<div column 50% #intro>
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===== Merlin Metalworks =====

Merlin Metalworks was founded in November 1986 by Mike Augspurger, Gary Helfrich, who both were working for [[chance:start|Fat City Cycles]] and Gwyndaf Jones in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Gary, had experimented with plasma arc welding titanium frames which Chris Chance declined to put into production ((Fat City did sell titanium handlebars in their [[https://www.retrobike.co.uk/archive/1985-fat-chance-catalogue.2/|1985 catalog]].))(("Gary made a plasma welder by cobbling a Thermal Dynamics plasma torch to a Miller Synchrowave 300 TIG machine. The Synchrowave was not equipped with a pilot arc mechanism which allows the plasma torch to start the main welding arc so there were some issues there and he also had overheating problems with the torch lines.  He had basically abandoned the plasma concept by ... November 1986 and he had installed a conventional TIG torch back on the Synchrowave. ... The plasma welding was as much a marketing item as anything else since it didn't offer that much of an edge over conventional TIG for the wall thicknesses we were welding." --Scott P. Bengtson, [[https://fatcogs.com/threads/1985-ti-fat-chance.3611/]]))
Merlin sourced their double butted titanium tubes from [[reynolds:start|Reynolds]]((See Ti tube specs at: [[https://www.reynoldstechnology.biz/materials/titanium/t-3-2point5ti/]].)), the first to offer such tubing.


A year later Mike Augspurger left Merlin to found One-Off Titanium in Florence, Mass. where he created experimental and custom-designed products, mostly related to bicycles.
At the same time Gary Helfrich left for California to later work for [[ibis:start|Ibis]], [[trek:start|Trek]] and Serotta.  Gwyn stayed on as the owner of Merlin for over ten years where "he worked on a wide range of bicycle engineering and design projects((Gwyndaf went on to teach it MIT after Merlin: [[https://d-lab.mit.edu/news-blog/blog/new-academic-offering-d-lab-cycle-ventures|MIT D-lab]].  See also: [[https://d-lab.mit.edu/about/people/gwyn-jones|Gwyn's D-lab bio]].  )).
In 1997 as few Merlin employees left to form [[https://web.archive.org/web/20250929175337/http://www.sevencycles.com/|Seven Cycles]] at which point Merlin was acquired by [[https://www.saucony.com/en/home|Saucony]].  In 2000 Merlin was sold to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bicycle_Group|Merican Bicycle Group]] who then sold Merlin to [[https://www.competitivecyclist.com/|Competitive Cyclist]] in 2011.  In 2018 Merlin was sold off to Janus Cycle Group, where it appears to continue to thrive as [[https://www.merlinbikes.com/|Merlin Bikes]], offering nearly a dozen off-the-rack or custom models.


Merlin built a race winning frame for [[https://mmbhof.org/mountain-bike-hall-of-fame/1988/joe-murray/|Joe Murray]] in 1986, soon rebranded as a [[marin:start|Marin Team Titanium.]].  In 1989, the Subaru-Montgomery road race team, which included Lance Armstrong, used Merlins from 1989-1993.


Resources:
  * [[https://merlintitanium.com/merlin_evolution.html]]
  * [[https://mombatbicycles.com/MOMBAT/BikeHistoryPages/Merlin.html]]
  * [[https://www.merlinbikes.com/]]
  * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_(bicycle_company)]]
  * [[https://mmbhof.org/mountain-bike-hall-of-fame/1993/gary-helfrich/]]
  * [[https://www.ibiscycles.com/our-story/history/9-gary-helfrich]]
  * [[https://www.facebook.com/groups/15182422729]]
  * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160713024210/https://secondspincycles.com/2013/04/1986-fat-chance-titanium.html]]
  * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150215100847/http://mombat.org/One-Off.htm]]
  * [[https://www.vintagemtbworkshop.com/1990-one-off-titanium.html]]
  * [[https://www.reynoldstechnology.biz/materials/titanium/t-3-2point5ti/]]
  * [[https://d-lab.mit.edu/about/people/gwyn-jones]]
  * [[https://www.oldschoolracing.ch/archiv/merlin/]]
  * [[http://www.secondspincyclesblog.com/2013/04/1986-fat-chance-titanium.html]]
  * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110831173149/https://www.ibiscycles.com/about/303030/9_gary_helfrich/]]

{{armstrong.jpg?300|Lance Armstrong, 1989}}
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18 year old Lance Armstrong on a Merlin at the 1989 San Diego GP, Subaru-Montgommery team.
[[https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-editorial/san-diego-gp-1989-18-year-old-8559292m|shutterstock]]


</div>

<div column 45%>
{{mike.jpg?300|Mike Augspurger, 2014}}
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Mike Augspurger working on his One-Off performance Ti wheelchair.
Photo by Mike Augspurger, ca. 2014 [[https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/mike-augspurger-handcycle-inventor|Smithsonian Institute]]
{{gary.jpg?300|Gary Helfrich, 2016}}
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Gary Helfrich posing with his first 1985 Fat Chance Ti prototype, in 2016.
[[https://oneofftitanium.com/gary_helfrich_titanium_xx1.html|oneofftitanium]]
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{{gwyn.jpg?300|Gwyndaf Jones, 2010}}
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Gwyndaf Jones
Gwyn in his workshop, Carlisle, Massachusetts, 2010.  Photo by Michael Woon, [[https://woon.wordpress.com/category/mechanic/|wordpress]].

</div>

<div column 50% #s1985>
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===== 1985 "Earlybike" pre-Merlin prototype =====
2nd titanium frame made by Gary Helfrich.  His first Ti frame effort was immediately crushed.
Original price: $105, as sold by Gary Helfrich.
Not a true MTB and not officially in the timeline.  Rear Atom drum brakes (later upgraded to bolt on v-brakes,) five speed rear freewheel with road derailleur.
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1985.jpg?300|1985 Prototype }}
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1985 Prototype
[[https://merlintitanium.com/merlin_evolution.html|merlintitanium]] & [[https://merlintitanium.com/gary_helfrich_titanium_xx1.html|merlintitanium]].
</div>


<div column 50% #s1986>
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===== 1986 "Fat Chance" =====
Mike Augspurger: "That is not a Fat Chance. I cut those dropouts myself on our (Merlin's) band saw."
Early Merlin Pre-Merlin with Fat Chance decals.   Owned by a Fat City employee.
Shimano Deore XT M730 parts, with Cunningham?? u-brakes rear, Cooks Bros cranks, quick releases & stem, pressed in bearings, campy headset, box crown fork with Reynolds 531 decals, fork.  Perhaps the first true titanium true MTB.

Very early use of M730, which only shipped at the end of 1986.  (([[potts:start#s1986|Steve Potts]] offered M730 in 1986 - and no one else?))
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No Merlin badged MTBs were sold in 1986, especially as they briefly called themselves Kestrel Metalworks for those few months.

</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1986b.jpg?300|1986 Fat Chance }}
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1986 Fat Chance
[[ https://www.facebook.com/groups/merlintitanium/permalink/10160254042454355|facebook]]
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<div column 50% #s1987>
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===== 1987 Merlin Marin Team Titanium =====
The first 100 Marin Team Titaniums were sold by Marin in their 1988 lineup, and another 100 or so were badged as Merlins.  Shimano 105 road rear derailleur, Suntour roller cam brakes, horizontal dropouts.  Marin later switched to Litespeed as a titanium frame supplier.


See also: [[http://mombat.org/MOMBAT/BikeHistoryPages/Merlin.html|mombat]].
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1987.jpg?300|1987 MTB }}
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1987 MTB
Pic from Nov/Dec 1987 Mountain Bikes magazine article, pg 72, as scanned by [[https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1274831-road-test-bike-review-1987-joe-murray-s-merlin-team-titanium-mtb.html|bikeforums]].
</div>


<div column 50% #s1988>
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===== 1988 MTB =====
Shimano XT M730 (1986-88), rollercams front and rear, vertical dropouts.  Frame #213.
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1988.jpg?300|1988 MTB }}
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1988 MTB
[[ https://www.mtbr.com/threads/1989-merlin-project.198181/?post_id=1932047#post-1932047|mtbr]]
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<div column 50% #s1989>
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===== 1989 MTB =====
Shimano XT M730(1986-88), very early Rockshox RS-1 (1989, thus)((This is the earliest example of Rockshox appearing on a MTB for sale.  The next earliest is a 1990 [[ferra:start#s1990|Ferraroli]] with later RS-1's.)).
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1989.jpg?300|1989 MTB }}
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1989 MTB
[[ https://mombatbicycles.com/MOMBAT/Bikes/1989_Merlin_Mountain.html|mombat]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1990>
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===== 1990 Elevator =====
Prototype w/elevated chainstays, cantilever brakes, titanium girder fork integrated with stem/bar combo, hand-cut dropouts.
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1990.jpg?300|1990 Elevator }}
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1990 Elevator
[[ https://merlintitanium.com/merlin_evolution.html]]
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<div column 50% #s1991>
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===== 1991 MTB =====
Suntour/Pedersen SE XC self energizing brakes,

</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1991.jpg?300|1991 MTB }}
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1991 MTB
[[ https://bikerecyclery.com/nos-suntour-se-xc-cantilever-brake-pedersen-self-energizing-black-mounting-bolts/|bikerecyclery]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1992>
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===== 1992 MTB =====
Full Shimano XTR M900 (1991-94)
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1992.jpg?300|1992 MTB }}
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1992 MTB
[[ https://mountainbikemuseum.nl/mountainbikes/merlin-titanium-538|mountainbikemuseum]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1993>
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===== 1993 MTB =====
Shimano XTR M900 derailleurs, chainset, WTB Speedmaster brakes, WTB hubs, Steve Potts type II fork,
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1993.jpg?300|1993 MTB }}
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1993 MTB
[[ https://www.vintagemtbworkshop.com/1993-merlin-mountain.html|vintagemtbworkshop]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1994>
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===== 1994 Newsboy =====
"More of a beach cruiser than a true mountain bike."
Limited run of 100 examples.  Internal cable routing, 1x8 gearing, (Speedmaster?) rollercams front and rear, Steve Potts fork?, front wheel stabilizer?  Resurrected in 2002 and then again 2023+ and available today: [[https://www.merlinbikes.com/limited-edition-newsboy|merlinbikes]].
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1994.jpg?300|1994 Newsboy }}
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1994 Newsboy
[[ https://www.theproscloset.com/blogs/mtn-bikes/1994-merlin-newsboy|theproscloset]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1995>
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===== 1995 XLM =====
Note the Ibis stem, likely made by Gary Helfrich.
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1995.jpg?300|1995 XLM }}
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1995 XLM
[[ https://merlintitanium.com/merlin_evolution.html|merlintitanium]]

</div>