diff --git a/docs/generated/settings/settings.html b/docs/generated/settings/settings.html
index ec32f20fbdca..10fa5d7b8d44 100644
--- a/docs/generated/settings/settings.html
+++ b/docs/generated/settings/settings.html
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 <tr><td><code>kv.raft_log.synchronize</code></td><td>boolean</td><td><code>true</code></td><td>set to true to synchronize on Raft log writes to persistent storage ('false' risks data loss)</td></tr>
 <tr><td><code>kv.range.backpressure_range_size_multiplier</code></td><td>float</td><td><code>2</code></td><td>multiple of range_max_bytes that a range is allowed to grow to without splitting before writes to that range are blocked, or 0 to disable</td></tr>
 <tr><td><code>kv.range_descriptor_cache.size</code></td><td>integer</td><td><code>1000000</code></td><td>maximum number of entries in the range descriptor and leaseholder caches</td></tr>
-<tr><td><code>kv.range_merge.queue_enabled</code></td><td>boolean</td><td><code>true</code></td><td>whether the automatic merge queue is enabled</td></tr>
+<tr><td><code>kv.range_merge.queue_enabled</code></td><td>boolean</td><td><code>false</code></td><td>whether the automatic merge queue is enabled</td></tr>
 <tr><td><code>kv.rangefeed.enabled</code></td><td>boolean</td><td><code>false</code></td><td>if set, rangefeed registration is enabled</td></tr>
 <tr><td><code>kv.snapshot_rebalance.max_rate</code></td><td>byte size</td><td><code>2.0 MiB</code></td><td>the rate limit (bytes/sec) to use for rebalance snapshots</td></tr>
 <tr><td><code>kv.snapshot_recovery.max_rate</code></td><td>byte size</td><td><code>8.0 MiB</code></td><td>the rate limit (bytes/sec) to use for recovery snapshots</td></tr>
diff --git a/pkg/server/servemux_test.go b/pkg/server/servemux_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..71fdee276f65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/server/servemux_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+// Copyright 2018 The Cockroach Authors.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or
+// implied. See the License for the specific language governing
+// permissions and limitations under the License.
+
+package server
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"net/url"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/leaktest"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/timeutil"
+)
+
+func TestServeMuxConcurrency(t *testing.T) {
+	defer leaktest.AfterTest(t)()
+
+	const duration = 20 * time.Millisecond
+	start := timeutil.Now()
+
+	// TODO(peter): This test reliably fails using http.ServeMux with a
+	// "concurrent map read and write error" on go1.10. The bug in http.ServeMux
+	// is fixed in go1.11.
+	var mux safeServeMux
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	wg.Add(2)
+
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		f := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {})
+		for i := 1; timeutil.Since(start) < duration; i++ {
+			mux.Handle(fmt.Sprintf("/%d", i), f)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		for i := 1; timeutil.Since(start) < duration; i++ {
+			r := &http.Request{
+				Method: "GET",
+				URL: &url.URL{
+					Path: "/",
+				},
+			}
+			w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+			mux.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	wg.Wait()
+}
diff --git a/pkg/server/server.go b/pkg/server/server.go
index 26e29cd876c9..9e6765eec20d 100644
--- a/pkg/server/server.go
+++ b/pkg/server/server.go
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/protoutil"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/retry"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/stop"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/syncutil"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/timeutil"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/uuid"
 )
@@ -123,13 +124,35 @@ var (
 	)
 )
 
+// TODO(peter): Until go1.11, ServeMux.ServeHTTP was not safe to call
+// concurrently with ServeMux.Handle. So we provide our own wrapper with proper
+// locking. Slightly less efficient because it locks unnecessarily, but
+// safe. See TestServeMuxConcurrency. Should remove once we've upgraded to
+// go1.11.
+type safeServeMux struct {
+	mu  syncutil.RWMutex
+	mux http.ServeMux
+}
+
+func (mux *safeServeMux) Handle(pattern string, handler http.Handler) {
+	mux.mu.Lock()
+	mux.mux.Handle(pattern, handler)
+	mux.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+func (mux *safeServeMux) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	mux.mu.RLock()
+	mux.mux.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+	mux.mu.RUnlock()
+}
+
 // Server is the cockroach server node.
 type Server struct {
 	nodeIDContainer base.NodeIDContainer
 
 	cfg                Config
 	st                 *cluster.Settings
-	mux                *http.ServeMux
+	mux                safeServeMux
 	clock              *hlc.Clock
 	rpcContext         *rpc.Context
 	grpc               *grpc.Server
@@ -182,7 +205,6 @@ func NewServer(cfg Config, stopper *stop.Stopper) (*Server, error) {
 	clock := hlc.NewClock(hlc.UnixNano, time.Duration(cfg.MaxOffset))
 	s := &Server{
 		st:       st,
-		mux:      http.NewServeMux(),
 		clock:    clock,
 		stopper:  stopper,
 		cfg:      cfg,
diff --git a/pkg/storage/merge_queue.go b/pkg/storage/merge_queue.go
index ef97073ebe5a..8ab8b91ac83a 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/merge_queue.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/merge_queue.go
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ const (
 var MergeQueueEnabled = settings.RegisterBoolSetting(
 	"kv.range_merge.queue_enabled",
 	"whether the automatic merge queue is enabled",
-	true,
+	false,
 )
 
 // MergeQueueInterval is a setting that controls how often the merge queue waits