Mercier Elle Sport Womens Specific Road Bike 14 Speed

Ok bike for the price. Only issue I had was that the crankset (pedals) that came with the bike are too long so the front wheel bumps into them when I try to turn the bike. Had to buy a new crankset so I could actually turn when riding the bike.

This bike is great except for one detail. The black grips with the brake levers are an awkward size or shape. I may have to buy new grips with brake levers to be able to comfortably reach the brakes while riding. The bike looks and rides fantastic other than that.

Excellent product...exactly like shown. Easy to assembly, light...all good!!!!!

*Update*It turns out the brakes are nutted...meaning the holes in the fork and in the brake bridge are two small for modern, recessed brakes. There are two options.1. You can do what I did, which is purchase these Tektro brakes: Tektro R313 Dual Pivot Caliper Brake Set 39-52mm Nutted Black off ebay. They are nutted.2. If you have an angled drill, you can drill out one side of the hole to accommodate the recessed nut..Also, I installed the 36cm Specialized handle bars and a different stem as the stem I previously purchased had extra girth and prevented the stem mounted shifters from moving. I definitely need to upgrade to Shimano STI shift/brake levers.________________________________I purchased a 42cm Mercier Elle Sport from a different website...a wholesale, direct website...for about $130 less than what Amazon is selling it for.I am a long time cyclist...I own 3 Bianchi bikes: late 80s racing bike with full Campagnolo components on an Italian built frame. Another late 80s Premio with shimano and sun tour components, and a 2019 Via Nirone 7 with Shimano Claris and Tektro components. Additionally, I own an 2018 Specialized Sirrus flat bar hybrid.This Elle Sport was bought for my soon to be 13 year old daughter who is about 4'7. She had been riding with me on an old Gary Fisher mt bike, but has been wanting a road bike. Unfortunately, not many bike makers make smaller or youth road bikes...it seems they all think all kids want are mt bikes.Of course, she really wanted a Bianchi, but the the smallest is a 46cm Via Nirone Dama, but at well over $1000! I love my daughter, but I cannot see buying her a bike that expensive when she's still growing. So I looked and looked on Amazon, ebay, craigslist, letgo, for a smaller bike.I finally settled on the Elle Sport after finding it for around $230 on the other site. But I waited until Black Friday and picked it up for $199 plus tax.She picked out the IceBlue over the green (MintGreen on other website) and I have to say, the color, which is a metallic flake is flawless. The 6061 Aluminum frame is very well made...I could only find one small welding flaw which I doubt will be an issue. I wouldn't be surprised if the frame was made in the same factory that made my Via Nirone 7, which also has 6061 Aluminum, but is hydro-formed. The 42cm frame is about as good a fit as I can get for her, but I bet with smaller, 650 wheels, it would have been perfect. With 700c, the stand over height is at her limit, meaning that at 4'7, there is no space between her and the top tube.As you can see from the first pic, the bike is well packed in a single box.Every tube had thin foam 'paper' wrapped and taped with masking tape and the major tubes were also wrapped with thicker foam tubes. The handle bars and shifters were bagged, and everything was zipped tied together. I still have not found any flaw or scratch on the bike.Assembly was fairly easy as I had built and maintained my bikes throughout the years. But I did have issue with the shifters...I never dealt with or used stem mounted shift levers! The clamp used is fairly cheap metal and bent pretty easily (I was able to bend the clamp back to shape). However, the shift levers work fairly easily and she was able to shift up and down after a few minutes riding in a parking lot.Compounding the installation, I switched the stem for a 60mm aftermarket stem off Amazon. Another issue I have with bikes in general is that they make smaller sized bikes, like for women or youths, but they leave other components, like handle bars, stems, wheels, etc at sizes better suited for larger people. What I mean is, with the stem that came with the bike, the handle bars would have been farther away and would have stretched her out. With a shorter, 60mm or smaller stem, the handle bars are closer and she can get a more sitting up position. Switching out the stem requires buying a Quill adapter which allows for a threadless style stem.This leads me to the handlebars. I am 5'6 and ride a 50cm bike with 400mm handlebars...or from brake hood to brake hood, it's 400mm or 40cm. Which is perfect for me as the width should equal your shoulder width. I can guarantee you that my daughter's shoulders are not the same size as mine! So I bought a 36cm or 360mm handle bar off of Specialized's site, using a Black Friday code. Paired with the shorter stem, this should make a more comfortable ride.The handlebar tape used is very clean and well done, they have the tape going in the right direction and the finishing tape is cleanly applied. However, the bar tape itself is very thin...I doubt it will provide much comfort especially on the long rides we do. I plan to upgrade to Cinelli Cork tape...I definitely recommend it.The brakes...sigh...if there is one thing you do, if you buy this bike, buy new brake calipers. As someone suggested, you can get some good Tektro dual pivot. nutted (similar nutted style that is installed) for about $60 for the pair. I have a pair of Tekros off my Via Nirone 7 that I plan on installing. Don't be confused by the wording "Dual Pull Calipers"...yes they are dual pull, but they are not Dual Pivots.The wheel are surprisingly solid. Out of the box, they are very slightly out of true, but easily fixed..there are tons of youtube vids that show you how to true them so you don't have to spend money for a lbs to do it. I will be changing out the tires though...They are Kenda Road K-152 at 700x25c, but they look thin....thinner than the Kenda 700x23c tires on my Via Nirone! I am thinking about picking up Specialized's Nimbus 2 tires at 700x32...I have similar on my Sirrus Hybrid and on the mt bike she was riding. They are a great, puncture resistant, low rolling resistance tire. They have a bit of tread for very light trail riding. The generic hubs spin well and come with quick release levers that are fairly well made. This is great as I can put the bike on my roof rack without issues.The Drive train could use some help. The stem mounted shifters are...weird. I don't know how this is supposed to be easier...but I guess if you don't plan on using integrated brake/shift levers like Shimano's STI's, then I guess their ok. Frankly, I don't recommend them...I plan on upgrading the current brake levers and shift levers to the Shimano Claris drive train from my Bianchi. The Shimano Tourney rear derailleur is pretty good, but limited to 7 speed cassette. The front derailleur is shimano but generic. It does the job. The cassette is 14-28 speed which isn't bad and the chain is a very good KMC brand 7 speed. If the crankset is Shimano, I wouldn't know...the inside of each arm says Prowheel...which are forged steel at 52/39...which is odd since most cranksets are compact at 50/34. They work.The pedals are standard mt bike type rat trap as we used to call them. I plan to upgrade to a large platform style with removable pegs.The seat is comfy I guess. My daughter said it was, but wants to switch to the smaller, youth seat we bought for the mt bike she was riding...plus, with the teal and white color scheme, it will match her Elle better.Headset and bottom bracket do the job. I must say the BB is similar to the one on my $800 Bianchi...nice.Conclusion: A solid, well made bike that could be great with some component upgrades. I definitely recommend it.What I wish they had changed or included:1. For 46cm or smaller, they should have appropriately sized components such as smaller wheel diameters, smaller cranks (these are 170mm, should be 165mm), smaller stem and definitely more compact handle bars with shorter drop reach.2. Needs better brake calipers. Dual Pivot calipers can be had for less than $20 per...there is no reason to have non dual pivot, cheap brakes.3. Quill stem. Really? This is 2019. No bike should have a quill stem. Quill stem means threaded forks and threaded headset. The headset and fork aren't really an issue, but quill stems are heavy and ugly. A good upgrade would be a threadless Carbon fork and appropriate headset and stem.4. Stop the stem shift levers. Shimano makes a Tourney based integrated Shift/brake lever at $80 for the pair.5. Thicc'r handle bar tape.

So, I have had this bike going on almost 3 years, I have made no major changes and used it for commuting while I saved up for a car. It's not the lightest bike so if your looking for a super light weight I wouldn't recommend this bike. However it is still relatively light for some one like me coming off of mountain bikes. I would suggest like others the handle bar controls may need to be modified I have adapted but I would still like to change mine and living in the PNW I am getting different tires than what it came with for a bit more grip. It's a good base if you are comfortable making modifications. Either way the bike is great no to start and get yourself into biking for commuting or fitness. It's easy to attach rack systems to it and everything.