Well, I guess you know more about these things than I do. Romani was a good frame-builder who worked for other manufacturers as well. There was Taverna (Vetta). Basso, to my knowledge, made the frames that were sold as "Cesare M." by Brügelmann in Germany. De Rosa had a subcontractor, I think. Chirico worked for Cinelli. Battaglin? Gozzi? And, since we are talking about aluminium, ALAN frames were sold under different labels, too, e. g., in Switzerland.

"The German trace"...?

"German trace" is a guy from a German forum, a man definitely in the industry - he traded EMC alu frames and claims they were made by Faggin; I think they only came from the same source - there was a card hanging on the place of honour in Faggin's office with "heartfelt thanks from Eddy Merckx", that's for sure :)
Only the actual manufacturers of the alu frames are relevant (the steel ones were made in Meise)
ALAN is "suspicious" but not convincing.
EMC worked with ALAN in the Donnay "carbon operation" (91/92), ALAN may have been a subcontractor for Hagan (EMC had the Titanal model on offer) and certainly EMC was buying alu fork from ALAN for their alu frames.
In these circumstances, EMC did not need Faggin's intermediation in establishing a business relationship with ALAN - simple as that.
We are looking for a large factory guaranteeing very high quality (95 - 99 years)
During this period EMC had alu:
- Alu Oria
- Alu Columbus
- Alu Mega
- Alu Carbon
- Alu Sprint
- Alu Team
- Cima 2000
- Flyer
- Trekking
Not bad
Any lead on a major Italian manufacturer of alu frames from this period - a real manufacturer, without rebranding - is valuable and will be carefully followed up :)

Hello all and Jacek,

gonna need your knowledge about this EM, is it MX Leader? And what is the name of the paintjob on this one. Probably after 95? Judging from the headtube cable guide. The serial number is L 8530 (i guess?)
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...91f2aa7953.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c272e76850.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...dc9009626c.jpg

Thanks in advance!

F8630 - Mx Leader 1995
The paint scheme is the M9 variant used 1998-1999
Headtube cable guide introduced in 1992

Why are you convinced the alu frames came from Italy?

So said the man who should know - Eddy Merckx

What an awesome frame. I have always loved the Hitachi livery. Great find. If she ever grows tired of that one, please let me know.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I just picked up this beauty, I "think" its a a 90-91 corsa extra? Has slx tubing decal.
Serial is H C
5507
Has a couple werid things, no chrome, top tube cable route vs internal, Clamp on derailuer instead of braze on, no pump boss or chain hanger, but number holder. Just really excited to bring it back to former glory.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...54b24889a7.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d2926a2f77.jpg

H C5507 - frame built in early 1991
...and this is all the information :)
At that time there was an obsessive watch for "technical markings", if it was an SLX it would be marked X, if it was a Corsa it would appear C
Lack of markings suggests either Reynolds 753 or a custom built frame (e.g. for profi team) - there are worse alternatives :)
If you want to get to the next information you have to disassemble the bike:
- check how the ends of the tubes visible through the BB cover look like (photo)
- what the inside of the steering tube looks like (photo)
- what are the markings on the steering tube, especially the card (if it survived)...(photos)
Nice colour btw.

Not so interested in dating as much as decals . . . ?
 

I'm in the process of having an old frame repainted, and have been trying to find replacement decals that match the set I have. Would be interested if anyone knows anything about the subject. Not totally obsessed with originality (actually considering Molteni orange as I also have my '82 Alan which is also "silver"), but curious as to why this image doesn't seem to appear on any other frames.

Bottom Bracket: 6 cutouts, single hole in center, cables over top. P4 8965E – seems to point to 1984? Was always told it was 65.5 CM (but never measured), so 4 doesn't make sense per guidelines.

Frame is Fiat/C&A livery, no tubing (Columbus, etc.) decals, cables over BB, 3 top tube cable guides, cube rear brake bridge, EM seat stay logo . . .

The mystery - most of the frames from this period, that have the yellow blockish type on blue ground decal on the downtube, have an image of Eddy either with big hair and he fills the image OR where he is smaller and there is a white line that comes off of his right shoulder (left side of image). Mine is him in a white jersey with striped collar (Molteni? Faema?) and he's up against a brick wall. He has a strange look on his face, and it looks to be late 60s Eddy - like 68, 69? I can't find the source image - much less a decal. Strange.

First post - have no idea of etiquette/process/chances of response; but appreciate any help that might be out there. (quick update - didn't know that one can't post images until more seasoned . . . images described above.)

Thanks

You have a Team Issue frame, with the rarest paint job and largest series size.
65.5 measured centre-top = 64 measured centre-centre
Columbus SP/SL tubes
Merckx photo - study in progress

Such a thing?


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5dbc70e4a7.jpg

Found on the original Team Issue version Faema

That's the one - couldn't find it anywhere!

As to the "rarest paint job", why were there so few of the Fiat/C&A colors?

Appreciate the information.

Because it was the least popular and recognizable, used for only 1 season towards the end of Merckx's career.
FAEMA (3 seasons) and Molteni (6 seasons) are a different story, EMC painted them by the thousands :)

Thanks Jacek! I didn't even can read the F letter, thought its an L.

anyway, I found the front derailleur hanger a bit odd, i guess its repaired previously? If its repaired, would it be easy to braze the original fd hanger? Is it hard to find the hanger?
​​​​
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...af1a1b7e33.jpg

F Series - 94/95
G Series - 96/98
H Series - 98/2000
L Series - 2004/2006 !
Paint scheme used 98/99
I see F, you see L, and ideally H would fit :)
A better photo would help...
FD mounting is not factory EMC mount - similar solutions were used on alu frames.
If I had to find original FD mounting I would look for "wrecked" frame at scrap price - if shipping cost would not be high (by the way you could recover other parts and sell them - that would reduce costs).
I have never looked for original EMC frame parts

May I put forward an alternative theory? Given this frame has a number hanger, is it possible this was built with no braze on derailleur hanger? I know that at times certain team frames (TM) in this era ran a clamp on front derailleur. My theory is that the front derailleur mount was added later when it got it's green colours. Are there any markings on the opposite side of the bottom bracket shell, size, letter H maybe?

great
info

FD with clamp was used - as it seems to me - only with ST 28,6 (SLX,TSX,753).
So far I have seen oversize tubes (and Mxl is besides ovalised) only with FD mounting - but your theory is possible (although not confirmable), just that a customer at EMC requested a frame without FD mounting and that's what he got :)

Yet again, fact wins over theory :thumb: It did give me a good reason to find my MXL frameset and have a detailed look in that area. Even at that height above the bottom bracket it's still quite oval. As always, continuing thanks for your excellent work .

Thanks for your input. May I ask what team ran a clamp on FD with a green MXL?

I asked for another photo of the BB, though my eye can't see any letter on the left side. Probably you guys have better eye than me 😂

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...faed0edb4e.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f4496395a4.jpg

And this is the fd hanger. Looks fine though, the seller also informs it works perfectly. Might be an issue for purist, but I'll take this frame for the function and performance.

Anyway anyone here know if this green is a repaint? Found some similar paintjob with red and blue color, but never find this paintjob with green color

F8630 - frame built in 1995
M9 - 98/99 design
Frame probably repainted in EMC

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f032129913.jpg

Identical main color was found on Team Collstrop 1999 frames (paint code M9G), but:
- your frame used white as an additional color (Collstrop used yellow)
- Alu Team frames were already used in 1999.

Hi all,

I wanted to post about my frame I can't include photos there is an A and an O or 0 on one side, z3508 on the other. Guessing the 0 must be a C making it a 34 35 corsa probably in SL but it is definitely 0 or O.

Thanks very much,
Mike

So… is “D1” good?
 

I am purchasing my first Eddy Merckx. It is a team weinmann and the stamping on the bottom has just a D on the left, and D1 on the right. This seems… cool?

A0 Z3508 - this could be a Professional, Pro or 3-Athlete from 1985.
Take a look at BigSourcEMerCkx, compare the frame components and provide the symbols here - we'll figure something out.
D D1 - mega cool, but I've never seen such a low number (in this series) - definitely could use a photo...
Do you know what model it is?

I'm still in "newbie" status so I don't think I can post pics, but I'll try to message and send some direct.

Thankyou so much for your reply. So it is badged corsa on the top tube, but has the zinc corrosion proof etc sticker which only later frames have? Has the curved rear dropout branded merckx and the short tube behind the bb shell between the two stays looks like 3 athlete. It's metallic grey by the way, exact same as some other frames on your thread. A re sprayed 3 athlete? It has no tubing sticker. It's a 60cm frame so that's the 0 and A must be the worker code letter? Can't believe it's 501?! Doesn't feel heavy and pretty sure has a 27 or 27.2 seat post.

Chaliapin: be sure to check if the lugs have "cut-outs" or "windows".
Try to see if there is any information on the steering tube.
The frame is repainted, but the new Corsa lettering appeared on the Professional model - I haven't seen it on the 3-Athlete yet.

cjs9 - unfortunately I didn't get anything, search the forum: smart people can post pics faster (but I don't know how)

Great thanks, it has cut outs/ windows labelled in your guide as 3 athlete/ early corsa. Can't get at the steering tube at the moment.