Merckx ex-Pro bike serial numbers

[cmbicycles]

I am curious about who may have ridden one of the pair of Merckx bikes I have. Doesnt change that they are both great bikes and fun to ride, just curious about history.

One from motorola I know, the other I just know is an 89' MXL ex-7/11 bike per a Merckx web inquiry. It is a 63x61 frame... kind of limiting in and of itself, and had a repaint at some point. Is there a website that keeps track of some of the serial number data on ex-pro bikes? I have seen some post pictures of serial number/rider charts but my google-fu is apparently weak as I'm not turning up anything.

[KJMUNC]

assume you've already hit the Cadre.org site?

http://www.cadre.org/Merckx/

Probably not the detail you're looking for, but might at least help decoding the number. You used to be able to email or call the Merckx factory and they'd go look it up for you, but apparently the moved to some new system several years ago and most of their historical records weren't included....or at least that was the party line I got on several occasions.

Good luck.....the search is half the fun!

[cmbicycles]

Originally Posted by KJMUNC

assume you've already hit the Cadre.org site?



http://www.cadre.org/Merckx/



Probably not the detail you're looking for, but might at least help decoding the number. You used to be able to email or call the Merckx factory and they'd go look it up for you, but apparently the moved to some new system several years ago and most of their historical records weren't included....or at least that was the party line I got on several occasions.



Good luck.....the search is half the fun!

I had not seen the Cadre site, good info for decoding but not quite what I was looking for. I did contact Merckx, and they confirmed that they were team bikes... but that is all the detail they gave. I followed up with a couple questions but haven't received a follow up email. First reply took a couple weeks, but still looking in the meantime.

[retrofit]

It is a 63x61 frame...

May or may not help with your search:

1989 7-Eleven Team by height (cited on the inter-tubes)

Alvis, Norman 6’2”
Andreu, Frankie 6”2”
Yates, Sean 6’1.5”

Heiden, Eric Arthur 6’0.5”
Kiefel, Ron 6’0”
McKinley, Scott 6’0”
Knickman, Roy 6’0”

Lauritzen, Dag Otto 5’10.5”
Stieda, Alex 5’10.5”
Brady, John 5’10.5”

Walton, Brian Clifford 5’9.5”
Roll, Bob 5’8”
Phinney, Davis 5’7.5”

Dahlberg, Nathan ?
Hampsten, Andrew ?
Pierce, Jeff ?
Schuler, Tom ?
Stevenson, Peter ?
Veggerby, Jens ?
Zadrobilek, Gerhard ?

[ultraman6970]

With the motorola bike probably u can do something because theres documentation around but with other EM bikes you have nothing, for example the panasonic ones.

The only thing i can tell you is that the serial number decoder kind'a works but Em did not follow it 100%, there's plenty of ex team bikes and ex pro and amateur road racers that got their bikes custom made and the only thing that sets them appart from the regular production is the tab number. Telling you this because I have one of those, serial number doesnt say jack much, geometry is kind'a custom and is just one color.

Is good to know the history of the items but even the guy that compiled those serial numbers agrees (i believe) that theres not like a rule on how they put those serial numbers, well could that the guy brazing drunk too much beer that morning and added extra letter just because was funny.

At least with your bikes you can tell are from the team, mine can pass for regular production until you start measuring it and looking at the tab number. Wish I could trace its origins better.

[Pearsom]

I'm not sure a genuine 7-11 MX-Leader team bike is even possible? The last year for the 7-11 team was 1990 and I don't think they were making the MX-Leaders yet? You said it is a repaint so maybe it's a Corsa Extra with Max tubing? (It would be very similar but have a different fork and seat stays...) Whatever the case, that's a great bike and it's my size so now I'm curious!!!

[ultraman6970]

max tubing EM is a mx leader... you can paint that thing anyway you want but motorola ran from 86 trhough 96 by then you had mx leaders. I think the confusion is that they associate the mx leader with the team 7/11, which is wrong. They are motorola.

[velomateo]

Originally Posted by ultraman6970

max tubing EM is a mx leader...

This doesn’t apply to the bike in question, but Merckx did produce a Corsa Extra that was constructed of MAX tubing. These frames had the top tube reversed from the Leader and used a different fork crown.

[ultraman6970]

Thanks for the clarification and I have to admit that I ive seen those and I forgot totally about them.

[Emerxil]

sorry, one by one: what you can see is Mx Leader in 7-Eleven... The problem is that 7-Eleven worked in the seasons 1989 and 1990, and the first series of Mx Leader appeared at the beginning of 1992 - the conclusion: looking for a rider from the 7-Eleven team and matching him to the repainted frame from (at the earliest - not necessarily, it doesn't belong to the first series) 1992 is rather unnecessary. The difference between EM Corsa Extra MAX (and there were 3 versions) and Mx Leader (there were 4 versions) is the change in the latter lugs, top tube (this is not an inverted MAX tube, this is a tube from the Minimax kit) and rear triangle tubes (from Max to SLX). Late Corsa Extra Max already had forks from the Mx Leader model, btw. People from EMC are no longer a reliable source of information (archives were destroyed). Cadre.org contains a lot of interesting information, but it is not organized in a systematic and correct way, besides, it is poor.

[witcombusa]

Originally Posted by Emerxil

sorry, one by one: what you can see is Mx Leader in 7-Eleven... The problem is that 7-Eleven worked in the seasons 1989 and 1990, and the first series of Mx Leader appeared at the beginning of 1992 - the conclusion: looking for a rider from the 7-Eleven team and matching him to the repainted frame from (at the earliest - not necessarily, it doesn't belong to the first series) 1992 is rather unnecessary. The difference between EM Corsa Extra MAX (and there were 3 versions) and Mx Leader (there were 4 versions) is the change in the latter lugs, top tube (this is not an inverted MAX tube, this is a tube from the Minimax kit) and rear triangle tubes (from Max to SLX). Late Corsa Extra Max already had forks from the Mx Leader model, btw. People from EMC are no longer a reliable source of information (archives were destroyed). Cadre.org contains a lot of interesting information, but it is not organized in a systematic and correct way, besides, it is poor.

Emerxil...
I had tried to get info on what I believe is a 1998 MXL Team bike as well. It is 60 x 58 and has a very rare double seat post clamp detail and of course number plate holder. Oldpotato had asked the importer about it for me but they didn't know much. What do your eyes tell you from what you can see?

[Emerxil]

This is a Vlaanderen 2002 team painting, unfortunately used in 4 seasons (1994-1997), this strange seat tube resembles a "Freuler patent". Serial designation would help to determine the season, then finding a matching Belgian would be easier Number hanger does not mean profiteam - this has always been an option available on request.

[witcombusa]

Originally Posted by Emerxil

This is a Vlaanderen 2002 team painting, unfortunately used in 4 seasons (1994-1997), this strange seat tube resembles a "Freuler patent". Serial designation would help to determine the season, then finding a matching Belgian would be easier Number hanger does not mean profiteam - this has always been an option available on request.

# P G2651

Is the name Patrick De Clus useful in this discussion?

[Emerxil]

The frame was built in 1996 (there was no E series from the years 94/95 - it was an invention of some guy from GITA), in the season 1996 and 1997 in Vlaanderen team there was no Patrick de Clus (then the aluminium frames were used). Perhaps the guy was a member of an amateur or semi-professional team (and in Belgium there were dozens of them). However, like the number hanger, placing names on the frame was a widely available option in EMC at the time and does not indicate a "professional" use for the frame.

[jm714]

http://www.cadre.org/Merckx/