We are looking to down size as we look toward retirement later next year so I've been thinking about what that looks like for the several bike I have. I've had this early 80's Merckx since 1986 and it was my "go-to" for many years. I the early 2001 I purchased a mid 90's Merckx with SIS derailleurs and it became my regular ride. The older Merckx stayed tucked away in my basement shop and hasn't been ridden for 5 years or more. Yesterday I took it out for a ride just to see how it rode and it is and amazing frame. The biggest thing I noticed was the difference in bar set-up, the brake levers further down the bar took some getting use to again. Age too has caught up with me on it's gearing and bar height but I need to see how to keep it in my fold. Moving to a modern group is probably my best option to get the benefit of wider gearing with a compact set-up. Here's a picture from my ride.

Nice Might be surprised by a minor tilt up on the bars, making riding on the hoods more comfortable. I like old school gearing (even though I can't ride it everywhere). Are those non-canonical levers, or just the hoods?
Cheers, Eric


PS I know it's been a while, but you might want to tighten the RD cable Extra credit for the super short brake cables.

I agree with 76, it will be worth it. I retired 9 years ago and moving to Campy compact cranks and ergos riding high with pre and post ride stretching have me very much enjoying my C&Vs.

As for "upgrading", it depends on how much you want to invest. If you go to brifters, you would also need to switch out other components. I have an early 90's bike that has a lot of original parts still on it. I am using the downtube shifters with a 9 speed cassette. I have to keep the RD shifter in the friction mode to be able to use the 9 speed without switching out the shifters and the rear derailleur. That is no big deal for me, I got used to it pretty quickly. It also makes it very easy to keep everything tuned in and operating as a unit.

The brakes are early Record which gave the option to use areo or with exposed cables. They came with black hoods. I still have the original Super Record brake levers in a box though the hoods were replaced with blue Modolo style ergonomic hoods. On the shifter, I have the retro-friction levers which have a very long throw, I need to see if I can tighten those up. They work so much better then the Campy levers, they too are tucked away in a box of take-out parts. :-)

I hadn't thought about going with a wider cogset. Using friction shifters you wouldn't have an issue with shifting a 9 speed. My problem would be getting the Super Record derailleur to shift to a cog larger then 26. The hills here in PA get to me on a ride much further then 25 mile, that typically has over 1,000 feet of climbing. I wish I could find someone willing to trade with me a 10 speed compact Campy group for my Super Record. :-)

Definitely in some hill country around Lancaster. I would be using 48/38 T chainrings with a 11/30 or 32 cassette. Running these different drivetrain components not much of a problem with the original shifters and crank. Easy to switch rings and cassette when the occasion arises. I really thought about going with modern drivetrain but now am glad I did not. I have a commuter/errands bike with a 9 speed compact crankset. I now have 46/34 rings and a cassette with 11/32 installed on it. These old legs and knees still do alright as long as I keep the stress level low.

That's so sweet, as is.

I'd vote wall hanger over going modern. You already own modern.

But in the end, it's just a bike.

You could always gift it to a friend (old or new, lol), so you could visit & ride that bike. 😁😉 Good luck in finding a good solution. 🙂

Hey Paul J,

You have a couple of options IMO if you want to keep a classic feel on that sweet Merckx. I have used a 28 tooth cog with Super Record RD on several bikes. On my Moser at Eroica last April I used a Velo Orange compact crank 48-34 with an otherwise standard Campy SR drive train. I can’t remember if I had a 28 or 26 freewheel, I think probably 26. I rode a 53-42, 13-28 the year before that.

At any rate, I’m not a fan of hanging a bike on the wall to look at and if you want to ride it, put whatever parts it takes to do that!

I'm all for upgrading to suit wants/needs, but if the ride was long overdue, and the bike has some sentimental value to it then I'm with Wildwood. Your "bikes" list shows a 10 speed Merckx. Maybe this is one, as beautiful as it is, is a special occasion bike. Display it proudly, and then take it out for birthday rides and stuff like that.

Spaghetti Legs, I've been giving this a lot of thought and wanted to ask you how things shifted with the Velo Orange compact crank 48-34? They have a 48-34 crank that tips it's hat to the Campy Super Record crank in looks that is interesting. I'm thinking with the Super Record rear derailleur I could go with a 28 but wonder what issues I would have with the chain wrap? As I'm thinking, I could go with a low of 34 chin ring and 28 large cog which would be a pretty good low gear. I'm thinking the freewheel could be one of the Ultra 7 speeds which would give a nice amount of cogs.

Or you could trade with someone that has an EM Corsa Extra (repainted by CyclArt), with 48/34 rings and a NR that works well with a 14/28 cogset. Your choice of nice tubular or clincher wheels.
edit: currently running with different wheelset and freewheel.

My 2 cents is go for it with a modern group. As much as I love vintage the reality is that functionally the modern compact set up, brifters and dual pivot brakes all perform much better.

I love my 85 team miyata with 5800 105 group.

I also have an 84 team miyata with friction and faithful to, if not exactly the same, original build. It is a great bike, but the overal riding experience for me is better on the 85 with modern gear.

I thinks this is the best of both worlds a great steel frame that sings to you and modern convenience

The only thing to never do is put on a fugly threadless stem handle bar set up

The shifting was fine. You'll notice the red jockey wheels and when I unpacked the bike that weekend, Bob Freeman took a 10 second look at the bike and informed me they were the wrong size. Indeed they were but I didn't notice it while riding the bike. I double checked that wheel and it has a 26 tooth freewheel on it. What's a couple of teeth between friends? I'd give it a try.

I run a bike with 52/42 up front and a 28 in back with a SR rear, no problems shifting to it.

That's a beautiful bike!

I just tried that set up on my 1972 ItalVega for the Eroica California ride. I just backed out the stop screws on the drop outs and it worked flawlessly. I actually found a new old stock Avocet 41 tooth chainring for my SR Campy cranks 175's with 144 BCD my rear derailleur is NR . I was told by Wes , the event's organizer that if I were to remove the stop screws all together a 32 rear cog will work . I would have to see it before I tried it. Now that I think about it the large chain ring is 53.
Shown with "big to big" and it works!

Riding here in Cambodia makes me miss the rolling hills of Lancaster County, I have a house just down the street from the prison on King st.