MERLIN Extra Light titanium original 1989? road frame set vintage 57 x

MERLIN Extra Light road frame set * Merlin Metalworks was founded in 1986 by Gwyn Jones, Gary Helfrich, and Mike Augspurger in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA * Only 3 titanium bike makers had preceded Merlin; Flema of Germany, Speedwell of England and Teledyne of the USA, but Merlin was  the first to do mountain bike frames as well as road. And Merlin was famous for their superb workmanship. The designs, welding and tube sets were all top of the line. * 57 cm seat tube x 57 cm top tube, both center-to-center.     (Seat tube: Center-to-top of top tube = 59cm. Center-to-very-top of seat tube = 62.5cm. * 41 cm chain stays (center of rear dropout to center of bbkt.) * 59.5 front center (center of bbkt to center of front dropout. ) * 6 cm head tube * 4 cm fork offset (est.) made by USA's Wound up * Woundup carbon and aluminum alloy fork (made in USA as well.) * 130mm rear spacing (inside rear dropouts) * x 24t THREADED bottom bracket.  (*Merlin moved to threadless/press fit bbkts later.) * XL 162 8 serial number indicates made in 1989-90. Merlin Serial Numbers 1988 #1 - 59 1989 #60 - 139 < XL 162 8 fits in here. 1990 #3518 - 3604 1991 #3605 - 6353 * Satin polished finish throughout * Includes a fresh Shimano DuraAce headset. * The MERLIN story: "Merlin was founded in 1986... In 1988, the company began a strong relationship with master frame designer Tom Kellogg, who helped them produce the world’s first 3-2.5 titanium alloy road bicycle frame. Introduced in 1989, the Merlin Extralight was seen to be the first titanium bike to fully achieve the metal’s promise, it was as strong as steel but lighter, and possessed a unique and pleasing road feel—slightly more forgiving, with a little extra spring and, somewhat counterintuitively, also more stiffness. "   "Merlin pioneered the use of titanium for mountain bike frames, they figured out how to make titanium frame tubing internally butted, and with design help from Tom Kellogg of Spectrum Cycles they came up with this road bike that you see here. The titanium tubing made for a springy ride (if not actually stiffer than a steel bike) and one that was lighter, rust-proof and markedly different looking." "For close to ten years Merlin ruled the world of exotic high-end racing bikes. A Merlin mountain bike or road racing bike was considered indestructible. While carbon fiber durability was viewed with a skeptical eye and aluminum ride quality was often labeled as being too stiff (deservedly or not), the sublime ride of titanium was immediately embraced by those willing to pay the higher prices." classiccycleus "Merlin MTS325 frames, which include the Extralight, XLM, Road, Mountain and Aerial are built with Merlin MTS325 seamless titanium tubing throughout. All of the tube gauges and diameters are size-specific; that is, they are individually selected for each frame size in each style to guarantee the best possible ride | and lowest weight." "MTS325" denotes a set of standards developed by Merlin for our 3-2.5 titanium tubing. "MTS" is an abbreviation for "Merlin Tube Specification," while "325" stands for 3-2.5 titanium, which is a high-strength alloy that contains 3 percent aluminum, 2.5 percent vanadium, and 94.5 percent titanium. The MTS325 standard is based on a set of four aerospace specifications, but with stricter tolerances for finish quality, which affects fatigue endurance, and for straightness, which is critical for final frame alignment." "In addition, all MTS325 tubing is made in the United States from 100% certified material. Certification is a fail-safe tracking system of quality control and continuous testing that follows the tubing as it is being manufactured. The MTS325 certification standards call for intermediate ultrasonic testing, which is usually omitted for non- aerospa ce tubing, and for more rigorous final ultrasonic testing and eddy current testing. These tests measure finish quality and dimensional accuracy, and if the tubing fails any test or inspection, we reject it. We do not use any "sports grade" or scrap material. Certification is our guarantee of the highest possible tubing quality and performance."                                                                                                                                                                                           SandS machine * CONDITION: Superb! Although previously ridden, this frame is remarkably blemish free. The decals show small signs of age and they were not clear coated, but even they are very presentable. Please study the pictures.