I need to replace my Merlin Malt 1 which was recently stolen.
I liked the malt 1 and would buy the same bike again but it looks like they are discontinuing this model.
Do any of you guys have the Malt 3 or Malt 4 and if so would you recommend them? Is the Malt 4 worth the extra cash over the Malt 3?
I rarely ride technical terrain so don't need or want a full suss.
Your help / advice would be very much appreciated. Cheers
Yes I've just got a Malt 3 frame. Transplanted my old bits including a 120mm fork. It weighs about 1823 grammes for a 19" and came with a FSA headset. I immediately felt at home on it and consider it money well spent. The only criticism I could level at it is limited rear tyre clearance (2.1 is as big as would be sensible) and the ride feels a bit harsher than my carbon hardtail. I think some of the Merlin frames are made by Kinesis but not the Malt 3. It has a logo stamped on it that looks somehing like 1B. I don't have any photo's but it's the same as the one in the link but black.
My gf has a Malt 4 and it is very nice, Kinesis frame.
Yeah, back in 2007 I spunked my hard earned savings on a malt 4. Lovely little xc bike. Couldn't work out why my rear cup & cone hub needed rebuilding as the wheel kept on wobbling around like it was pissed. Eventually after a 30 odd mile ride I noticed that yet again the hub was loose and the tyre had actually started to eat through the chainstay, rendering the frame useless. I then bought a malt 1 cheap to run as a cheap singlespeed. When I stripped the malt 4 down I noticed the decking thing was bent - the rear triangle was at a slight angle. I took it to lbs who agreed, contacted merlin, who requested the frame for examination. They admitted it was bent, but claimed I had "dropped it" or transported it wrongly. Then they denied it was bent and claimed I couldn't put a rear wheel in the drop out properly.
Guess what, I never had any problems with the malt 1 frame, despite how many times I removes the rear wheel.
I'd never buy anything from either merlin cycles or kinesis now. Money grabbing parasites.
Yeah, back in 2007 I spunked my hard earned savings on a malt 4. Lovely little xc bike. Couldn't work out why my rear cup & cone hub needed rebuilding as the wheel kept on wobbling around like it was pissed. Eventually after a 30 odd mile ride I noticed that yet again the hub was loose and the tyre had actually started to eat through the chainstay, rendering the frame useless. I then bought a malt 1 cheap to run as a cheap singlespeed. When I stripped the malt 4 down I noticed the decking thing was bent - the rear triangle was at a slight angle. I took it to lbs who agreed, contacted merlin, who requested the frame for examination. They admitted it was bent, but claimed I had "dropped it" or transported it wrongly. Then they denied it was bent and claimed I couldn't put a rear wheel in the drop out properly.
Guess what, I never had any problems with the malt 1 frame, despite how many times I removes the rear wheel.
I'd never buy anything from either merlin cycles or kinesis now. Money grabbing parasites.
thanks for the replies. i think i will end up buying the malt 4. I was hoping that the rock lobsters would reduce in price as they are having a sale on the frames but it does not appear to be the case.
Scott_mcavennie2 - i am surprised that Merlin did not replace the frame. i have never heard a bad work said about them.
how about a Rock Lobster 853 - similar geometry and much more comfy, yet nimble !
Oh, and when mine was 4 months old I had a catastrophic stick, mech, hanger incident and they sorted me a very good deal on a crash replacement frame
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