posted by Mike Bennett on march 01, 1998 at 20:42:41:
in reply to: Any Info For a Future XLM Owner (Mountain Bike) posted by Adam Williams on march 01, 1998 at 14:02:54:
: Hi, I am planning to buy a 98' Merlin XLM in about two
: months from now (Feb 98') and I was wondering if any
: of you guys out there who own an XLM could tell me how
: you like your bike and maybe mention a few things you
: think I should know about this bike.
: Thanks, your replys will be greatly appreciated.
: P.S- KEEP ON RIDE'IN
: Adam Williams
Adam,
I am in the same situation as you. I am looking to buy a high-end Ti
hardtail. After much research, I narrowed the field down to the
Litespeed Tellico, Merlin XLM and Seven Sola. After talking with some
very unhappy Tellico owners, I quickly dropped it off my list. I emailed
a couple (about 8-10) XLM owners (got their email addresses from
MTBR.com review of the XLM) all of which love their XLMs. So, I was all
set to lay down a wad of cash ($4000 CDN) for the XLM. Then, I was
talking with a current Mountain and XL owner and he mentioned the Merlin
was having some troubles and was bought out! Uh oh! What good is a life
time warranty if there won't be a Merlin in 2-5 years? Then, I got to
thinking about Seven. In case you don't know about Seven, it was company
formed a couple years ago by Rob Vandermark (ex-Merlin designer) and six
other (hence the name Seven) ex-Merlin employees. So, I started to
seriously doubt my decision to buy a XLM. Anyway, to make a long story
short, I've decided on the Seven Sola. Essentially it is the XLM but you
get it customized to your riding style, body type, etc. There is quite
an extensive survey you have to fill out before you order a custom
Seven. Best part is, a custome bike doesn't cost anything extra. In case
you are wondering, the XLM and Sola are both $2500 US. There was a
recent article in Mountain Bike on the Sola - they loved it!
Something you should also consider is customer service. I've been
waiting for email replies from Matt and Dan (both from Merlin) for about
a week now - nothing! However, with Seven, Lisa has been prompt in
answering my numerous questions. In fact, one XLM owner just wrote to me
today saying that is the one bad thing about Merlin - they are snobs!
Not something you want to hear when you about to put down $2500 US on a
frameset.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me. I know how difficult a
decision it is.
Ride Hard,
Mike