Merckx Majestic vs Merckx Millenium

[saab2000]

So I am learning to live with my Merckx Majestic. It is a bit soft, but is pretty light and a good bike by virtually any standard.

I was riding in St. Paul on Tuesday and there was a dude there with a Millenium. Someone told me it was higher in the Merckx Ti hierarchy than the majestic, due to its 6/4 downtube and subsequent greater stiffness.

Can anyone enlighten me on this? I was vaguely aware of the existence of this bike, but had never seen one until now.

If the right size came along I could imagine trading the Majestic for a Millenium, if it were stiffer.

[slowgoing]

I had a Millenium but sold it a few years back. It's very stiff; stiff as aluminum. It has a HUGE downtube. It's a rocket but somewhat of a harsh ride to the point where I found it too harsh after a period of time. Definitely more a sprinting bike than a long distance bike.

[Marron]

Slowgoing, perhaps you can confirm that this frame on ebay; http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7180675890&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
is a Millenium. The seller has removed the decals and I'm not entirely certain he knows what it is.

[saab2000]

That looks like a Millenium. There is another one too. But it is also not my size.

[chrisroph]

Looks like one. Saab, they do have huge downtubes. I'm not sure how the other tubes or stays compare to those on the majestic. I know one guy who has one and he says its stiff. You ought to buy my Leader, it works out to be a bit longer (2-3mm) than the 58 majestic. :)

[pale scotsman]

Had a Millenium and ended up selling it a few months later. I thought it rode fine but it never inspired confidence at speed, or on downhills. Over 40 was pretty scary. Could have been the wheels or the fork but I found me putting my knees against the tt more than usual. Never thought it was especially stiff either. The Legend rode and handled better to me.

[cinelli]

I had a Merckx EX Titanium followed by a Merckx Millennium.
Originally, there were two models: EX and AX. The EX had
more "tube-shaping" and was more expensive. AX was
basically a re-badged Litespeed Classic. Armstrong
won the 1993 World Championships on an EX. The Majestic
is basically the AX with new decals. The Millennium replaced
the EX as the Merckx 15th Anniversary model. I was told
that the Litespeed/Merckx relationship dissolved when
Merckx bumped Litespeed out of the Lotto team's sponsorship
deal a few years ago. Merckx became the sponsor and
Litespeed stopped building Merckx framesets.

By the way, the Millennium is nowhere nearly as
stiff as aluminum....very similar ride to a Vortex.
The downtube was the same 6 x 4 Ti downtube
used on that year's Litespeed Ultimate.

[saab2000]

Christoph,

I know I should buy your leader..... There are actually a lot of bikes I should buy... Probably won't end up with any of them.

Cinelli,

Thanks for the info. Sounds like the Millenium is a good bike. I like my Merckx, but it still feels to me like pedalling through wet sand, especially when standing up a hill. I know that it is not "slow" or anything like that. But it feels a bit less lively than my steel bikes.

But I am the first to be the one to say, "If it's good enough for Lance, it's probably good enough for me". IOW, it ain't the bike slowing me down on those hills!

[Marron]

I had a Merckx EX Titanium followed by a Merckx Millenium.
Originally, there were two models: EX and AX. The EX had
more "tube-shaping" and was more expensive. AX was
basically a re-badged Litespeed Classic. Armstrong
won the 1993 World Championships on an EX. The Majestic
is basically the AX with new decals. The Millenium replaced
the EX as the Merckx 15th Anniversary model. I was told
that the Litespeed/Merckx relationship dissolved when
Merckx bumped Litespeed out of the Lotto team's sponsorship
deal a few years ago. Merckx became the sponsor and
Litespeed stopped building Merckx framesets.

By the way, the Millenium is nowhere nearly as
stiff as aluminum....very similar ride to a Vortex.
The downtube was the same 6 x 4 Ti downtube
used on that year's Litespeed Ultimate.

Thanks for that. I've owned an AX since '99 and been very satisfied with it. However I have been seeking an EX mostly for the semi horizontal dropouts.
The Millenium is my size, but I don't need stiffer.

[Ray]

I had a Merckx EX Titanium followed by a Merckx Millenium.
Originally, there were two models: EX and AX. The EX had
more "tube-shaping" and was more expensive. AX was
basically a re-badged Litespeed Classic.
Just to pick a nit, the AX/Majestic were not just rebadged Litespeed Classics. The tubing may have been similar and they were in the same price range, but the geometry was notably different. I owned one of each and didn't like the Classic but liked the AX quite a bit. Fit better, handled better with me on it, etc.

-Ray

[slowgoing]

Roadbike review's comments:

http://www.roadbikereview.com/mfr/eddy-merckx/2002-road-bike/PRD_135939_4229crx.aspx