A while ago I got hold of a beautiful Merlin frame, made in Leeds, Yorkshire out of 631 Columbus steel and as recently as in 2005, proving that the trade in steel frames is still going strong. I built it up as a racy fixie, with track bars and all – a joy to ride yet, after my better half decided to get intimate with the tarmac while trying to learn to ride fixed, the bike has been a little neglected.

The Merlin with track bars

As the nights got longer and my winter coat heavier – suddenly the triumph of retro nostalgia, the Jeeves, felt a little too ponderous to pedal to the station every morning, so I began looking for a nippier solution. Constrained by space and funds, I decided to do fixie building on the cheap, i.e rather than get a new frame and all the components, why not mod a bike I already have to better suit my winter needs. The Merlin seemed an ideal candidate.

The trouble with low drops in the winter is that you seldom use the drops unless you are wearing bike specific clothing that stops that nasty windchill from working its way into your jacket from an exposed throat and neck. Sitting a little more upright means you avoid this nuisance, yet many of the sit up and beg bikes are slow if not outright onerous in their handling. The Merlin was quite the opposite and a pleasant surprise. The racing geometry made for a very fast-handling, adrenalin junkie of a flat-bar flyer with rapid acceleration  – so my journeys to the station are far more fun at this pace.

The Merlin as a flatbar flyer

The steel frame still lends a significant amount of comfort to the ride, despite the race tyres and wheels so why not consider taking a neglected hard-core racer and turning it into one of these stealthy racers-in-disguise. You might just be surprised how much fun commuting can be!