posted by Alex on august 14, 1998 at 09:56:21:
in reply to: Merlin & Seven posted by Tommy Fogarty on august 13, 1998 at 13:53:25:
: Could someone clarify please the relationship, commonalities, etc. between Merlin and Seven Cycles? I have heard everything from "no relationship at all" to "Seven was founded by former Merlin staff" to "Seven is an independently managed division of Merlin Metalworks". Just curious.
Tommy,
I work at a bike shop that sells Seven Cycles. What happened was that Rob Vandermark, designer of Merlin's mountain bikes (Tom Kellogg designed the road line) left Merlin Metalworks with a number of Merlin's employees. They formed their own company that makes steel, titanium, and titanium/carbon fiber bikes. They specialize in bike fit and customize all their frames not only the fit of the bike but the ride of the bike as well. They are pricey, but no pricier than a Merlin. A steel Seven road frame retails for about $1500 and a titanium double-butted (the equivalent of an Extralight) retails for $2595.
Hope this helps,
Alex