Best advice I can give you on the Columbus decal…

gently remove it

clean the area

buy new one just like it

waterslide it in place.

stunning bike. Very jealous.

Thanks Robvolz

Yes - I’ve been thinking about whether to do that

I’m just hesitating because the time-warp original thing is blowing me away at the moment and I don’t want to break the spell

Silly really. Doubtless I’ll end up doing that, but I’m thinking maybe I can soak it off, re-constitute it on a clear piece of double-sided sticky vinyl, and put it back on.

Over-thinking it for sure but there are worse problems to have

Agonizimg over the 20mm tyres as well. I’ve been riding 30’s and bigger for a while now (and I love them) but I’d forgotten how slender and elegant those old rubber bands look on a frame like this

Decisons, decisions….

All advice/suggestions etc very welcome from all

Personally I’d remove the tyres and inspect them, the tubes and the rim tape before riding them. That may be enough to demonstrate that riding them was not the best idea…

Failing that inflate them both to 125psi and see if they survive the night before a morning ride.

Also, great classic race bicycle in a fantastic original colour. Looks amazing.

Ho ho - that was very delicately put, Seagrade. Sound advice, and it made me chuckle.

We're thinking along the same lines, although I'd decided to do it the other way round. Pumped them up to 120 two nights ago. Amazingly, still holding. Not that that suggests that they are even remotely safe at any speed obviously.

Come to think of it - can anyone suggest what the recommended pressure would have been back in the day? I'm 73kg, 5'10". I've never pumped anything up past 120, and even that seems like quite a long time ago now. I've read vague references to 130, even 140 psi. Yikes.

I've given up on the idea of keeping them on and riding on them permanently - clearly they are on their last legs at best.

It's mainly because I want to know how that bike feels on tarmac on skinny tires, given that it's been so long that I rode anything set up like that. If it's not crazy uncomfortable, I may see if I can find a current manufacturer of tan-walled rubber bands, just to keep it a bit more period correct. It's not as if I'm currently planning any centuries on it, and I can always get a set of 32mm's to put on it if that day comes.

I recall Pariba tyres but not their recommended pressures. Many 20/22mm tyres in the 80s/90s used 105psi as the recommended pressure, and from memory a few went to 115 (Specialized Turbo?) or 120psi recommendations. 105 and 120 are both just over 7 and 8 atmospheres respectively.

In practice, of course, many people went higher, especially for tubulars, and boasted of 140-plus psi.

Personally I ran c. 105psi for training clinchers, and for racing tubulars on wet days, and 120psi for tubulars on dry days. At the time I raced at c. 79kg (175lb) on sketchy Kiwi roads.

If I _had_ to ride clincher 20s/22s again, I’d start at 100-105psi and nothing less for risk of snake bite flats.

Let me save you the trouble, it will feel horrible, even just rolling around the neighborhood (I did this just recently :lol:). I'm a fan of a skinny tyre and high pressures, but riding on ancient tyres that have matured to something like sandstone won't give anything a fair comparison.

Ok fellas

thanks for the input - duly noted and much appreciated

Michelin still make a tan wall 20mm tyre it seems, and they’re cheap, so I’ll give them a go

Saddle arrived today (Selle Italian RS, black, almost spot on for what’s in Jacek’s catalogue) and the bike suddenly looks fully clothed and beautifully proportioned

Will take it out for a spin on Exmoor the next dry day I’m off work

So exciting!

1981 :)

Thanks Makaron, good to know, and I really appreciated you looking at it for me

I’d assumed it was later than that - seat post bolt flush, not low, no logo on the bottom bracket.

Now that I think of it - the seat post bolt is sugino, and it’s the kind with a little tab on one side. There’s no corresponding slot in the frame, so I’m assuming that’s not factory. Would you agree?

I’m thinking originally they were maybe campagnolo lug bolts and whoever sold or swapped out the factory Campagnolo groupset sold it on at the same time as part of the set

I’m not going to go down the road of trying to replace everything as per catalogue pictures (mainly to let my wallet cool off), at least for now, but I think the sugino slot/tab situation must be remedied urgently!

I’d agree the original seat bolt would have been Campagnolo (part 1072 from memory, or Campagnolo pattern alternative). As to it being sold as part of a groupset I think that’s less likely - more likely is that it just broke in use. They were known for it and a few racers even trained with a spare seat lug bolt in their micro tool kit in case it broke out on the road, especially if they were prone to mid-ride adjustments, as Merckx himself was well known for. In fact Merckx’s mid-race fit adjustments in the years after his bad crash in 1969 are well documented.

Coming back to the problem at hand, frame builder Richard Sachs has commissioned and sells a suitable seat lug bolt likely a lot stronger and more reliable than Campagnolo originals. Not inexpensive, of course, but nobody ever regretted buying quality.

Damn I love this forum

Thanks buddy

I’ll see if I can find one

the original Campagnolo seatpost binder bolt did not pack with a washer. that came later. like early 1980's.
from my observation the primary breakage situation came when the bolt bottomed out before the seatpost fully cinched tight.
the savvy shop mechanic took a file to the female thread side to provide a bit of safety. many times the situation could be observed, not always.
there are calipers that would help but shops often did not have them.

From my experience, some of the older Campagnolo bolts also broke due to the design of the seatpost binder. As it came closer to full grip on the seatpost, the passage through which the bolt traveled was no longer a straight shot, thus causing the bolt to both tighten and bend. The Campagnolo bolt was unable to survive that situation, although later Sugino bolts have a better reputation, perhaps due to different alloy or heat treatment.

It is interesting to note that the improved Sachs bolt should be installed after running a 5/16 or 6mm drill bit through the binder and a tapered hand reamer used on the NDS of the binder to correct this potential problem. He also supplies NFS grease and a nifty Silca 5mm key for installation.

Damn I love this forum

I’m learning a heck of a lot today

And there was I thinking I’d figured out just about everything useful you needed to know about 80’s steel

Every day’s a school day

Thanks guys

More help please…!

So I might be going senile. Or maybe my memory of friction shifters is rooted in a young age (I was born in ‘74) when I had little understanding of the mechanical side of what I was riding. Either is equally possible.

So the Merckx tentative stripdown/tinkering continues. I haven’t actually ridden it yet because the weather’s been foul.

I wasn’t expecting to find any barrel adjusters on a derailleur built for friction down tube shifters. Have I misunderstood this for all these years?!

Eiither way, can anyone help with this widget? Looks like two locknuts?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fdc8c2165.jpeg

What Merckx did I buy?
 

I hope it is ok to post here - I recently bought a Merckx from private seller (who claimed she bought it used from a local bike shop) and I cannot identify it in catalogues nor find any comparables. I am confused as it has mounted v-brakes (Avid Single Digit 5) on the forks. Is this some kind of EM gravel bike, or something made by a licensed company? It is stamped EM 50 on the BB, Aluminium frame sticker reads Easton Custom Tapperwall, and has Veloce shifters, 3 ring Campagnolo Record crank, 9s cassette with Record derailleur. Any ideas if this is a genuine Merckx, and what model/year? Thanks
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...74c56fb10.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b8104587e.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fafd0b302.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...316961bc0.jpeg

Looks like a Merckx Alu Cross cyclocross bike. Someone has replaced the original cantilever brakes calipers with V-brakes.

Aluminum Cross bike. Looks like they bought as a frame and put the parts they wanted on it.

Nice bike. I’ve been looking for one of those.

Crescent/Merckx
 

Hi Jacek ,could I ask you to translate this serial number plse ,I won’t receive the frame for a week or so and don’t really want to share the sellers photos without permission,I’ll post photos when I’ve received it .On the drive side of the bottom bracket shell it’s an M with a 9 below it and on other side of shell [other side of cable guides] it’s Z with 2192 below it ,many thanks in both advance and anticipation ,cheers Stef

Professional or 3-Athlete 84/85. Lugs with holes or not?

Crescent/Merckx
 

Many thanks for the reply ,no cut-outs

Professional :)

Greetings Merckx enthusiasts
 

Hi All.
Thanks for all the great information and photos! I’ve got several interesting Merckx bikes to add to the mix. Once I get my post count up, I’ll share some photos.
Cheers
Henrik

Hello. I have an MX Leader in Team GAN colors. Chromed fork crown. Number holder. Chromed DS chainstay. Chromed EM dropouts (it looks like perhaps the entire frame is chrome under the paint). Head tube cable guides. I bought it from a guy in Belgium who thought it might be somehow associated with the team (but didn't represent it that way definitively). 57cm ctc (top tube and seat tube).
BB Markings:
H
F 4473
Fork steering tube:
H
No decal with any further information.
Is this a 1994 build?
Thanks very much for your help!
Cheers

F4473 - February/March 1995