoke with often thought at first that I was glorifying them or the company. I had to let them know up front that it was the bikes I loved and that I simply wanted to document what happened. I kind of became an investigative journalist!

I'm pretty comfortable with the info I've collected so far, and actually stumble upon some more info now and then, as people find their way to the site. I also get a lot of kudos for creating it, as people from the USA, Canada, England, Australia, Germany and even small places like Finland and Holland still ride these bikes and love them.

so if you want to find out more about the BARRACUDA brand : visit his site or join the BARRACUDA forum and spread the word..

Mark: Thanks for your input dude!
Mark's internet site : http://www.barracudabicycles.com

cheers

Bas



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The next TiMAX chapter

This week I received the long awaited care package from Serotta.
Ben put some extra ORANGE (the Dutch national colour) presents in the package because we had some nice converstation about Holland, Ben has some Dutch heritage.
Thanks Ben,..will wear these with pride,.. :)
A orange Dutch package will go the other way next week.

I just put these on the frame to get an idea where to put the,...and where i need to mark the frame the painter for the panels
Actually i kinda like the look of this right now, what do you guys think?
Clear titanium frame with White panels en black decals?
The metal head tube badge will be put on instead of the "S" decal



The TiMax decal was reproduced by Gil because Serotta was not able to make these any more.

Next step is bringing the frame to the painters,....




Previous posts:
-> The weight of the frame
-> Pace carbon Fork for the TiMax

Some urban FAT pictures

Just made some pictures yesterday when i was doing some urban riding around Amsterdam

What you can see is that i now also have applied the TITANIUM decal.
Rody, me bikebuilding hero, sent me an new one,..and it looks great

Previous Fat Chance post:
-> New Fat Chance titanium decals

Pace fork for the TiMax

Bought an Pace RC31 420mm 1st edition corbon fork for the Serotta
It's the magnesium version.


Pervious post:
-> The Serotta Titanium goodies, candy! ;)

Meeting the guys

Last weekend I met the guys from the WORLDS event in September.

we had some things to discuss about the event and i have to say, it was a good one!
We also went around the track one time, condition (apart mine) was good, weather great.

The team: from left to right
Ed on his Independent (IF), Mel on his good old Koga, Roy on his bigwheel Groovy and I on the Fat Ti.
Neil,taking the picture, was on his E-stay Chas Roberts

the event is going to ROCK! big time!

Ti minus P = 1368

was curious about the weight of the Serotta TiMax

I am surprised,.in a positive way ;)

Timax minus Paint = 1368gr,..that's impressive for a 18" frame !




(thanks to the Retrobike archive for the old Serotta Scans)


Previous post:
-> Stripping the Serotta TiMax frame

OLD-METAL website

Next to the blog i am working on a website.
I hope to build this into a databank for retro mountainbikes untill <'95 but this will take a while and i have so much more to do then just this.
So for now it is only a homepage but i hope to build into a site which will be helpfull for the people who are interested in bikes like this.

OWMTBC update !!!!

An update regarding the 1st Old World Mountain Bike Championships after the first announcement in February
We are receiving the first registrations so be quick when you have plans to enter...
Email us at : info (at) owmtb.org for further information and check out our website,.. http://www.owmtbc.org/

click the title to get redirected to the bikerader article