Classic & Vintage - Tell me all about vintage Merckxs

Am considering an addition to my vintage collection. Have sighted a late 70s Merckx that is nearly complete and what it's missing is stuff I have. I won't reveal my source but it's not real hard to figure out.:p

Anyways, I've always felt a vintage rider should have a Merckx at some time in his life but I'm not real knowledgable about the marque. Seller claims it's from the time when Eddy worked out of DeRosa's shop and my research bears this out. By seattube it's in my size range.

If any of you guys know, talk to me about geometry, ride and etc. I remember other threads on other boards where it's claimed his older bikes are excellent for comfortable distance.

Help me out. If I'm just going to PO the wife I want to at least make sure it's the right bike!:D

:beer:

Walter, what I might recommend to you is that you contact Chuck Schmidt at www.velo-retro.com. I believe he may have been involved in the design of some decals for Eddy Merckx via some connection with Roger DeCoster(Belgian Motocross racer), I don't quite remember the link up that clearly. Chuck's opinion should have some credibility with you. I think he may be able to correct the dates and possibly some info you're being given by the seller. If he can't help you, let me know and I'll tell you what I know. I purchased a Merckx for my SO at the time, so I know a little about them. If you would be so kind as to either post here or PM about what he says, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks Don. I'll do that. I'm familiar with velo-retro and would certainly trust anything he had to say. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm seriously considering this but it's not a foregone conclusion.

Walter,

If its really a 70's Merckx I'd snatch it up in a New York Minute.
Have you posted to Classic rendezvous (Chuck Schmidt is
a member there)? if you have serial number they might
be able to accurately date the bike.
just out of curiosity, are there any De Rosa marks on the
bike? seatstays? fork crown? or do they all have the EM
symbol?

If I recall Geometry is more Relaxed than todays racerboy
bikes. Slack (by current standard) seat tube angle, long
top tube. Very comfortable geometry similiar to what
Lemond builds.
Hope this helps.

Marty

Walter,

I did some searches on CR archives and found the following
response about an older Merckx query:


The best thing to do is to find the Merckx website...Merckx.be I think but any google search will find it.

Send them an email with the serial number and model and they will respond back with all the particulars.

I checked and the site is Merckx.be.

good luck

Marty

Many thanks. I'll tip my hand and tell you the bike is an online sale so I may not be able to get all of the info. Seller has a good rep but there's always a little risk. Just sent out an email to Chuck Schmidt and will let you know what he says.

I'll put some of the stuff I asked Chuck here too. Seller admits bike is a respray and pics show it's not a great one. I can live with that b/c if I get it at the right price I might go for the Molteni look anyways. Pics show that the bike has recessed nut brakes and the black anodized S Record rear der. I associate these things with 80s bikes. Derailleurs can be changed but not forks and brake bridges. What do you think?

I looked at the frame last night b4 I posted my msg. In your post you said that your research had born out some of the things he said, and so I thought it best to tread lightly on someone's preconceptions. Suffice to say that Chuck may be able to correct some of the info the seller has put in the ad.

Don:

Feel free to TRAMPLE my preconceptions (at least in this area and I seldom visit the political threads). As I noted in my previous post I have some doubts as to the 70s dating based primarily on brake attachment. I was pretty active in bikes from 77 thru the mid80s and don't recall seeing recessed attachment prior to 85 or so. I could be wrong.

If it's just a mistake on seller's part I can live with that, if it doesn't get bid up, as I think the price with the associated parts is good (yes, it's an eBay bike I don't have the item # right at hand) even if it's from the 80s when Eddy started his own shop. The DeRosa cache is nice but a "straight" Merckx is more than fine too. What I don't want is one of the earlier Falcon made Merckxs. I don't think this is one.

The idea of owning a Merckx has been in my mind for awhile and I have passed a few up in the past. This one might be promising but I'm not leaping....

Thanks for the warning.

Ok, you asked for it. This is all to the best of my recollection. I worked in the shop in SoCal that was the first SoCal dealer of Eddy Merckx frames. When we became a dealer, The Great One visited our store. I put together the retail display of the first frame we had. By the way, I was honored to shake hands with him, and found him to be a truly humble human being, not only in that contact but in future contacts also. This was in 1981.

To the best of my knowledge, these were the 1st generation Eddy Merckx frames brought into the country. Of course there had been Eddy Merckx models such as the Eddy Merckx model by Falcon, but 1981 was the first year Eddy imported his frames to SoCal, and I believe the US distributor was Othon Ochsner Imports out of Chicago. The shop I worked at was the largest pro shop in SoCal, managed by a former International and Olympic team mechanic, and we had thousands of pro bikes come through there and I never saw an Eddy Merckx anything b4 1981. I have never heard of or seen a "DeRosa" Eddy Merckx. I believe this is an urban legend propagated for the following reasons.

DeRosa was supposed to have consulted with Merckx on the construction of his Belgian facility. This is entirely credible and is born out by the fact that, at the time, if you held a Merckx in one hand and a DeRosa in another, the only discernible difference was the DeRosa had diamond chainstays and the Merckx did not. Of course the fixtures(fork crown and BB) were engraved different, but the fixtures were the same fixtures, short point investment cast lugs and BB and an investment cast flat fork crown. I think it was these similarities that caused some to think Merckx frames were built by DeRosa. I suppose it is possible that DeRosa built frames for Merckx, but I don't know that.

All the Merckx frames from this time were as the DeRosa frames, impeccably finished and constructed. The geometry was long wheebase, laid back to a fault. I purchased a very unusual all 531 Merckx for my girlfriend at the time and built it up. It was and is to this day the only 531 Merckx I've ever seen.

Chuck was a frequent customer of ours and friends with the shop manager. At the time, Chuck was doing graphic art work and I think made some connection in 81/82 on some design work for Merckx thru Roger Decoster. I believe that DeCoster worked for Yamaha, and Chuck was doing some work for them. This stuff about Chuck is all second hand as he was friends with the Store Manager, and I would hear later about this. Obviously, Chuck has pursued his passion as a collector and may have maintained contact with Merckx, or at least may remember some of the dates and things.

Personally, if Eddy Merckx gave me a frame, I wouldn't thrash it like the one your looking at. It would be a very valuable collectible to anyone who understood Merckx's role in the sport of cycling. The Masi we saw posted on here this month should have been in bad shape compared to a Merckx given as a gift to an appreciative recipient. The seller may be very credible but if you look at the stuff he sells it runs from pool cues to who knows what.

From looking at the frame, it appears to be very early Merckx. The decals are right. The fork crown is right. Merckx started with a fully sloping crown later. So, it may be one of the earliest Merckx's in the US. If you're able to get serial # verification, that's great. Hopefully this will clear up some misconceptions that have floated around.

Since you were active from the mid-70's to the early 80's, ask yourself when was the first time you sae a Merckx?

well its definately an old frame.
Given to him by Eddy himself? and it that shape?
The seller claims to have owned a bike shop
(and if Eddy was there it would be a high end one I'm betting)
and uses the term "Campy Super Record front and rear gearbox"
Don't you think he would call a derailleur by its right name
if he was knowledgable?

Don d.
As for the De Rosa connections here are a few
posts about the same subject:
By Richard Sachs

at the 1979 milan bicycle show, eddy merckx and
ugo derosa hared a booth and it was there that
eddy merckx, the 'bicycle company', was introduced.
the eddy merckx frames shown there were clearly
derosa built; diamond shaped chainstays, dubois lugs,
flat crown with cast-in heart removed and 'eddy merckx'
engraved in its place, etcetera. no question about these frame's
origins. within a year, the factory in meise would be up and
running and production moved to belgium.

And the response by Chuck Schmidt:

I remember seeing some Eddy Merckx frames (from the Eddy Merckx factory)
that had Campagnolo-style front fork ends that were stamped "De Rosa."

And the first Eddy Merckx brochure showed Ugo De Rosa and
Eddy Merckx standing next to each other and mentions Ugo helping set up Merckx operation.

Marty

I think this confirms that the intro of Merckx frames to the US was post 80 then, and the idea of a late 70's Merckx is probably folk lore. And having attended and worked at many industry shows, It would not surprise me in the least if DeRosa built frames for Merckx for a show for promotional purposes only. I'm once again not saying that is the only possible explanation, but it is feasible.

I personally have never seen a DeRosa stamping on a Merckx. But I do think Sach's notes on this indicate, and reasonably so, that there may have been a difference in what may have been available and when it was available to the European Market and to the US market. Sach's would be in a much better position than I to see that development, since as a manufacturer, he obviously attended Euro shows to establish supply sources.

Chuck's comment's and Sach's comments also overlap mine in that they confirms that Merckx was probably buying his fixtures from the same source as DeRosa.

The photos of Merckx and Ugo are everywhere. Like I said, I think DeRosa probably did set up Merckx's factory for him, but even given that, those photo's are marketing tools designed to give crediblity to the quality of the Merckx product.

Walter-what size frame do you need?

Thanks for the replies again.

Don: I don't recall seeing Merckxs at all in S FLa during the 70s and early 80s. First ones I can remember would have been when I was in college in Orlando and riding with a club in 85 or 86. Pretty rare marque then too ut that might have been a location situation.

The CR site has a picture of an 82 bike with the S Record rear that this Merckx (and my Basso) has. Also though it's hard to be sure with a jpeg image on a computer screen it looks like the brakes have the rcessed nut attachment so I need to push the debut of that back a year or 2.

Am I right that that style of brake attachment didn't start until the 80s? Also aren't short reach calipers the only style to use that attachment style?

A shop near my home has an old Merckx sitting in its racks. I'm pretty sure it is a 70s bike (by Falcon) based on the N Record and 531 framing. Don you're right in that with the exception of the Falcons I've never heard of a Reynolds Merckx either.

I agree that you'd think that bike would be in better shape. You'd expect it to be ridden, but not such a poor respray. Since that originality is forever gone if I do get it I'll give it a Molteni look without any pangs of conscience.

I will request the serial #. You'd think a shop owner would have no problem finding it.

Thanks again

We just posted. Depending on TT, which I'm waiting for I can ride a 55-57 seat tube measured c-c. 56 c-c is "ideal" for height but I have short legs for my height (6-1 but a 30" inseam). That's why I'm interested in something like a Merckx or modern LeMond, bikes with reputations for longer TTs.

I've cut this from the First Merckx catalogue
(thank you M. Bulgier) I believe its 1980.
The components are a big question, the owner
could have put earlier campy parts on the bike
given he stated he owned a bike shop.
strange mix of components too, I don't recall
Merckx ever being supplied with Galli cranksets etc.

Marty

Walter-this frame has ben waiting for you. Go to www.renaissance-cycles.com , click on Classic European, click on frames and scroll down to inventory # cefr009g. I think you should be seated when you do this.

Don, that's a beautiful bike! You want to see me divorced though don't you?

Those guys at Renaissance consistently have the best vintage inventory around.

Chuck just replied. States Eddy imported under his name in 1980. Confirms Marty's clippings from above. Early sales were frame only. Shops built to customer's specs.

Chuck told me recessed brakes go back to late 70s, so I was wrong there.

Will wait to see if seller responds to my questions and will come up with a plan then.

Thanks again.

Baron will be out of pocket for a few weeks so if
you do contact Renaissance it may take a while
to get a response. (I bought a set of Mafac Racers
NOS in the box from Baron for $20!).
They are also my supplier of Modolo parts.

I think Baron had a Molteni Replica frame for about
the same price as the Merckx, Columbus SL (or SLX)
Orange (what else?) very limited edition.
I can find the posts if you REALLY want to get into hot
water with the wife!

Marty

How not to sell a bike...

In response to my second email asking for TT measurement (24 hours after he said he'd measure) and serial # I got this:

"Haven't gotten around to it.
Please keep in mind that this frame was built the very
first year that Merkcx's came into the country... and
in fact, was built in the DeRosa factory. DeRosa
built all of the frames that Eddie Merckx rode the
last 10 years of his career.
Even when he changed teams the last three years - he
used DeRosa's w/the other teams decals on them."

Alot of unverifiable claims and common history but not the basic info needed to sell the bike. I'll keep my eye on it but it's probably not in the stars.....

Marty, you do that. Heck find another one and I'll even buy it for the 9 bills.....If I can come live with you afterwards.

:beer:

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Walter


[quote]...this frame was built the very
first year that Merkcx's came into the country... and
in fact, was built in the DeRosa factory.[quote]

Well maybe he's right. You said that Chuck said that Eddy Merckx frames built in the Eddy Merckx factory started being imported in 1980. Did Chuck say that Merckx frames built in the DeRosa factory were imported b4 1980 or that any Merckx frames built in the DeRosa factory were imported here at any time?

Walter,

here's the link to the replica. they were built between
1998 and 2000 so they are not OLD.
there are a few of them around.
Nice Bike if you asked me.

Molteni Replica (http://www.bikepark.co.uk/brands/eddymerckx/molteni.htm)

Just noticed its the same frame as Baron has at Renaissance
has, and its 899 Pounds sterling! (all I have is $ on my keyboard)
so Baron is much cheaper!

No takers on your Merckx, even if its not quite what
the seller says its still a nice frame.
Good thing it's too big for me.

Marty

Marty:

How big is your couch?

I've got an extra room if you don't mind sharing it
with 2 bikes and some dive equiptment.

I've been comparing the bikes from Renaissance and BikePark.
Baron's has chrome chainstay and fork, the newer one is not
chromed.
I like the chrome better! and it's cheaper.
The e-bay one is pretty nice too even if a bit rough.

Marty

With my bikes and my dive equipment I'll have to squeeze I guess. Assuming my wife lets me leave with anything more than the shirt on my back.

I know when the auction ends....

My wife's family is in E. Texas and I've been to Dallas a few times. Where the heck does one dive there? I can walk off the beach here but the visibility here is not as good as it is off Ft. Lauderdale and the Keys is a whole other level.

There is no place to dive here (except the pool
at the shop where we teach, or the lake (clay bottom,
new students NO vis). long weekends to cozumel.
I've got family in Jacksonville and Orlando so we try to
get dives in when we visit (haven't been successful yet!).
I want to do the keys later this year if we can get time.

I do like that Merckx, I think the e-bay one would make
a nice project bike, just get rid of the Galli bits and
build it with campy super record!

There are pictures of a Molteni replica bike in the Campy Only
site.
Did you happen to catch the Original Molteni Jersey autographed
by Merckx on e-bay?
that is nice. . .

Marty

I've got some SR calipers.

I hear there's decent diving off Jax but have never gone. I've dove many of the springs of N. Fla and alot in the Atlantic off S. Fla though not much lately. Babies do that.

Another mystery a little long so bear with me and hopefully Don will chime in too.

There's a LBS here (the only one) and the guy has a few NOS roadies and I've known he has an old Merckx. I dismissed it as a Falcon EM model but since I was nearby getting a haircut I stopped in. I bought some handlebar wrap I've been looking for and I guess since I was spending some money the guy was willing to talk abit.

Pulled the EM down and began to reassess my original evaluation. It has the decals on the headtube like the eBay and current bikes, the initials and the rainbow stripes. On the seattube are 2 decals commemorating the 49second Kilometer in Mexico and most importantly both the fork crown and seat stays are engraved "Merckx" in a flowing style of print. Gruppo is N Record and the rear der. is marked as a 1973. Wheels are sew-ups. Rear rim is a Wolber Super Champion (not original I'm pretty sure) and the front is a Mavic Champion du Monde (original?). A few other parts swaps but the N Record is largely complete. Silver color like the one on the CR site but not nearly as clean.

Figured the frame decal would help but, of course it's missing. There's a pretty clear square of clean frame where it used to be and the old Columbus decal is not that big. A old Reynolds 531 might fit. Frame has braze ons for shifters and over the BB cable routing but is not fit for recessed brakes. This is an older bike. LBS guy said he got it from some "old guy" awhile ago. Lug work is nice, though plain. Didn't see a serial# right off but didn't look at the bike inch by inch.

If Falcon engraved their Merckxs then it's an easy mystery, if not my gut is telling me this is a pre1980 bike. Could it have come from Europe? Old bikes present mysteries sometimes and now I find myself pondering old Eddy Merckxs. Fortunately as a teacher I have summers to spend my time this way.

Walter-does the bike have campagnolo dropouts? Are the seatstay caps flat on top and engraved with the em riding a bike? are the lugs short point? are the fixtures all investment cast(clean, uniform edges of even thickness)? You say the engraving is script? is that what you meant by flowing? you say the fork crown is flat. are there two points emanating down from the fork crown on the outside of the blade? are the forkends, chainstay ends, and seatstay ends scalloped and filled so that the dropouts and tubes seem to be one? You can see a Falcon Eddy Merckx at www.yellowjersey.org/doreen.html .

You make another mention of pre-1980 Merckx frames. Did chuck say he knew something about pre-80 merckx's that's provoking your suspicion about that?

Walter,

This is a really slippery slope.
There were multiple Merckx bikes produced during
the bike boom era. Falcon made alot of them and would
have used Reynolds tubing. Most were Molteni replicas
and therefore orange. Lower end models were different
colours but sported lesser components. Top of the line
model used N. Record.
Lower end models were poorly made, bad lugwork and gaspipe
frames. There were some maintube only 531 models and
some 501 models, again they had lesser componentry.
There were also Merckx bikes produced by Allegro
and Kessels but I'm having difficulty finding info on them.
One thought is that Falcon could not handle the workload
and farmed out the frames to Kessels (Dutch builder).

I'll post if I can find more info.
Marty

Looked at the link and while the pictures don't show an awful lot of detail I'd guess the bike I saw today is a Falcon. It's one of the better ones though. Interesting that the bike from the link is a 73 as is the rear der. on the local bike. Nobody indicated anything about pre80 Merckxs imported and both Don and Chuck seem pretty authoriatative here. I was letting my mind wander to the possibility of someone having a European model.

Seat stays and fork crown don't have "EM" engraved on them but rather "Merckx." Not script but if your engraver could be set to italics something like that.

MERCKX sort of approximates the engraving. The decals as I said before are quite similar to later bikes. It looks like the bike you linked to have the "Mexico" decals I saw today. I was looking at the rear der. but didn't check the dropout. (Doh!) I don't recall seeing Campy on there, now that you mention it. Lugs weren't bad but not the crispest by any means.

I'm looking at the old-style Columbus sticker on my Basso right now and it's definitely not what was on the Merckx. One or the other of the Reynolds decals.

I've seen Falcon Merckxs before and most were pretty plain, or worse. However, I've seen some nice quality Falcons and I'd say this is a good or even better quality bike.

Not the "real deal" I'm looking for it seems though.

:beer:

edited for accuracy Just heard from Chuck Schmidt and he believes the LBS bike is an early Merckx as well. Sold frame only and someone put older N Record on it. So I guess scratch the Falcon conjecture. Well, I've gone from considering a vintage Merckx to having lines on 2 of them. Like the eBay one better. Thanks so much for your patience with my unending posts on this.

Here's an English, I'd guess Falcon, Merckx model. Shame the other one doesn't have pictures like this. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3619488393&category=22681. BTW the one I saw at the LBS is a better frame than this.

Marty, you're right that the other one will make a nice project and that's what I have in mind. If it doesn't get bid up I might even be able to afford to go to CyclArt and end up with a Molteni replica. Not cheap, until you look at what the other ones cost. I've got an appropriate wheelset looking for a home.

The main thing for me is to not get one of the older Falcon bikes. While the seller's story is impossible to verify the frame does appear authentic.

We'll see.

edited for accuracy I corrected the references to Falcon in the post above.

Walter-If you look at the seat stay where it raps around the seatlug on the photos from ebay you posted and the photos from the yellow jersey that I posted, you'll notice that the seatstays "wrap around" the seat lug. This is quite imaginatively called a wrap around seatstay cap. This is the distinctive characteristic of the Falcon.

In addition, you'll notice that the photos from the Yellow Jersey show close ups of the seatstay and chainstay ends where they meet the dropouts. Notice how these are rounded? This is called a domed seatstay or chainstay end and is a signature characteristic of many british(but not only british) bikes. A real Merckx will have scalloped seatstay and chainstay ends, like on your Basso.

I think your LBS may have a real merckx. Ask him if you can take it for a test ride, get it out of sight and take some photos of it and post them here. Take photos of the things we've been talking about.

The Merckx on ebay-is a real Merckx too. no doubt in my mind. I just think the guy is blowing smoke about the DeRosa connection and the gift from Merckx, etal. He's exploiting rumors and collectors "nostalgia" to try and work the price up.

Arrrgh,
I just posted a long reply about repaints etc.
but lost it due to being too large (Included a pic).
but the gist of it is:
Merckx on e-bay looks like real deal (minus the hype).
Cycleart is Ok, but there are good shops on east coast.
Check out Cycles D'Oro (http://www.cyclesdeoro.com/)
Dale who runs shop is also creator of Classic Rendezvous, and
is knowledgable in early Merckx frames.
There is another painter who can dupe decals etc. on the
east coast, I'll need to track down the link for that one.

Below is pic of Dale's work.

Marty

just curious, I was looking at the orange ebay bike, and I noticed that there was no derailleur hanger. I thought that that was just something for low end bikes. am I wrong?

If you look at the above photo that Lotek posted, the Claude Butler in the middle, a fairly nice bike, has no rear derailleur hanger. That was not uncommon back in the day when most dropouts were stamped steel. Really when you think about it, bikes that have replaceable derailleur hangers don't have a cast on derailleur hanger either.

After all that.....

I went to a movie and now the guy ended the auction early. Oh well. There were a few warning bells going off in my head esp. with his seeming reluctance to give me a TT measurement. I was planning on bidding anyways.

No big rush and there'll be other days.

BTW Don, the LBS bike passes the tests (scalloped seatstays, etc) so I'm sure it's the real deal but asking price is a bit high.

Again thanks for the advice/info.

Well, guess I have already passed the every enthusiast must own a merckx test, my first ten speed was a used merckx that looked just like this.

http://www.ridecampy.com/images/p123vqr.jpg

Way too small for me now, heck it was too small for me by the time I traded it in on a Fuji touring bike. It really was a pretty heavy ride FWIW. But I put a lot of miles on that thing.

take care,

Jester

EDIT: i got the bike in the early 80's and it was well used, so for sure it was from the 70's. With how HEAVY it was it was probably one of the lower end ones, though it was the bright orange color.

Walter-I just rec'd the last piece of a puzzle I've been working on and I thought you and perhaps others might be interested in the results.

The whole timeline of when EM frames first appeared in the US didn't seem right to me, just because of my own memories(I'm not THAT old). So, I sent an e-mail to Merckx asking them to clarify who their first US distributor was. I received an e-mail back telling me it was Ochsner International in Chicago, just as I thought I recalled.

I contacted Jeff Goolsby by e-mail at Ochsner and asked him if he would be so kind as to research when they sold their first frames in the US. I just received that response today. Jeff says that Ochsner first put the EM frames in Ochsner's catalog in 1982, but he thinks they were available in 1981 AFTER the 1981 Ochsner catalog had been printed.

So, from the horses mouth, Merckx frames were first sold here in 1981, distributed by Ochsner International. If you want to see the e-mails, pls PM your e-mail address to me, and I'll see if I can figure out how to forward them to you.

I will be posting this on Classic Rendezvous as my first post there in the near future.

Hope this helps.

Walter-I came across this link at the Velo-Retro(Chuck Schmidt's) web site.

www.speedbicycles.ch

Click on museum, then 80's, then the 84 Merckx. You get terrific close ups of the details of an early Eddy Merckx frame. This should allow you to make a positive ID on the one at your LBS

The only real difference between the LBS bike and the one pictured is the engraving on the seatstays. The seatstays themselves are identical but the LBS bike has MERCKX spelled out, just like on the forkcrown of the museum bike, rather than the common EM on a bicycle logo. Other than that they're the same even to the 49 sec. kilometer decal on the seattube. I'm sure the LBS bike's the real deal just they engraved (stamped?) the stays with the same logo they used on the forks.

Good site too.

Decided to revive this thread as something on eBay caught my interest.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3624313924&category=22681&rd=1

A Merckx in Tange Prestige?

That is a quality tubeset but I've only heard of Eddy using Colimbus and a rare Reynolds here and there.

Fortunately not my size so this is just idle curiosity.:)

:beer:

This is different to be sure. First one I've ever seen. Tange Prestige became popular around the late 80's/early 90's, so even the mid-80's date looks a little weird to me.

Same question was asked on Classic Rendezvous List,
but I didn't see any responses.
I saw the bike too, and thought it was well strange.
Someone suggested (on CR don't rememeber who) that it
might be a very early EM frame, before he settled on Columbus
tubing, sort of a prototype.
If anymore buzz about it I'll let you know.

Marty

In the following interview, Eddy Merckx gives the date that Merckx started manufacturing frames:

www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2004/interviews/?id=eddy_merckx04

This could explain why there are catalogs dated 1980, but no confirmable distribution in the US till 1981.

Decided to revive this thread as something on eBay caught my interest.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3624313924&category=22681&rd=1

A Merckx in Tange Prestige?

That is a quality tubeset but I've only heard of Eddy using Colimbus and a rare Reynolds here and there.

Fortunately not my size so this is just idle curiosity.:)

:beer:

OK, now I am going to revive this thread.

It was not uncommon for Merckx bikes to be built with either Tange or Reynolds tubing. In fact many steel Merckx bikes were built with Reynolds531 and 653. I am not aware of any that were built with 853 but I know for a fact that many team bikes were built with 753 even though they have Columbus decals on them.

I know few former riders from 7 -11 and Motorola who have confirmed that it is a fact but a well kept secret. 753 gave a lighter frame at the time so even though Columbus was the tubing sponsor .........

In around 81, 82, I recall not being able to move for Merckx branded bikes. I don't know if these were Falcon Merckxs, but they sure as hell weren't high end superbikes - several of my 10 and 11 year old school chums had battered ones, and we certainly weren't in the right kind of neighbourhood for that!

In around 81, 82, I recall not being able to move for Merckx branded bikes. I don't know if these were Falcon Merckxs, but they sure as hell weren't high end superbikes - several of my 10 and 11 year old school chums had battered ones, and we certainly weren't in the right kind of neighbourhood for that!


My comments are not about Merckx branded bikes though - they are about Merckx bikes.

Here is an example of a 653 built Merckx

http://cgi.ebay.ca/EDDY-MERCKX-VINTAGE-FRAME-653-REYNOLDS-TUBE-GREAT_W0QQitemZ230053126188QQihZ013QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Not at all uncommon.