Interesting Merckx carbon on the auction site

[phcollard]

I have never seen anything like this before...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eddy-Merckx-Donnay-1991-monocoque-carbon-road-framekit-/251221826838

[eBAUMANN]

that thing is actually pretty cool...

[phcollard]

that thing is actually pretty cool...

It is indeed. I have placed a bid for $5. I hope I will get it :D

[christian]

OMG!

It has BB24! :)

[the bottle ride]

Pretty sure it is graftek/aegis frame.... Made in Maine.
Just like the very first Trek carbon bikes.

[phcollard]

Pretty sure it is graftek/aegis frame.... Made in Maine.
Just like the very first Trek carbon bikes.

Not sure. Donnay is a Belgian maker of tennis rackets. They started making carbon rackets in the early 90's. Maybe they teamed with Eddy to build this frame.

[phcollard]

Link found. Feel free to use the translator of your choice :)

Looks like this is indeed the first Merckx carbon frame.

http://archives.lesoir.be/le-velo-donnay-merckx-pour-bientot_t-19910831-Z04CJ2.html

For collectors only since it does not have BB30.

[wildboar]

What is that pale one in the background? The End of Days is nigh!

[ultraman6970]

What are you talking about? BB24??

OMG!

It has BB24! :)

[the bottle ride]

Not sure. Donnay is a Belgian maker of tennis rackets. They started making carbon rackets in the early 90's. Maybe they teamed with Eddy to build this frame.
No.
Duplessis family made carbon rackets etc for many different brands- including donnay.
I went to school in Maine & while study ME I was able to visit the shop- at the time I never believed carbon bikes would be the future...

The give away that it is an aegis built frame is the binder bolt and the drop outs.

[phcollard]

No.
Duplessis family made carbon rackets etc for many different brands- including donnay.
I went to school in Maine & while study ME I was able to visit the shop- at the time I never believed carbon bikes would be the future...

The give away that it is an aegis built frame is the binder bolt and the drop outs.

Edit: not really sure who's right now. The newspaper archive (link above) says Donnay is expecting the vacuum molds to build those frame, and the production will start soon (in Belgium I assume). It also mentions that several Donnay employees will stay for two months in the Eddy Merckx factory to train about bikes.

Edit 2: here's another one saying the bikes will be made in Belgium, in the town of Couvin. http://archives.lesoir.be/deux-mois-apres-l-arrivee-de-carbon-valley-les-perspect_t-19910912-Z04E23.html

Google Translate:
The future depends on him on the association Donnay-Merckx. Where the contract which will bring together two names for the manufacture of bicycles "Merckx by Donnay" in Couvin, bikes composite, tubes or solid, which were presented for the first and the Ispo Cisel before presentation of the full range, with catalog, the Milan Fair in mid-November.

[christian]

What are you talking about? BB24??
It's a big fat "modern-looking" BB, like BB30/BB86/BBwrong, whatever else they're called. But presumably it's actually ITA threaded and fits 24mm axles. Hence... BB24.

[christian]

Link found. Feel free to use the translator of your choice :)Pssst, Philippe, I'm not sure Georges will need the translator! :)

[ultraman6970]

To me looks like a regular threaded ITA or English threaded BB ...

It's a big fat "modern-looking" BB, like BB30/BB86/BBwrong, whatever else they're called. But presumably it's actually ITA threaded and fits 24mm axles. Hence... BB24.

[the bottle ride]

Mon pote- you just proved my point.
Read the date of the articles and then look back at old eddy catalog and see what year the first carbon bikes appeared- roughly 6 years after. And none looked like these.
No carbon racquets were ever made by donnay because before after they moved production from Maine to Asia which almost killed the brothers d up in Maine.... It does not sound like they had an expertise in carbon to make a basic racquet or a more complex bike frame.

The frame looks like an aegis...just saying.

[phcollard]

Mon pote- you just proved my point.
Read the date of the articles and then look back at old eddy catalog and see what year the first carbon bikes appeared- roughly 6 years after. And none looked like these.
No carbon racquets were ever made by donnay because before after they moved production from Maine to Asia which almost killed the brothers d up in Maine.... It does not sound like they had an expertise in carbon to make a basic racquet or a more complex bike frame.

The frame looks like an aegis...just saying.

D'accord mon pote :D

Merci j'ai appris quelque chose aujourd'hui!

À plus.

[christian]

To me looks like a regular threaded ITA or English threaded BB ...

Yeah my point exactly. You can make a big blobby carbon fibre bb shell and fit a 24mm-spindle in it. Just so! But if it doesn't have a cool name like BB24 it won't ever sell!

[ultraman6970]

OPs... got it :D

[KJMUNC]

Seat binder and drop outs definitely appear to be the same as Aegis bikes of the period, but this one has internal cable routing, a different fork and different BB construction.

Compare to this (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-90s-Aegis-Carbon-Fiber-Bike-Black-Bicycle-Shimano-105-RX-100-59cm-/350608249519?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item51a1e152af) Aegis, which would've been built around that same time period.

[the bottle ride]

Well- I could be wrong about the bike...I just remember the racket story from my visit like it was yesterday, not 93 or 94, because it was the first time I had heard someone super intelligent (teacher) make the comment that usa manufacturing was going to be destroyed by overseas production (china etc). It was hard to believe considering we still a bunch of stuff here- cannondale for example...

Of course this was about tennis rackets- which I know nothing about... So it could well have been made in belgique by a company who outsourced their carbon production and never made one of these for sale to the general population.

But- this was also during the titanium bike mania- when carbon was not yet en vogue as racers still had some hand in the bikes they road (re-badged us built to frames for example.).


Basso had the same carbon frame for sale made by aegis during the same period as well.... Just like all the rebadged TVT bikes- it was easier to use someone else's design than reinventing the wheel.


Anyways- awesome thread.
Just have a hard time believing it was not made in van buren Maine....especially since there are no other examples of any euro built carbon frames that look like this

[wildboar]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eddy-Merckx-NOS-MX-LEADER-MXL-PURSUIT-steel-TELECOM-frame-fork-/251222183496?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item3a7e024e48


Same seller. More on the way today.

[ultraman6970]

The corsa extra ones and the carbon one will bring good money, the other ones have or weird sizes like the SC one, the track one is a generic asian frame maybe they got to test decals and looks and the other one that might not sale too good is the funny aero bike, probably use that fro triathlons?

[phcollard]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eddy-Merckx-NOS-MX-LEADER-MXL-PURSUIT-steel-TELECOM-frame-fork-/251222183496?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item3a7e024e48


Same seller. More on the way today.

This guy is going to make $10k in a week.

[ultraman6970]

Maybe not... could be different if he had a bertoni in the lot :D

[phcollard]

I bet you a Bertoni.

[wildboar]

The tigged white one is a chrono of Excell tubing, sayeth the seller.