1978 Jim Merz Personal Touring Frame & Fork: 60cm x 58cm - #JM179 - Columbus SP - Pink

This 1970's Columbus SP touring frame is one Jim Merz built for himself!  It's a living piece of bicycling history from one of the American framebuilder greats.  The lugs are filed oh so thin and pointy, and the lithe fork crown features long tang points with triangular cutouts.  I can't explain this bike any better than the builder can, so here are some of his words:

"The build sheet is missing for this number. The one next to it has a date of August 1978. This was my bike! There would have been racks made by me. I think I rode this bike for a 5 week tour of Greece. That was a wonderful ride! The spring of 1979, I rode most of the paved roads in the mainland along with Crete. The paint is not original.  I could help the buyer get this bike up and running.  Someone installed riv-nuts for the rack mounts, and I would replace those if you plan to use a full touring load. I am not going to make any more racks, unless motivated with appropriate funds! I would be willing to make a small front rack that the handlebar bag like on my blue bike has. It also would require a decaleur. I would make this also. The bike would then need a new paint job. I would recommend Ed Litton. I could advise about the parts, although the blue bike is what it would have had originally. I have a few parts I could supply, like the triple crank and Rally rear derailleur"

Condition

Lovely condition with paint patina.  The frame appears straight.  There are zero dents or rust.  The paint has chips throughout, but the metal underneath shows no corrosion. 

Details

• Frame number: JM179
• Tubing: Columbus SP
• Top tube: 58cm
• Seat tube: 60cm c-c, 61cm c-t
• Headtube: 184mm
• Chainstays: 440mm
• Seatpost needed: 27.0mm
• Cantilever brake bosses