merops, a modern sportif, Raizin works

Bienenfresser
merops apiaster is the lat. name of bee eater, one of colorful species.
This is the favorite bird of the owner of this bike, who is a passionate bird watcher. Riding bike is often combined with bird watching and observating nature. So this bike is no racer, but a sporty touring bike.

Geometrie merops nega
Geometry is carefully selected to balance sporty and comfortable long ride. Top tube is slightly sloped(2 dogrees). Tubing is KAISEI 8630 R, 0,7-0,5-0,7mm Nickel-Chromoly steel. Fork blades are KAISEI Evolution with 0,9mm thickness. It is light and stiff enough for the purpose. Frame+fork+headset weigh about 2700g.
Merops side

DSC_0212
Fukuda-san of Raizin Works realized my construction/design perfectly. Very clean fillet brazing is applied overall, partly with original hand cut bilaminates. Design of bilaminates are coordinated with color changes. Logo and the bird silhouette are hand cut from stainless steel and brazed on.
Merops 17

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A delicate design was needed for the front rack to avoid the collision with side pull brake arm. For a big front bag(16 liter volume) a decaleur is also custom made to fit it with bag and rack perfectly together with 1″ ahead stem which is also custom made to fit the riding form of the owner.
with bag big 1

Tires are Continental Grandprix 4 Seasons 28mm. Frame and fork allow tires up to 35mm width. Rims and hubs are of Grandbois. Chain rings are normal compact 50/34, cassette 12/30 of Campa Centaur. 30 instead of normal 29 is psychological insurance for hill climbing in Eifel close to Belgium.
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Paint work is designed after the color scheme of bee eater, of course strongly abstracted. It was a big fun to study variegation of the nature and transform it into a bicycle.
Luckilly I could find one of the last Hüdz rubber in Bordeaux Gold which color perfectly fits with frame and another components. Otherwise I could not realize my color concept to the end. Why do they drop this color from the production(they say, it did sell so slow)? I need it!

Wire outers are also a color mix. light blue shift wire outer is of Jugwire, dark brown brake wire outer is of japanese Nissen Cable.

It’s a silky smooth riding bike, for day trip and longer touring.
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