We build
greatness into every frame we make.
A great ride, a great race, a
great adventure - all standard equipment on a Merlin bicycle. This is
not a statement we make lightly. When we say, "We start with the
very finest raw materials", we really mean it. Most people are
familiar with titanium's legendary strength-to-weight characteristics as
well as it's phenomenal fatigue strength and elasticity/elongation
properties. Merlin Metalworks, however, is not content with mere
titanium.
Every tube WE use is custom drawn
to our exclusive MTS 3/2.5 (Merlin Tubing Specification) standards,
which exceed even the aerospace industry standards for straightness,
ovality, and wall thickness. Our MTS procedures require intermediate
ultrasonic testing and eddy current testing which are generally omitted
for non-aerospace tubing. We also require a minimum tensile strength of
135,000 psi for every tube. Why do we do all this before we begin
building the frame? That's what it takes to make a Merlin bike great.
Few companies can work with
titanium. Fewer still, can work with it well. No one can do it better
than Merlin. The cold-working process combined with stringent welding
standards render a frame that can withstand more than one million pedal
strokes of up to 400 ft / lbs. of torque. Our welders take exceptional
pride in the artistic beauty of the signature Merlin weld, a process
that has been refined for nearly 20 years and has become an industry
hallmark of craftsmanship.
The attention to greatness does
not stop with the great strength of Merlin bicycles. Every Merlin frame
is hand polished to create a luxurious finish; another mark of quality
that is unmatched in the industry, as is the engraving that many of our
bikes feature. Think of it: you have a bike that is feather light,
monstrously strong, impervious to rust and corrosion, and engraved like
a museum piece.
