FAO Meatball / Celicabloke

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If I remember rightly, I was up there about 15 years ago, to get a set of Netti Cycling shoes when I was at college (took a few hours by train, and about 1 million changes from Crewe to Leyland). They were the main importer/dealer for Netti. Unless things have changed, you might be disappointed by the shop. It looked like a typical grotty back street bike shop, but had loads of cool and expensive stuff when you dug a bit.

If you do head over this way try and check out Ribble Cycles while you are at it. Merlin Cycles used to badge Taiwanese frames like a lot of shops and small makers do for their mountain bikes, and hand build their road bikes (nowt wrong with that for the better class taiwanese stuff), but Ribble hand build everything to order ISTR. Costs more, takes longer, but much classier. Merlin's was a decent shop then, I imagine it has gotten better with time too.

Don't mistake Merlin Cycles Leyland with Merlin USA famous for their aerospace spec titanium frames.

I don't give much of a toss about shiny showrooms, more about the people knowing their stuff and the bikes being half decent.

I'm only spending £700 or so, which would get me an Orange P7 (mud clearance on those manitou forks?), a Trek 6700 or a Kona Cinder Cone (not fussed about the Konas due to the crap forks - Marzocchi name, Suntour elastomer internals). Or a Rock Lobster Scandium with an MX Comp but only Magura Julie brakes, or one of the less flashy Rock Lobster / Merlin frames with Hopes. Not entirely sure of how much difference there is between Maguara / Hayes / Hope, to be honest. Hand built to order (I presume you mean to fit me as well) is a bit beyond what I'm willing to pay.

I'd not heard of Merlin USA, so I'd managed to avoid that so far ;).

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Merlin and Litespeed are the gods of US titanium bikes, unless they've folded/been swallowed by bit names since I was really into it.

BTW, this is the frame that I have.

An older version just in brushed Ali, but

Fancy :D. I'm not having full suspension, due to me being a) too poor and b) unconvinced by the whole idea. When they've settled down and worked out a design that works and don't have to alter it every year, I'll get one.

I'm not having the Rock Lobster Scandium either. Something to do with me being more than 13 stone. Looks like it'll be a Tig Team SL without the XT clobber, or a Malt 4 if I buy from Merlin.

I bought my San Andreas frame secondhand, and it cost nearly as much as they do new now. But it was the top frame from Mountaincycle. They have been making that way since about 1989-1990. It's a pretty established design. If it didn't work they would have changed it by now.

Rock Lobster frames are good. ISTR that they were built by a guy who was a welder for Richie, Bontrager, or Salsa or someone like that. Very good designed bikes. Very well known. High quality things like Aluminium MMC, Scandium, Berylium and fancy stuff like that are better suited for lighter rider, Carbon fibre is good when built for strength, Titanium is strong but can be too flexi, Steel is best for good ride, Aluminium tube is good for stiffness and strength to weight, but can ride hard.

I've just seen the price of the new Orange Evo 4. Looks like I'm waiting a good few weeks until I've bothered to go and look at Merlin and the new Evo

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Good call. Lester Noble was always at the front of designed decent bikes that worked.