The Merlin factory is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about five miles from Boston. We make all our frames here, and each one is built to order, rather than by batch. This production system helps keep our delivery times quite short; generally, if your authorized Merlin dealer does not have the frame you want in stock, we will be able to make and ship one for you within a few weeks.
Merlin MTS325 frames, which include the Extralight, XLM, Road, Mountain and Newsboy 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 Rob Vandermark 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-aerospace 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.
Merlin MTS325/G4 frames, including the Taiga and RSR, use a blend of MTS325 certified tubing and Grade 4 seamless titanium. Our Grade 4 seamless tubing is a commercially pure titanium that is cold-worked and stress-relieved for high tensile strength and superior ductility. MTS325/G4 frames are made to the same alignment and dimensional standards as our MTS325 frames and they carry the same limited lifetime warranty (see the Merlin Owner's Manual for full warranty details).
If you would like more information about our tubing, please call and ask for a copy of the Merlin Titanium Primer.
We also offer custom Road and Extralight frames through our Made to Measure program. Touring, triathlon and cyclocross frame styles are available, along with custom variations of our road racing frames. For complete details, please ask for a copy of our Made to Measure brochure.
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