Merlin The Magician

Some friends have asked me for details of my new companion so here they are:

Merlin XLM (Extra Light) Titanium XTR 18" 

This is a great example of a hand crafted, high-end, quality titanium frame manufactured in the mid 2000's. The XLM is the premier titanium hardtail racing MTB manufactured by Merlin and everyone who sees it recognises the superb craftsmanship and is blown away by how light the frame is.
This bike has all top end components and weighs in at 22lbs or 10kg.

Components:

1. Wheelset: Mavic CrossMax SL Ceramic Tubeless.
2. Tires: Panaracer Tubeless.
3. Shifters/Brakes: Shimano 9sp STI XTR.
4. Derailleurs: Front & Rear Shimano XTR.
5. Crankset: FSA Team Carbon (175).
6. Front Fork: RockShoz Sid SL Dual Air.
7. Stem: Thompson Elite (110mm).
8. Seatpost: Easton Carbon EC70.
9. Saddle: WTB Rocket.
10. Handlebar: Easton Monkey Lite XC.
11. Pedals: Shimano PD-M540 SPD.

I'm hoping that Merlin will work some magic and get me up the hills without too much effort... :)

First training ride on the new Merlin MTB

Finally, sunshine on a Melbourne weekend. So I took the "new" MTB out for a spin from East Melbourne to Sandringham and back via Middle Park for a water and food stop. The Merlin is a lot different from my Seven road bikes - fat tyres, different geometry and an unfamiliar gear system. After a few kms, I got the hang of it and had a pleasant morning's ride - about 46km all up. Must get the granny gear checked as the front derailleur just didn't want to change down. Maybe the hill was not steep enough :)

I will be taking the Merlin over to Paris in June for the Tour D'Afrique Orient Express ride from Paris to Istanbul. Seven weeks and 4000kms.... should be fantastic! http://tourdafrique.com/tours/orientexpress/overview

This is my first attempt at blogging but I thought it would be good to have it set up so I can send news from abroad once the real Ride starts.