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Antonio
02-21-01, 02:57 AM
I am looking at Eddy Merckx Road bikes as a future ride. I currenly ride a Cannondale R900 as a point of reference. Any thoughts on the Merckx Bikes as they appear a bit elusive to find reviews on.
If not any recommendations for a 6ft 15st 8lbs high miler other than lose weight!
dvicakra
02-23-01, 01:56 PM
I have a Corsa 0.1 and while I am nothing like your size or weight, I think the bike is stiff in the bb and compliant on top---the ovalized bb shell seems to create the solid bottom feel and the steel feels comfortable. I think, however, that the distinctive feature of Merckx bikes are the slack seattube angles and relatively short toptubes. This places you back on the saddle and encourages a longer stem. But the lax seattube angle makes this
a very comfortable all-day rider and yet it is bike with "racer heritage", not much like a tourer or a more comfort-oriented bike,
such as a Rivendell/Altantis, etc. Merckx geometries are particulalry well-suited if you don't have a long torso but do have the long femur, like Eddy and Greg. If I were going to buy a Litespeed, I would prefer the Merckx (but if I were buying Ti, I think there might be other preferences, say new IF or Hampsten
where you get Moots quality but Euro-geometries).
As for the quality of the Merckx, the paint is not up to JoeBell standards (but what is?) and not as nice as the best production builders, like IF and Serotta. The lugs are nice, investment cast and don't need a lot of filing to be nice enough (though they are not in league with Richard Sachs, Moon, or Rivendell). What I like about the Merckx finish is all the lovely chrome and the stellar looking brake bridge. For pictures of mine, look here:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=236967&a=11538980
I would buy another Merckx in a heartbeat. Given your size, you are likely a good candidate for MX Leader.
Fit is everything!
ultraman6970
05-01-12, 01:57 PM
If the fit in the cannondale is right, then just pick the EM that has the same top tube/virtual length/effective length than the cannondale (or close to it).
I'm assuming you want a Carbon EM.
ps: EM bikes are good stuff.