Smooth ride and long lasting durability. Light weight. Great bike for the distance rides and any road that is a bit rough.

Not a sprinters bike. I would prefer a stiffer bike for hill climbs and crits. Sometimes a little more weight is worth a little less flex.

This is a review of a 2000 Extralight. It is a great all around bike and now has tens of thousands of miles on it and it still rides like new. It is great on long rides, races, and centuries, but flexes like a noodle when I hammer. The Look HCS fork flexes noticeably under hard braking as well. This is a great bike and I love it but now that I have become much stronger I am realizing I need a stronger bike. I think I will get some stiffer wheels and see if that helps.

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Specialized Epic, Cannondales

Ride quality & it looks awesome

Price

I race Mountain bikes and was looking for a great road bike a couple years ago. After doing a bunch of searching I was ready to get a "lesser" ti-bike. The I was checkiong out Excell online and they had a complete Merlin built up with killer parets in my size. More then I was planning on spending, but it was worth it.

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Ride quality and comfort. Durability and simplicity. Great handling bike. If I had to pick one outstanding quality I would say fast cornering and descending, as this is the best handling bike I have ever ridden.

Lateral stiffness could be better. Perhaps an OS ovalized downtube could provide this without taking away the supple ride. Expensive.

Great frame which is a nice compromise in terms of weight, stiffness and ride quality. Sort of a "jack of all trades" ride that is competent at everything but does not stand out in any one thing. Great for long rides and races. The lateral stiffness is average - on par with a lightweight steel frame and definitely more flexy than aluminium. However, this is largely true for all Ti frames and I knew this going into the purchase so I am not disappointed.

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Rocky Scandium, Marinoni Foco, Marinoni EL/OS, Marinoni SLX.

Light, stiff, comfortable, durable, gorgeous workmanship.

You're kidding, right? Price.

I gave up a year+ allowance, let my wife get work done on the kitchen, did some extra work, sold a kid (not really), and bought the bike, and have not regretted it. The bike is 21,000 miles old, and I have zero complaints. First ride at the bike shop when assembled, it was so smooth that I stopped at 1/4 mile to check tire inflation, then started looking for bumps. Rock solid on descents, climbs like an F-15, sprints better than I can. As much a piece of art as a bike, in terms of welds, etc. Next to my wife, favorite thing that I have. Note: This was an "old" Merlin when they were still in MA.

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Panasonic Team America

Voodoo merlin ti tubing is magical

Having to sell a kidney just to afford one (of course the smooth ride will ensure that your existing kidney will be well protected)

This bike flat out rules. It is a rare combination of comfort and monkey on crack acceleration. I live in a part of the world that doesn't much care about road maintenance, and this bike has made a huge difference in extending my comfort zone. It also corners and accelerates like few other bikes can.

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too many to list

Comfort, handling.

none

There is no comparison to the ride of the Merlin extralight. It climbs, accelerates, and is the most comfortable ride since the Cadillac. I have ridden this bike for 2 years over 25,000 miles, have switched tri bikes like underwear but will never give up my Extralight!!!

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Specialized, Aegis, Trek, Fuji, Litespeed, Seven, Colnago, Cervelo, ZIPP3001

Light, stiff, indestructible, a pure joy to ride

price, the glued on badge jingle over bumps, I felt like nana going shopping. Chainstays a little too short

I''m converted, this bike was fantastic. It was my first time on Titanium and I wasn''t disappointed. It rode so smoothly, climbed brilliantly, accelerated quickly and just soaked up all the bumps really well. My only problem was that the chainstays were a little too short I occasionally hit my foot especially when I was climbing. With the Merlin carbon fork it cornered like it was on rails. I want this bike even if I have to sell my mum, divorce my wife and send the kids off to work I don''t care

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None

Stiffness, weight, Ti. Fast and stable.

Stiffness, my back gets beat up on long rough rides.

Light, stiff and fast. Tracks well. Comfortable with the right wheels, I use Spinery Rev-x for comfort and strength. Race on the bike and have some good results. Very confident on this Ti steed.

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Opera Canova(same as Pinnarello Opera), Kestrel 200 SCi

Very stiff, but comfortable. A really fast ride.

Price. Nothing else.

This bike is a dream! My first new road bike since my Aluminum Alan 15 years ago. I road a Pinarello Prince and a Litespeed and definately preferred the Extralight. The bike just felt perfect the first time I road it. You know how some things just feel right?

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