Hi there.

Im newly registered to this site, allthough I have been reading in the forum for some time now.

Have a question :

Have recently aquired a Eddy Merckx frame which have no columbus decals on it. Is this often seen and how do I figure out which tubing has been used?
On the bottom it says SX four digits and also Z which lead me to thinking that is was an Corsa Extra frame with production year 1985. Am I wrong about this?

The bike can still be seen at the ebay site :

https://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

What do you all think did I pay to much it?

Cheers. Michael

+1 on Caterham's comments. I would have bought it in a moment if I was looking for another. For what it is worth, a complete bike with Shimano 600 components sold for several hundred dollars more locally. I'd have taken yours.

You paid way too much. I'd have not given over $500.50 for it.

Chalk it up to experience. I'll PM you my address, you mail it to me, and put it behind you....

You've bought it, now you can start rationalizing.....

Try this: - Spend $1000 and get the group and things you need, and your $1501 bike is worth every penny, plus it compares quite favorably to about anything else you can get for $1501. See?

Well done, lad. I'm serious about the $1500 "threshold." You spend $1000 outfitting that bike to the nines, and you'll have a great bike, unlike the cookie cutter bikes available in that price range, more than their equal in performance, looks, and it has a pedigree....

See, I'm still making it right for you..

Some Merckx were made with Reynolds.

The serial number, which appears to be 5X Z 6665, would indicate a 1985 bike, and 55 cm seat tube, c-c. The cabling suggests a Corsa Extra.

The interesting part is the seat stays, they are not pantographed. This is unusual, though not unheard of. That would suggest perhaps a Reynolds frame, or custom build. I'm not sure Merckx was using Reynolds in 1985. The full chrome rear triangle is a nice touch, along with the fork. Merckx should be able to give you more info from the serial number.

Thanks everybody for your replys.
Have not yet had my hands on the actual bike as I live i Copenhagen, Denmark and the shipping may take some time.

Have wondered myself about the lack of pantographing on the seatstays as I have not seen any other Merckx with this feature. Old Fat Guy : "Custum build" is that another word for fake? And is it to be trusted that it is genuine?

When I get my hands on the frame and it turns out it is not slx/tsx by looking after the helical ridges and it turns out it is not tsx/slx How can I determine if it reynolds?

Also : Caterham you sugested that bottom bracket was a newer style then 1985 how can you see that?

Well once again thankyou all for replys.

Cheers from Copenhagen. Michael

You will indeed enjoy your new ride . i like others on this board have several E:Merckx and i LOVE my Merckx bikes .

Top knotch .

All the best .
Cheers
T

I can assure you Im looking forward to building it up and later ride it.
I love steel frames and have one Peugeut and a Motobecane. They are both fine to ride but I hope this steel Merckx will be a step forward in that regard.... Lets see...

I am by no means an expert but I have lots of photos of Merckx bikes and some are quite differrent than what you'd expect. Not all seat stay caps are pantographed. You got a great deal,,,build it up and ride it with confidence.

BigBossMan has a Gita confirmed 1985 that has the same bb shell. My wife's 1985 does not.

As far as the seatstay caps, yes some are not pantographed, but most are. By 'custom' I meant a mix of tubes that *may* be a bit out of the ordinary, perhaps made for a particular rider.

I'm not an expert, or a collector. Just a rider who owns a couple and has seen quite a few.

The rear brake cabling would make on think it is later than 1985, but there are bikes claimed to be 1985 that have the same routing.

A quick note to the Merckx factory should clear it all up.

+1

i have new carbon frames as well and nothing , honestly NOTHING rides and performs like my 1989 E.Merckx Corsa extra w/Colombus SLX tubing & campagnolo C-Record loaded bike.
keep us informed.

Cheers
T

Hi again everybody,

I finally received my frame today. There were a little surprise apparently the photograph of the serial number at the ebay site did not include and M so the serial number is ; 5X beneath that and M and on the other side 6665. I gather this means that is it either and corsa extra or an Strada or perhaps a Sport model Im I wrong about this?
Also there were helical ridges in both tubes, which I guess means it is SLX tubing?
Finally my overall is impression of the frame is very good. Think its a beauty and cant wait to have it build and riding it ;-)

Have a nice weekend.

/Michael

It could also be a repaint. My Eddy Merckx doesn't have a tubing decal because I didn't have a replacement available when I had it repainted. I know it's TSX, because I saw the original decal, I just can't prove it to anyone else at this point.

Recommend you go to www.cadre.org Then to the EM serial number section. You will see lots of EMs and be able to get a better idea based on your serial number, etc.. I have seen corsa extras made from SLX (many) and 1 that was reynolds 753. The frame with the full chrome seat stays is rare to the best of my knowledge. My buddy once told me there was a way to tell if it is SLX by rubbing the inside of the BB tubing but I don't recall the key to identifying if it is SLX. Enjoy the ride.

looks like an '86 with that chrome treatment. You have a handle on the #'s. You felt the ridges, the rifling I suppose. Gara frames, Euro ones, Sport models not imported much in the US. got that Chrome treatment; only for a couple of years SLX Corsa Stradas did.
It's not 753, not with all that's been observed by you, not with that rear triangle.

A GREAT FIND !

The frame will NOT take a 27.2 seatpost.
Columbus SP?

Have contacted Eddy Merckx factory and will offcourse post answer here when I hopefully receive it.

/Michael

You did very well; it's a beautiful paintjob as it is, and the fully-chromed rear triangle is pretty rare and absolutely gorgeous!

If it is 27.0 and ribbed, it could be SPX.

Good observation ! SPX might have been used. It compares to SP as SL does to SLX.