Merckx Interview

[Russell]

Hope this works.....

http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2004/interviews/?id=eddy_merckx04

[Johny]

My favorite quotes:

CN: Ernesto Colnago says that there is a lot of carbon fibre around these days of an inferior quality from Asia on the market.
......


CN: It's know you're good friends with Lance Armstrong. Did you see him when he was in Brussels (Dec.'03)?

EM: Yes we went to dinner and then to the (Sheryl Crow) concert together.

[Climb01742]

how many folks will start saving today to get eddy's 25th anniversary frame? me for one.

[dbrk]

Has anyone heard what sort of bike Eddy has chosen to commemorate his 25 years of frame building?

There are so many extremely cool pantographed Merckx parts out there. Some day I'd like to collect a stem, rings, brakes, shifters (uhhh. got those), post, and anything else that has the pantograph and put them on a perfectly matching bike...ahhh...but I fear that what we will see instead will be more techy and generic and plugged-in than ever. That sounds a tad cynical, I suppose. But I can order my own version of the Perfect Merckx, and hopefully that will be in the next few years. I started to collect these bits then got distracted. A fine member of our community just passed Axel's Motorola Caloi by EM along to me and that will be forthcoming rebuilt and photographed by spring. Right now I'm working on this 1965 Rene Herse and am happy to report that I have NOS Weinmann centerpulls and levers to replace the yucky ones. Plus, it seems that Mike Barry has at last finished the restoration of my Herse Federale (circa 1963) which includes a new front carrier (made by Mr Barry)---so perhaps a trip to Toronto is in order this weekend. The Federale has no lights but hammered fenders and a front bag support, and it's back to that famous sky blue (it was a curbside rescue). I wander...sorry for that. Great bikes make you do that.

dbrk

[Climb01742]

douglas, what would your perfect merckx be?

and apparently no one at gita had any idea eddy was thinking of a 25th anniversary frame. must all be in eddy's head. douglas raises an interesting point: will it be classic eddy or future eddy?

[Johny]

EM 25th is gonna be a monocoque carbon fiber. Maybe made in the Giant's factory in Taiwan.

"... carbon fibre is used in Formula One so much, because it's strong and light."

[dbrk]

In a certain way I think that the perfect EM bike has already been made. It is hard to improve upon the proprietary tubing that was used on the Corsa 0.1 with its fine ovalized bb and clean lugs. I think there are, however, improvements in steel tubing that would still permit lug building and bring the bike into the current age. Steel has never been better! Of course, my PEM would have chromed lugs, steel fork legs, and rear stays, it would come in all the paint schemes that Eddy rode (Molteni, Faema, etc), and it would have pantographed bits from stem to stern. In short, it would look classy, normal, and have a threaded stem (pantographed, of course). The odds on this I wager are...uhhh...zero. But I think Merckx would make such a frame if you asked nicely and paid the price. That would be enough for me.

dbrk

[Climb01742]

douglas, what does "pantographed" mean?

[dbrk]

I always confuse "embossed" and "debossed" but pantographing is the etching into aluminum parts, usually of names or logs. Think of those coooool Serotta stems that have "Serotta" engraved/debossed/embossed/pantographed on the side of the stem. Usually these bits are "cut into" to make the mark and so are more durable and can be hand re-painted (if you have a steady hand) and re-polished.

dbrk

[amg]

me thinks it will be lugged steel. :banana:

I think Merckx will try and showcase where the company came from and try and demonstrate their abilities. Just a thought.

Antonio:)

[Marron]

I keep hearing that Merckx no longer has the capability/inclination to do steel and that recent steel frames were contracted out to an Italian frame builder.

[amg]

yes, I too have heard through the grape vine that the Corsa 0.1's are built by an Italian builder. I imagine that much (if not all) of the production in Belgium is Al and carbon, but a guy can still dream that the 25th Anniversary will be lugged steel, can't he? :D

:beer:

Antonio

[Climb01742]

so anybody know WHICH italian builder? hey, jerk, your grapevine know anything?

[MartyE]

Originally posted by Climb01742
so anybody know WHICH italian builder? hey, jerk, your grapevine know anything?
Given the association I want to say DeRosa, remember
Ugo built the first Merckx frames. That said I'd be willing
to bet its going to be Billato (or is it Bilato?).

Marty

[EdK]

It will most likely be carbon but it won't be made in Taiwan. It will be made where the other carbon Merckx frames are made, in Italy, right next to the DeRosa and Olmo carbon frames. Eddy dosen't much care for Taiwan wood (oops carbon)! The Domo guys love their Gx2/MXM frames.