Frank
11-21-2005, 10:29 PM
I received a Merckx Corsa complete bike today that was listed on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7194664281
It was very well packed and no damage during shipping...always an issue with complete bikes that are shipped as far as my personal experience goes. I unpacked the bike and it was much better than I had expected or could even have hoped for! The pics in the auction didn't do the bike or components justice. I hope to take a few pictures soon and will post them here.
The first thing I did was to take the components off the bike, because my primary interest was the frame and fork. Other than the seemingly required mark for used bikes on the right side of the downtube where a brake caliper probably ticked it while in a workstand, and the paint scrape inside the chainstay from a tire rub, and a few other very small paint chips this frame is as bright and clean as when it was first built up.
The frame measures 56cm c-c with a 56cm top tube. It is indeed Columbus SL tubing with absolutely no rust in the seat tube or headtube or bottom bracket shell or anywhere on the bike. The red paint on the headtube (no cable rub!) and decals and panel on the seattube is a beautiful blood red and the white on the frame and fork is a pearl white. The decals are as smooth as glass...feels like they are clearcoated. The fork has a flat crown with the Merckx engraving on the top. There is also Merckx engraving on the brake bridge, top of the seat stays, and bottom bracket shell. Decals look to be pristine and the chrome is brilliant and in wonderful condition. This is an absolutely beautiful paint scheme! (As an aside, for some reason I have never seen an older Merckx where the paint and chrome weren't in wonderful condition, even after years of being ridden.)
The down tube shifters and brake levers and rear derailleur could almost pass as new. The brakes are in excellent condition, and the cranks are in good condition with some scratches probably from shoes. I don't know what model of Campagnolo components these are as I don't see any markings other than the Campy logo and I don't know anything about Campy parts. Wheels are tubulars in good condition matched to Campy hubs with a Sachs freewheel.
I was surprised to have won this auction for the price I did. I am even more amazed after seeing what a beautiful bike it is! I don't believe it was ridden very much as there just isn't much road wear and the components show little use. I think the aerobar set-up, the lack of close-up pictures of the beautiful details of this frame and components, the seeming confusion over the actual size of the frame, and the sellers relatively few eBay transactions all helped keep the bidding down. While this frameset may be a bit too big for me I am in no hurry to get rid of it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7194664281
It was very well packed and no damage during shipping...always an issue with complete bikes that are shipped as far as my personal experience goes. I unpacked the bike and it was much better than I had expected or could even have hoped for! The pics in the auction didn't do the bike or components justice. I hope to take a few pictures soon and will post them here.
The first thing I did was to take the components off the bike, because my primary interest was the frame and fork. Other than the seemingly required mark for used bikes on the right side of the downtube where a brake caliper probably ticked it while in a workstand, and the paint scrape inside the chainstay from a tire rub, and a few other very small paint chips this frame is as bright and clean as when it was first built up.
The frame measures 56cm c-c with a 56cm top tube. It is indeed Columbus SL tubing with absolutely no rust in the seat tube or headtube or bottom bracket shell or anywhere on the bike. The red paint on the headtube (no cable rub!) and decals and panel on the seattube is a beautiful blood red and the white on the frame and fork is a pearl white. The decals are as smooth as glass...feels like they are clearcoated. The fork has a flat crown with the Merckx engraving on the top. There is also Merckx engraving on the brake bridge, top of the seat stays, and bottom bracket shell. Decals look to be pristine and the chrome is brilliant and in wonderful condition. This is an absolutely beautiful paint scheme! (As an aside, for some reason I have never seen an older Merckx where the paint and chrome weren't in wonderful condition, even after years of being ridden.)
The down tube shifters and brake levers and rear derailleur could almost pass as new. The brakes are in excellent condition, and the cranks are in good condition with some scratches probably from shoes. I don't know what model of Campagnolo components these are as I don't see any markings other than the Campy logo and I don't know anything about Campy parts. Wheels are tubulars in good condition matched to Campy hubs with a Sachs freewheel.
I was surprised to have won this auction for the price I did. I am even more amazed after seeing what a beautiful bike it is! I don't believe it was ridden very much as there just isn't much road wear and the components show little use. I think the aerobar set-up, the lack of close-up pictures of the beautiful details of this frame and components, the seeming confusion over the actual size of the frame, and the sellers relatively few eBay transactions all helped keep the bidding down. While this frameset may be a bit too big for me I am in no hurry to get rid of it.