Anyone toured the Eddy Merckx factory?

[Steve in SLO]

Going to be in Brussels dropping my daughter off for her semester abroad next month, and I have two days after she goes off with her host family to explore Brussels. I was thinking of a pilgrimage to the Merckx factory. Has anybody been on a tour?
Any other suggestions for places to visit while I am in Brussels? Think beer and bikes.
Thanks!

[RedRider]

Visit (make pilgrimage to) the velodrome in Ghent.

[veggieburger]

Grote Markt - yes.

Comic Strip Center - yes, if you like that sort of thing!

Manneken Pis - naw.

[Veloo]

Never been but enjoy some mussels and fries while there.

[fignon's barber]

Is there even a Merckx factory any longer? I don't know for sure, but I assumed that the factory built next to Eddy's house was no longer in operation since they license out the name. Anyway, I think if you are in Belgium for the first time, the place to visit is Brugge.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by veggieburger

Manneken Pis - naw.

Good for a pic, but that's about it. Grote Market for lunch/dinner...

[mcteague]

My understanding is Merckxs are made by Ridley now. And, of course, all the carbon frames are made in the far east. Not sure about the new steel frames.

Tim

[GonaSovereign]

If the bikes are now made by Belgian Cycling Factory, you'll have a bit of a drive to get there from Brussels.

Alternate fun:
If you have access to a bike, take the train to Oudenaarde and ride some of the legendary bit of Flanders. You can do a nice loop and take in the Koppenberg and Taaienberg among others.

If you're in Brussels and enjoy beer, Cantillon is a must-visit.
https://www.cantillon.be/visites?lang=en

[Steve in SLO]

Unfortunately, this is a quick trip with no access to a bike. Purely walking and public transport. I also suspect that the Merckx factory near Brussels is no more. I have an email out to the company to doublecheck.
Thank you for the suggestions. My daughter and I will probably walk around Brussels before I turn her over to her host family. I fully expect in a couple months that she be able to give our family the deep dive tour. Thanks for the suggestion on Brugge, fignion’s barber... it looks great, and I may head there for my two days before taking the train/TGV to CDG.

[Hakkalugi]

The Delerium Tremens pub is worth a stop. A long stop.

[Chris]

I’ve been. This was in 1999 though. Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwen took me and the group we were with(World Cycling Productions tour). Back then they were still being built in steel and aluminum. I remember seeing the bare frames hanging there and realizing how important a cool paint job is to the overall aura of the frame. Eddy was there and showed us around. He took a picture with me in front of a rack of their frames built up on the showroom. I’ll never forget what he said to me when my buddy took the picture...”no flash?”

I think a couple of the guys got measured and ordered custom frames that day. Them days are gone.

[azrider]

I went in the Spring of 2010 and there's nothing really to see and it's difficult to get to. I was staying with a friend in Antwerp who loaned me his car and I had planned to watch the end of a race in Brussels, then I would make my way over to Meise and check out factory. Easy peesy, right?

Dude, the factory is in the country, and every time I asked for directions people would either be annoyed that I spoke English, or not know what I was talking about. Finally a guy helped me out and sent me down this country 'lane' (barely wide enough for the tiny car I was occupying) and all of a sudden I came upon this tiny little village and saw the Merckx lettering.

I walked in and besides the language barrier people just kinda looked around at me like "what do you want". A guy that knew broken english was nice enough to say thank you for coming but we don't do tours and you can't buy an amazing old steel frame (which i guess was a regular occurrence back in late 90s). People would just show up and buy a steel frame right from source.

They were very gracious though and gave me 3 free Merckx posters for my trouble......one of which still hangs in my garage.

[Fivethumbs]

Originally Posted by Chris

I think a couple of the guys got measured and ordered custom frames that day. Them days are gone.

The end of an era. Bummer.

[ultraman6970]

Everytime I read the tittle of this thread the 1st word I read is "tortured" and then I read the whole line as it should .... dont ask why...

[wildboar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApaHwSixklA