After almost 80 years of crafting and designing bicycle frames, Mercian Cycles has ceased to trade and has appointed an agency to help with the process as the company enters voluntary liquidation.
The company confirmed this news to road.cc this morning, saying: “Mercian Cycles Ltd has ceased to trade, and we have instructed an Insolvency Practitioner to assist us with taking the appropriate steps to place the Company into Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation.”
Mercian Cycles was founded in 1946 when Lou Barker and Tom Crowther first set up shop in London Road, Derby, and have been producing superb steel frames since then. In fact, they are frequently named as one of the most esteemed and skilled British manufacturers.
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The company is well-known for its superb lugs and looks, and over the years Mercian Cycles has sponsored many pro teams and riders; not only in the UK but also in America, where the brand had quite the cult following. Their frames are often custom-built, sometimes even using hand-cut lugs.
Mercian frames were traditionally built using steel, originally Reynolds 531, though as of 2010, newer steels such as Reynolds 853 and Reynolds 953 and part-carbon construction were in use.
Before steel was displaced by lighter materials such as aluminium or carbon, riders using Mercian won national and international competitions, including the legendary record-breaker and time trial cyclist, the ‘Mighty Atom’ Eileen Sheridan, as well as one of England’s greatest athlete ever, Beryl Burton, who dominated not just women’s cycling, but also set a women’s record for the 12-hour time-trial which exceeded the men’s record for 2 years.
In the 60s and 70s, the bike brand also sponsored the Mercian-Bantel Pro team, with the initial three riders who signed for the team being Derrick Woodings, Eddie White and British cycling legend Mick Ives, who passed away in January this year.
Until the 1980s, the company operated out of its small shop in London Road, with the bikes being crafted in Castle Street, off London Road. The shop had developed the nickname of ‘Crowbars’ among the locals, a cheeky play on the last names of its two founders.
In 1984, the Mercian shop moved to larger premises at Shardlow Road, Alvaston, where it continued to operate from until 2019, before relocating back to its manufacturing unit within Derby.
