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New friend: Merckx Motorola Corsa

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New friend: Merckx Motorola Corsa

Old 05-20-12, 06:47 PM
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New friend: Merckx Motorola Corsa

Happy Sunday, all. I know some of you have been waiting patiently for these pictures for a couple weeks now ...So here they are.

I picked up this bike from my coworker about 3 weeks ago. He gave me an excellent deal on it, so I happily picked it up from his studio, handed over a check and rode away on my first brifter bike. First time, in fact, with high-quality non-japanese components!

Soon after, I discovered that the 8-sp Campy 'mix' happened to involve a post-2001 9-sp Veloce RD -- although it shifted fine over most of the cassette I knew I didn't want to keep it like that. I took the opportunity to justify a new wheelset, a change to my favorite performance tire, a couple fit-related changes, and some cosmetic ones as well!

The result is a far more functional bike that fits perfectly and which I can see myself riding long, long into the future. I seem to get an offer to sell or trade for a fancy Colnago every time I go out on it, but it's definitely not leaving!



Here's an overview of the changes I've made in the past couple weeks:

First, a swift change to a Mavic Cosmic wheelset would have been more complicated if it weren't for RobbieTunes having come to the rescue with Shimano-to-Campy spacers for me. He even threw in a cassette - thanks, Robbie!





Buldogge promptly sold me an 8-sp Record RD to complete the drivetrain overhaul.


I also continued my apparent quest to rid DrilliumDude of all his titanium Flites and bought another for this bike. Then supplies were ordered for a brand new cockpit.



And the transformation began...



Then after much fiddling, and a trip to LBS to get the hanger re-aligned, here it is earlier today in Brooklyn, down the street from my studio:




Last edited by whatwolf; 05-20-12 at 07:11 PM. Reason: pics
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Old 05-20-12, 06:47 PM
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Parts overview:

- Frameset: 54cm 1991* Merckx Corsa, Motorola Team livery
- Crankset, Shifters, Brakes, Headset: Athena
- FD: Veloce
- RD: Record 8-sp (thanks, Mark!)
- Wheels: Mavic Cosmic Expert / Dura-Ace 12-21 (thanks, Robbie!)
- Seatpost: Primax w/ white accents (thanks, Kurt!)
- Saddle: Flite Ti (thanks, Jeff!)
- Stem: 90mm Cinelli 1A (new, reissue)
- Bars: 38cm Soma Highway One
- Pedals: Speedplay

*Not totally sure on year.


















Last edited by whatwolf; 05-20-12 at 07:06 PM.
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Old 05-20-12, 07:04 PM
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A bike that has always interested me. When I was recruited by Motorola in 1996, I joking attempted to negotiate being the legal counsel for the Mot cycling team, which would require me to spend 3 weeks at the Tour every summer. I believe mot ended its sponsorship that year.
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Old 05-20-12, 07:05 PM
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Sounds like your love!! I can't wait to hear how it rides.


Shimano to Campi spacers? I need to look into these more, as I am dying to get a pair of Ticino hubs.
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Old 05-20-12, 07:38 PM
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Thanks RFC & BG -- the ride is great! Haven't had time to take it out properly but it has a very nice, confidence-inspiring feel to it. Corners very well.

BG, yep, these are spacers designed to convert shimano cassettes for campy shifting, wheels mfg has some available.
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Old 05-20-12, 07:49 PM
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You know that feeling you get when your parts just seem to find the right bike?

This is one of those times. Why am I not surprised that cudak888, buldogge and Drillium Dude are involved?

Great bike, ma'am.

Last edited by RobbieTunes; 05-20-12 at 07:55 PM.
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Old 05-20-12, 08:03 PM
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Originally Posted by RobbieTunes
You know that feeling you get when your parts just seem to find the right bike?

This is one of those times. Why am I not surprised that cudak888, buldogge and Drillium Dude are involved?

Great bike, ma'am.
Thank you. This one was a team effort!

Looks like I was so excited to get out and take pics that I forgot to clean my fingerprints off the downtube from pulling the cable to adjust the RD
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Old 05-20-12, 09:29 PM
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Glad it worked out.

Looks great...even if it does have Shimano DT adjusters!
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Old 05-20-12, 10:32 PM
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Good job, and I actually like the way those wheels look on that bike.
Good thing you were able to fine-tune the indexing, and hoping the chain is a good one.
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Old 05-20-12, 11:03 PM
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Originally Posted by RobbieTunes
You know that feeling you get when your parts just seem to find the right bike?

This is one of those times. Why am I not surprised that cudak888, buldogge and Drillium Dude are involved?
Robbie, you forgot to add yourself to that list; I seem to recall not a little help coming from your direction regarding my 8-speed experiment

Sofia, the bike looks beautiful and sounds as though it'll be a great performer, too. You got the color combination down perfectly - even the seatpost takes the theme to a higher level. And the photography of the subject captures it just right (fingerprints and all). And those Mavic Cosmics - sexy! Now I know with what wheelset I'll be upgrading my Davidson.

I'm looking forward to a ride report, too.

Enjoy in good health!

DD

Last edited by Drillium Dude; 05-21-12 at 05:28 PM.
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Old 05-21-12, 07:02 AM
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Beautiful!!
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Old 05-29-12, 08:24 PM
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That is just one fantastic bike. I especially like that you included close ups of the details. It is truly unique. Every Motorola color Merckx that I've seen has the new style lettering and the sloping fork crown. Simply wonderful. Thanks for posting.

Also, it says "'Corsa" on the gold tag. Is it SL tubing?
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Old 05-29-12, 08:45 PM
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Awesome bike. Looks great. A merckx is on my list one day.

Pb
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Old 05-29-12, 09:05 PM
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Originally Posted by longbeachgary
That is just one fantastic bike. I especially like that you included close ups of the details. It is truly unique. Every Motorola color Merckx that I've seen has the new style lettering and the sloping fork crown. Simply wonderful. Thanks for posting.

Also, it says "'Corsa" on the gold tag. Is it SL tubing?
Thank you! I have not come across another one similar, either.

It does say Corsa on the TT. I believe it to be SL but there are no tubing stickers.
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