the best 7-11 team bikes?

[Johny]

I have had this question for a while: which bike company made the best 7-11
team bikes (around the time when Andy Hampsten was active): Murray (did they really make the team bikes at all?), Serotta, or Eddy Merckx?

I may start a fire here. A while ago, I read some comments (sorry, cannot find the source now) from a former 7-11 pro: something like " They got the problem of breaking frames (I do not know who made them, Murray?) and the problem went away when Eddy started to supply the team bikes."

And NO, I am not sugggesting Serotta made those broken bikes (I myself am a Serotta owner. And BTW, it is not news that even today, modern frames are being broken by the pros and even amateurs), but would love to know the truth (well, only if any one knows it).

Thanks in advance,

[Bill Bove]

Andy Hampsten rode a Landshark and Bob Roll a DeRosa, the rest of the team rode Serotta built Murray's and later Huffy's. I remember reading how the tram gained respect in the European peloton when the switched over to Merckx'. Was this just a universal disdain for Huffy or the respect that Eddy still has:confused::

[Johny]

Oops, I forgot the Huffy's. Thanks Bill. Anyway, that was an age of disguise...

[dnovo]

Of course, both the "Huffy" and "Murray" team bikes in question were Serotta built. I was looking at some that belonged to a collector recently, and am trying to get the serial numbers. Dave N.

[CarbonTi]

I have one of the Murray 7/11 Serottas. The frame is currently sans components as I plan to build it up into a fixie.

Mine is the standard 55 which came with a 54 top tube if you didn't order it in the optional longer top tube version. It has a really short front center, will probably make a good fixie but as a road bike the handling was not my favorite.

Riding it, I would sometimes come across a bike snob twit who would look at the MURRAY on the downtube and then look smug aboard his Lightspeed or Trek (not that ther's anything wrong with it)...would never notice the Serotta chainstay decal as I went by.

[Dr. Doofus]

Landshark, Derosa, Serotta, and one more -- Raul Alcala had his bikes built by some other cat, and when his fork broke in the first TT in the '87 Tour, Ben said that it wasn't one of his....

Your "snob" Huffy story reminds me of one of my own. I got my hands on a mid-eighties Serotta that had been lying around the OTC back in 1996...it was decal-less, had been repainted crap sky blue, and the only sign that it was a nice frame were the "S" markings on the BB.... I threw some cruddy Ultegra parts on it, and had a nice laugh every time some cat would say "why did you waste those parts on that bike?"

I think this question has been addressed before, but were Lemond's La Vie Claire "Huffys" also Serotta-built, or is that a cycling urban legend?


Robert

[Bill Bove]

I think LeMond's "Huffy's" were built by Roland DellaSanta out of Reno Nevada while at the same time Bernard Hinault's "Bernard Hinault's" were actually LOOK's.

I'm sure everybody here knows that Pascal Richard won the first Olympic road race open to pro's on a Legend Ti painted up to look loike a Fausto Coppi that his team rode, hence the "Pascal Gold" color on the paint chart.

[pbbob]

I didn't know that. got any links to an image?

[pankanchoog]

I didn't know that. got any links to an image?


I would love to see pics !!

[rounder]

I thought i remembered reading something about Huffy bikes breaking because of True Temper tubing... i googled and found this. It is actually a pretty cool link.

http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/2000_04_01_diabloscott_archive.html

[pankanchoog]

I thought i remembered reading something about Huffy bikes breaking because of True Temper tubing... i googled and found this. It is actually a pretty cool link.

http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/2000_04_01_diabloscott_archive.html


that is awesome reading !! thjanks !!!