RFC

Don't get me wrong. They are absolutely beautiful bikes, but I haven't been able to find an overview of their history.

I know the steel bikes are/were produced in the tradition of the old Italian houses, but given that Merckx bikes came the the game later, were they every considered to be competitive on the international circuit?

What is the hierarchy of Merckx steel bikes?

I see that the present company offerings are, as expected, carbon. Does the company continue to be a sought after manufacturer?

Thanks

RFC

due ruote 

Owners might claim some magic in the creation of these bikes, but I'm pretty sure you mean mystique.

RFC

LOL! I stand corrected. This is the problem of playing on BF while also on conference calls.

Picchio Special

I don't personally think Merckx bikes have a whole lot of "mystique." I'm also not sure the steel bikes were produced "in the tradition of the old Italian houses," except perhaps for the very early ones, but they do have a reputation for riding great, and they are in the Italian style. Ugo De Rosa, who made many of Eddy's race bikes during his career, helped set up the Merckx facility in Belgium, and built some of the first Merckx frames produced by Eddy's operation (i.e. excluding those made by Falcon, Kessels, etc.). They were raced extensively in the pro peloton in the late 80's and early 90's, by 7-Eleven, Motorola, Telekom, I believe Kelme, and others. (Edit: forgot Panasonic!)
Jeremy Rauch has some good Merckx historical info at his blog here:

https://www.tearsforgears.com/

DiabloScott

I don't think there is any mystique in the frames, but they seem to have a larger base of collectors, aficionados, and historians than other frames of similar vintage, style and quality - DeRosa, Pinarello, Colnago.

USAZorro

Eddy had the sense to do things right if his name was going on them. He also managed to avoid acquiring the baggage that subsequent greats who have gone into bike building seem to have picked up. Not that Greg didn't have good bikes made, but Eddy's name started as 24k gold and has remained there. Greg's started at 18k, and now may be 14k. Jan Ulrich may have started at 10k, and has, through very strange alchemy, been transmogrified to galvanized steel.

ok - I'm through with bad analogies, but when you're almost universally acknowledged as the greatest cyclist who ever lived, and you have avoided shooting yourself in the foot over the ensuing 35 years, there's going to be a mystique.

Old Fat Guy

They do what they are advertised to do.

No surprises, which is what I'm looking for in a bike.

They only bikes I like better than my Merckx's are my De Rosa's. They are very close, cousins, you could argue.

Kommisar89

Jaeger

I'm not sure there's really a mystique about the bikes. He was just a classy rider and produced some classy, beautiful bikes. I wish I had one.

bigfred 

He rode hard, had bikes built that fit his style and standards and then, as has been pointed out, didn't allow his name to tarnish. I've still got one of his frames from the mid 80's and it rides like only a few other frames. It's just "right". His modern frames I cannot comment on.

Picchio Special

No arguing against it, ATMO.

j. hughes

(from the pic above) GITA Sporting Goods Limited, sole NA distributor in Charlotte? Anyone know anything about GITA? Still in business?

Nevermind, #1 google hit: https://www.gitabike.com/

Apparently they've been exclusive importers of some sweet brand names right under my nose all this time.
and apparently I missed an opportunity to meet Eddy May 1st in Charlotte, less than 2 miles from my parents house.

longbeachgary

For me the bike does what it's supposed to do, it does what I ask it to do and in the grand scheme of things, they are really nicely priced. When I bought my first Merckx, I looked for a bike that was rugged, tough and could survive the city. I like the fact that the world's greatest racer designed my frame and maybe - JUST MAYBE - he may have picked it up, looked it over and did some quality control on it. Is it the lightest - no, is it the most technologicaly advanced - no but it sure is pretty.

The new em-3 is $2600 for the frame, fork and seatpost. You get a bike that although not made by Eddy, it certainly was designed by him.

merckx_rider

Arguably the greatest rider/racer ever, Eddy Merckx is considered a genius when it comes to frame design and building. His steel bikes were used in the TDF and European races as a mainstay. Today his frames are still used around the world in competitive events.
And yes they ARE magical!!

His site URL:
https://www.eddymerckx.be/

Old Fat Guy

I would just like to add, I know someone that lives in Axel Merckx's town, and Eddy visits, getting ready to move there.

On occasion he runs into them on the road.

Eddy can still kick serious rear.

repechage

Merckx's had initially what was termed in marketing parlance "Century" geometry, which translated into a solid road bike that one could ride all day, descended well and was predictable. His designs basically placed a slightly longer top tube than others for a given size which got longer relatively to the majority of 80's Italian bikes which got shorter.

There is no magic, but I think his early licensing while he was still racing probably made him more careful to insure the quality stayed consistent and at a solid level when he was running the show. His firm did make the leap to the modern stuff, which while not my taste, I applaud him on not being stuck to a material or manufacturing method. Too bad now that he has sold the business that the steel lugged frames have gone away.

Unless the new owners embrace offshore (read Asian) production, Merckx bikes will probably keep the mystique.

ricohman

Has he now sold his factory?
I read a while ago that he had no buyers and was selling the majority of his shares and would retire.
Did someone buy the factory?

Peter_B

Regarding this comment "Eddy had the sense to do things right if his name was going on them," does this applies to the early Eddy Merckx bikes which were made by Falcon. see https://www.bikebrothers.co.uk/falconeddy.htm and https://www.kichline.com/chuck/bikes/merckx/default.htm

frpax

Back in the late '80s and early '90s, I used to race with a guy that had a Merckx Corsa Extra. I had a Pinarello Treviso. Both were made of Columbus steel. The Merckx was SLX; mine was SL. The Merckx was a 53cm & the Pinarello was a 54cm. He and I trained a lot together and would, on several occassions, trade bikes. Both handled extremely well. The Pinarello turned quicker (slightly), and the Merckx had a stiffer BB (SLX). Other than that, they were both very similar. Neither bike gave either one of us any advantage over the other, that we didn't already have within ourselves. He envied my Pinarello, and I envied his Merckx... but neither of us would have traded the other...

Exit.

I know several serious racers who ride the new Merckx carbon frames, they're apparently every bit as good as his steel frames were back when they were used in racing.

unterhausen

After having worked on a lot of those bikes and even sold a few, I always thought Merckx was extremely lucky people forgave him for those bikes. There were some top end Falcons that were good, but the low end was junk. Up until he started his own factory, his name as on an assortment of generally awful bikes.

Picchio Special

The Kessels ones are on balance much better than the Falcon-built ones. Of course, Kessels built quite a few of Eddy's actual race bikes. The Falcon deal may have taught Eddy some valuable lessons about the licensing of his name. I'm not sure he had much, if any, control over what Falcon produced, once he signed over use of his name.

vjp

From what I understand, the Eddy Merckx bicycle company under Belgian business law HAS to remain in Belgium and keep the current employees. That would mean that they still have the ability to do a steel bike in house. If they only did a Molteni, Faema , 7 Eleven and Motorola replica they would do a good business I would think, or maybe just a MAX bike....

vjp

Old Fat Guy

There are no more MAX lugs, from my understanding.

gr23932

That is true. Also, while I was on my tour at the factory, I asked if they had any "old steel" frame sets" left for sale. They did but not in my size, but I was told that if I really liked and wanted a steel bike, I should maybe wait till next year.......... Nothing confirmed just a glimpse of hope.