Decoding of Eddy Merckx frames
07-24-23 | 01:58 PM
#951
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From: Devon, England
Bikes: '16 La Francaise Diamant, '38 Raleigh RRA, '47 Raleigh RRA, '50 Claud Butler Avant Coureur, '65 PX10, '75 PY10, '79 Colnago Export, '82 Eddy Merckx Pro, '94 Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra Team Motorola
That serial number is close to some 7-11 team bike frames according to Jacek's register of serial numbers, maybe so!
07-24-23 | 02:02 PM
#952
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Bikes: '69 Raleigh Sports '72 Cinelli Super Corsa '78 Motobecane Le Champion '84 Schwinn High Sierra '85 Trek 830 '88 Merckx Team ADR Corsa Extra
Seller posted about it on the FB Merckx Owners group and left it pretty ambiguous. Was just curious if there was some definitive way to identify the team bikes. Like you said, it's not a bad price either way.
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07-24-23 | 04:42 PM
#953
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Bikes: Merz x 5 + Specialized Merz Allez x 2, Strawberry/Newlands/DiNucci/Ti x3, Gordon, Fuso/Moulton x2, Bornstein, Paisley,1958-74 Paramounts x3, 3rensho, 74 Moto TC, 73-78 Raleigh Pro's x5, Marinoni x2, 1960 Cinelli SC, 1980 Bianchi SC, PX-10 X 2
07-24-23 | 04:46 PM
#954
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Bikes: Merz x 5 + Specialized Merz Allez x 2, Strawberry/Newlands/DiNucci/Ti x3, Gordon, Fuso/Moulton x2, Bornstein, Paisley,1958-74 Paramounts x3, 3rensho, 74 Moto TC, 73-78 Raleigh Pro's x5, Marinoni x2, 1960 Cinelli SC, 1980 Bianchi SC, PX-10 X 2
07-24-23 | 04:49 PM
#955
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From: Chicago
Bikes: '69 Raleigh Sports '72 Cinelli Super Corsa '78 Motobecane Le Champion '84 Schwinn High Sierra '85 Trek 830 '88 Merckx Team ADR Corsa Extra
07-24-23 | 05:02 PM
#956
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Bikes: Merz x 5 + Specialized Merz Allez x 2, Strawberry/Newlands/DiNucci/Ti x3, Gordon, Fuso/Moulton x2, Bornstein, Paisley,1958-74 Paramounts x3, 3rensho, 74 Moto TC, 73-78 Raleigh Pro's x5, Marinoni x2, 1960 Cinelli SC, 1980 Bianchi SC, PX-10 X 2
07-24-23 | 05:42 PM
#957
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From: Chicago
Bikes: '69 Raleigh Sports '72 Cinelli Super Corsa '78 Motobecane Le Champion '84 Schwinn High Sierra '85 Trek 830 '88 Merckx Team ADR Corsa Extra
07-24-23 | 06:25 PM
#958
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From: Chicago
Bikes: '69 Raleigh Sports '72 Cinelli Super Corsa '78 Motobecane Le Champion '84 Schwinn High Sierra '85 Trek 830 '88 Merckx Team ADR Corsa Extra
07-24-23 | 09:43 PM
#959
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Bikes: Merz x 5 + Specialized Merz Allez x 2, Strawberry/Newlands/DiNucci/Ti x3, Gordon, Fuso/Moulton x2, Bornstein, Paisley,1958-74 Paramounts x3, 3rensho, 74 Moto TC, 73-78 Raleigh Pro's x5, Marinoni x2, 1960 Cinelli SC, 1980 Bianchi SC, PX-10 X 2
Yep, at the bottom, not that it would stop me had I the means, price and distance would make it a very heavy lift, damnit Jim. 
I missed a cheap, nice reissue like this awhile back, now I will have to be double kicking myself, glad I have a couple of cool EM's that will have to hold me for now.
I missed a cheap, nice reissue like this awhile back, now I will have to be double kicking myself, glad I have a couple of cool EM's that will have to hold me for now.
07-24-23 | 11:43 PM
#960
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From: Chicago
Bikes: '69 Raleigh Sports '72 Cinelli Super Corsa '78 Motobecane Le Champion '84 Schwinn High Sierra '85 Trek 830 '88 Merckx Team ADR Corsa Extra
Yep, at the bottom, not that it would stop me had I the means, price and distance would make it a very heavy lift, damnit Jim.
I missed a cheap, nice reissue like this awhile back, now I will have to be double kicking myself, glad I have a couple of cool EM's that will have to hold me for now.
I missed a cheap, nice reissue like this awhile back, now I will have to be double kicking myself, glad I have a couple of cool EM's that will have to hold me for now.
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07-24-23 | 11:53 PM
#961
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From: PDX
Bikes: Merz x 5 + Specialized Merz Allez x 2, Strawberry/Newlands/DiNucci/Ti x3, Gordon, Fuso/Moulton x2, Bornstein, Paisley,1958-74 Paramounts x3, 3rensho, 74 Moto TC, 73-78 Raleigh Pro's x5, Marinoni x2, 1960 Cinelli SC, 1980 Bianchi SC, PX-10 X 2
07-25-23 | 12:22 AM
#962
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Team Weinmann 1991 "camo" (and I see it - "pink bottom") could not appear until late autumn 1990 - the trouble is that the designation of your frame is 1989 ... someone in EMC was clairvoyant or the frame was repainted ; you can not see any model / tube markings - for TSX it should be TT, for SLX - X. There is one more option: someone instead of C chose B (I saw at least once the frame marked in such a wrong way). Show more pictures, it is rather over-painting (perhaps at EMC factory - they did this often to the order of customers who wanted to "upgrade camo".
07-25-23 | 02:41 AM
#963
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Bonjour, je suis à la recherche de la date et la qualité de l'acier de mon vélo eddy merckx, si vous pouviez m'éclairer cela serait génial, je pense qu'il est de 1986 mais la déco ne correspond pas, l'inscription et à gauche A38, à droite Z 8032 peut être un vélo repeint, dans l'attente de vous lire un grand merci d'avance, désolé je ne suis pas autorisé à vous joindre des photos
. Petites infos supplémentaires , le vélo est vert foncé avec la décoration du mx leader, le vélo est peint complètement pas de chrome, sur la fourche le logo eddy merckx et 2 barres obliques surmontées d'un point, les pattes de roues avant et arrières sont des campagnolo j'espère avoir été assez précis
Bonjour, je recherche la date et la qualité de l'acier de mon vélo eddy merckx, si vous pouviez m'éclairer ce serait super, je pense qu'il est de 1986 mais la décoration ne correspond pas, l'inscription et à gauche A38, à droite Z 8032 peut être un vélo repeint, en attendant de vous lire un grand merci d'avance, désolé je n'ai pas le droit de joindre des photos
. Petite info complémentaire, le vélo est vert foncé avec la déco du mx leader, le vélo est peint totalement no chrome, sur la fourche le logo eddy merckx et 2 slash surmontés d'un point, les pattes de roue avant et arrière sont campagnolo j'espère avoir été
assez
. Petites infos supplémentaires , le vélo est vert foncé avec la décoration du mx leader, le vélo est peint complètement pas de chrome, sur la fourche le logo eddy merckx et 2 barres obliques surmontées d'un point, les pattes de roues avant et arrières sont des campagnolo j'espère avoir été assez précis
Bonjour, je recherche la date et la qualité de l'acier de mon vélo eddy merckx, si vous pouviez m'éclairer ce serait super, je pense qu'il est de 1986 mais la décoration ne correspond pas, l'inscription et à gauche A38, à droite Z 8032 peut être un vélo repeint, en attendant de vous lire un grand merci d'avance, désolé je n'ai pas le droit de joindre des photos
. Petite info complémentaire, le vélo est vert foncé avec la déco du mx leader, le vélo est peint totalement no chrome, sur la fourche le logo eddy merckx et 2 slash surmontés d'un point, les pattes de roue avant et arrière sont campagnolo j'espère avoir été
assez
07-25-23 | 02:44 AM
#964
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From: Devon, England
Bikes: '16 La Francaise Diamant, '38 Raleigh RRA, '47 Raleigh RRA, '50 Claud Butler Avant Coureur, '65 PX10, '75 PY10, '79 Colnago Export, '82 Eddy Merckx Pro, '94 Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra Team Motorola
07-25-23 | 03:09 AM
#965
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CyclesMakaron , I was a bit confused by one of your earlier posts where you said that a code meant that a Corsa Extra had Century geometry. There's a very good chance I misunderstood or read a faulty source, but I thought I'd read somewhere that there Eddy Merckx bikes of that era had 1 of 2 geometries: either the more relaxed century or the more aggressive road race and that the Corsa Extra (and later the Max) had the road race geometry and most other models like the Professional had the century geometry. I'd also thought that I had read that the main difference between the Titanium EX and AX in the 2nd half of the 90's was that the EX had road race geometry while the AX had century.
Am I misunderstanding or misremembering what I read? Could any of the bikes have either of the geometries? Were there more than 2 geometry options?
Am I misunderstanding or misremembering what I read? Could any of the bikes have either of the geometries? Were there more than 2 geometry options?
- the original geometry (aggressive) of EMC bicycles is "road racing geo", all frames built before the Century model have it (except Criterium - that is, more or less until the summer of 1988).
- Century model introduced a new geometry (relax) that is just "century geo", it was used as the only one in Century models (653 and TSX), Corsa Extra Max, Mx Leader, Arcobaleno, Corsa Thron, Corsa 01, Strada OS and titanium AX, EX, Titane EM and early alu.
- unusual frames are: Strada produced until 1996 exclusively in "road racing geo" and Corsa Extra (SLX) and Corsa (SL), which were built in both geometries! Hence, the X and C markings apply to "road racing geo," and the XB and CB markings apply to "century geo."
Reynolds tubular frames did not have markings distinguishing the geometry, but all indications are that the Grand Prix model had a "road racing geo", there were Corsa Extra 653 (same geometry) - I have not found a Corsa 531 in this geometry so far (the marking should look like this: CRB).
- the biggest difference between the AX and EX is the use of profiled tubes in the latter. I don't think the AX used any Ti 6/4 parts, while the EX had BB covers and fork/dropouts.
07-25-23 | 03:19 AM
#966
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07-25-23 | 03:40 AM
#967
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purchased as refurbished Team Gan Corsa. Whilst cleaning and preparing to touch up paint, I noticed the E 3380 number and decided to fully restore to a Professional model. Whilst stripping paint, I noticed the Reynolds stamping on tubes. Weighing in at 1800kg, I suspected 531SL which was confirmed by Reynolds expert. (not 753 as the frame was brass not silver brazed). You can see where the original cable guides had been removed from the top of bb. Having recently discovered a "9"stamped on the steering column and a Columbus dove stamp, I suspect the forks are not original. The seat tube measures 57.5 ctc and 55.5 ctc top tube.
E3380, a beautiful Professional was built in 1981 - standard frames made of 531 tubing had an R marking and a frame size marking, in this case it should be A7R (the lack of a set of markings may indicate unusual geometry).
I saw 531SL stickers only on 2 EMC frames, the others were standard 531 (fork stickers were not used - except for team frames). Somewhere around 1994 the owner decided to "upgrade" the frame: all the old slides (BB cover and TT) were removed and replaced with new ones (TT and head lug).
Great job!
07-25-23 | 03:51 AM
#968
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Joined: Jul 2023
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From: Devon, England
Bikes: '16 La Francaise Diamant, '38 Raleigh RRA, '47 Raleigh RRA, '50 Claud Butler Avant Coureur, '65 PX10, '75 PY10, '79 Colnago Export, '82 Eddy Merckx Pro, '94 Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra Team Motorola
This frame has a story
E3380, a beautiful Professional was built in 1981 - standard frames made of 531 tubing had an R marking and a frame size marking, in this case it should be A7R (the lack of a set of markings may indicate unusual geometry).
I saw 531SL stickers only on 2 EMC frames, the others were standard 531 (fork stickers were not used - except for team frames). Somewhere around 1994 the owner decided to "upgrade" the frame: all the old slides (BB cover and TT) were removed and replaced with new ones (TT and head lug).
Great job!
E3380, a beautiful Professional was built in 1981 - standard frames made of 531 tubing had an R marking and a frame size marking, in this case it should be A7R (the lack of a set of markings may indicate unusual geometry).
I saw 531SL stickers only on 2 EMC frames, the others were standard 531 (fork stickers were not used - except for team frames). Somewhere around 1994 the owner decided to "upgrade" the frame: all the old slides (BB cover and TT) were removed and replaced with new ones (TT and head lug).
Great job!
07-25-23 | 06:41 AM
#969
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From: Louisville, KY
OK, one step at a time:
- the original geometry (aggressive) of EMC bicycles is "road racing geo", all frames built before the Century model have it (except Criterium - that is, more or less until the summer of 1988).
- Century model introduced a new geometry (relax) that is just "century geo", it was used as the only one in Century models (653 and TSX), Corsa Extra Max, Mx Leader, Arcobaleno, Corsa Thron, Corsa 01, Strada OS and titanium AX, EX, Titane EM and early alu.
- unusual frames are: Strada produced until 1996 exclusively in "road racing geo" and Corsa Extra (SLX) and Corsa (SL), which were built in both geometries! Hence, the X and C markings apply to "road racing geo," and the XB and CB markings apply to "century geo."
Reynolds tubular frames did not have markings distinguishing the geometry, but all indications are that the Grand Prix model had a "road racing geo", there were Corsa Extra 653 (same geometry) - I have not found a Corsa 531 in this geometry so far (the marking should look like this: CRB).
- the biggest difference between the AX and EX is the use of profiled tubes in the latter. I don't think the AX used any Ti 6/4 parts, while the EX had BB covers and fork/dropouts.
- the original geometry (aggressive) of EMC bicycles is "road racing geo", all frames built before the Century model have it (except Criterium - that is, more or less until the summer of 1988).
- Century model introduced a new geometry (relax) that is just "century geo", it was used as the only one in Century models (653 and TSX), Corsa Extra Max, Mx Leader, Arcobaleno, Corsa Thron, Corsa 01, Strada OS and titanium AX, EX, Titane EM and early alu.
- unusual frames are: Strada produced until 1996 exclusively in "road racing geo" and Corsa Extra (SLX) and Corsa (SL), which were built in both geometries! Hence, the X and C markings apply to "road racing geo," and the XB and CB markings apply to "century geo."
Reynolds tubular frames did not have markings distinguishing the geometry, but all indications are that the Grand Prix model had a "road racing geo", there were Corsa Extra 653 (same geometry) - I have not found a Corsa 531 in this geometry so far (the marking should look like this: CRB).
- the biggest difference between the AX and EX is the use of profiled tubes in the latter. I don't think the AX used any Ti 6/4 parts, while the EX had BB covers and fork/dropouts.
I wonder why Eddy decided to switch all of his bikes from a more aggressive to a more relaxed geometry all at once rather than having some of one and others of the other. He must have decided that the more relaxed was better for racing if he put that on the Corsa Extra and Max Leader bikes.
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Bikes: 1996 Eddy Merckx Titanium EX, 1989/90 Colnago Super(issimo?) Piu(?),1990 Concorde Aquila(hit by car while riding), others in build queue "when I get the time"
Bikes: 1996 Eddy Merckx Titanium EX, 1989/90 Colnago Super(issimo?) Piu(?),
07-25-23 | 07:23 AM
#971
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Et le boitier de pédalier correspond bien à une fabrication 1984 1986
Bien à vous
07-25-23 | 08:46 AM
#972
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From: Chicago
Bikes: '69 Raleigh Sports '72 Cinelli Super Corsa '78 Motobecane Le Champion '84 Schwinn High Sierra '85 Trek 830 '88 Merckx Team ADR Corsa Extra
07-25-23 | 09:50 AM
#973
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From: Chicago
Bikes: '69 Raleigh Sports '72 Cinelli Super Corsa '78 Motobecane Le Champion '84 Schwinn High Sierra '85 Trek 830 '88 Merckx Team ADR Corsa Extra
07-25-23 | 12:19 PM
#974
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Bikes: Santana Sovereign Tandem, Five Rings Carbon, Lemond Alpe d'Huez, Miele Latina, Hercules Tourist, Mercian Super Tourist Tandem, Birdy BD-1, Duell Solo, Jack Taylor Marathon Tandem, Raleigh RSW-16, DL-1, and Superbe
Early 80s Merckx of unknown provenance
Hi Jacek,
Thank you for your efforts and all of the information you've been providing. It's much appreciated.
I picked up this bike not long ago and know little to nothing about it. Any information you can provide would be great.
I haven't yet removed the forks to check the steerer tube, but I was told the bike was repainted at the factory long ago (not sure if that's accurate). The paint was also recently touched up before I acquired it. Part of that involved repairing some rust, unfortunately on the bottom bracket, which obscured the serial and associated marks. I managed to get the previous owner to provide me with a photo of the bottom bracket prior to that, which allows them to be a little easier to see (but not much).
Thanks in advance for your (or anyones) opinions on this bike.
Thank you for your efforts and all of the information you've been providing. It's much appreciated.
I picked up this bike not long ago and know little to nothing about it. Any information you can provide would be great.
I haven't yet removed the forks to check the steerer tube, but I was told the bike was repainted at the factory long ago (not sure if that's accurate). The paint was also recently touched up before I acquired it. Part of that involved repairing some rust, unfortunately on the bottom bracket, which obscured the serial and associated marks. I managed to get the previous owner to provide me with a photo of the bottom bracket prior to that, which allows them to be a little easier to see (but not much).
Thanks in advance for your (or anyones) opinions on this bike.
07-25-23 | 12:37 PM
#975
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From: PDX
Bikes: Merz x 5 + Specialized Merz Allez x 2, Strawberry/Newlands/DiNucci/Ti x3, Gordon, Fuso/Moulton x2, Bornstein, Paisley,1958-74 Paramounts x3, 3rensho, 74 Moto TC, 73-78 Raleigh Pro's x5, Marinoni x2, 1960 Cinelli SC, 1980 Bianchi SC, PX-10 X 2