The Perfect Number of Bikes? Update

As promised, I have an update with some photos of the Mercian Professional Track bike I picked up recently from Britain. The frame is from 1988 and has, as far as I can tell, original paint. I built it up with a mix of parts -- some new and some old, but I figure most have generally an appropriate "look" for a classic skinny-tubed lugged steel frame. Most of the components were things that I already had stashed away.

Wheels are modern sealed bearing hubs with large flanges. They are marked Origin 8, but the same hubs are sold under a variety of different brand names, including Formula. Even though they are modern, they have a traditional style -- sort of reminiscent of hubs from the '70s. The rims are Mavic CXP22 which have a modest aero profile (slightly taller than the Open Pro model), but not so much that they look odd on an older bike.

I installed a front brake, Dia Compe GC400, which is a decent quality piece from the '80s. I won't ride a bike on the road, even a fixed-gear, without a brake. I also put on a modern "interrupter" type of brake lever (sometimes called "cross levers,") which is a modern touch, and doesn't quite look right on a vintage bike -- but has the advantage of being easily unbolted from the bar with a single allen bolt, and the entire front brake assembly - lever, cable, and brake caliper - can all be removed together without detaching the cables or anything. Nice, if I ever take the bike up to the Cleveland Velodrome.

Crank is an old Sugino Mighty from the late '70s or maybe early '80s. The chainring is a new one, 46t, labeled Origin 8. Pedals are Specialized short-cage racing pedals from the '80s. I wrote about the touring version of these in a post from January.

Brooks Swift titanium railed saddle and a Nitto Jaguar 2-bolt seat post -- modern and classic looking at the same time. That's also another look at that wrap-over seat cluster.

The bars came off another bike and were already wrapped in that purple cotton tape. I was going to remove the purple and re-wrap them with a plain black Tressostar cotton wrap - but once I installed the bars, I thought that the purple looked kind of interesting with the blue frame. So I'm hesitating. Any thoughts? Leave a comment.