Merckx Experts... What do we have here?

[KidWok]

Good looking bike! I have a Merckx Professional from around the same time. Keep in mind that the C-Record BB will not work with 9-10 spd era square taper crank sets. The cranks will bottom out on the top of the cups before the spindle is seated.

Tai

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by KidWok

Good looking bike! I have a Merckx Professional from around the same time. Keep in mind that the C-Record BB will not work with 9-10 spd era square taper crank sets. The cranks will bottom out on the top of the cups before the spindle is seated.

Tai

Not true, centaur, Daytona, Athena and Veloce all use the 111, ISO, symmetric BB, like c-record.

[KidWok]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Not true, centaur, Daytona, Athena and Veloce all use the 111, ISO, symmetric BB, like c-record.

Good to know. I mention this because OP had another thread looking for an alloy chorus group.

Tai

[bobswire]

Mine is a 88/89 Corsa Extra 54cm Same BB cable guides as yours but has pump peg and water bottle mounts on both sides.

[mmtmatrix]

Originally Posted by lhuerta

The frame is either a re-issue from mid 2000s, a team bike respray from mid 80s, or a production frame respray from mid 80s.

First, the “Original Paintwork Merckx” was common on the re-issue frames (mid 2000s) but also late model production frames (e.g. Corsa 0.1).

Second it appears the rear dropouts are stamped “Campagnolo” but hard to tell because of the thick paint. Campagnolo dropouts were more common on late 1980s-frames (before 130mm rear spacing).

Third, original Motorola production colorways from early 90s frames always included chrome (dropouts, frt der tab, both chain stays)…this one has no chrome and judging from paint peel on the dropouts, there is no chrome under the paint either.The re-issue frames also did not include chrome.

Fourth, the lack of pump peg and single H20 boss is more consistent with a team frame, however, it is missing a number braze-on (but not all team frames had number braze-ons). Early 80s frames only had one set of H20 bosses, but this one has a bridgeless BB, which began appearing in about 84-85 .

A couple of additional data points would allow us to narrow production year and model.

What type of tubing? Columbus SLX wasn’t used until about 1985, before that it was primarily Columbus SL and Reynolds tubes. Is the seat tube rifled or smooth?

What is the rear dropout spacing?

What is the geometry?

My best somewhat educated guess, with the info provided, is that this is a mid 80s team frame that was resprayed by Merckx factory.

Enjoy your new bike!

Lou

Also pretty sure that the sticker doesn't mean its a repaint, my motorola leader has the same and I am 99% sure its not a repaint. BUT, that lack of chrome is a bit surprising...

[11.4]

There were always a lot of frames hanging in the shop that someone in Belgium could walk in, buy, and have painted in whatever colors they wanted. These weren't repaints or if they technically were, they were not used frames. Also, there were tubing kits that were still around that would be built up for customers on request. They might look slightly dated or the tubing sets might not even be quite right for the design, but that's how the Merckx factory worked.

This frame doesn't look like it's newer than 1990. Merckx was changing small features all the time, but the bottom bracket hardware dates it a bit earlier. All of the braze-ons do look original, so I don't think anyone thinks it's a mod of an original Merckx. That paint sticker was a standard sticker on Merckx factory paint jobs -- sometimes they were repaints, sometimes original jobs.

Your bike has very clean stay ends and bottom bracket, etc. I don't think this was ever built up and ridden much, so I'd rule out a returned team bike or a rehabbed used bike of any kind. It's good to know it's almost certainly a new bike, and that it's definitely a factory Merckx. Hoever, whether it's a particular year or a particular configuration of braze-on styles or whatever is hard to make hay of, because the factory simply wasn't consistent. I spent a fair amount of time there and rode for two teams sponsored by Eddy. He knew people liked retro bikes and would mix and match to get there. And he didn't keep good records so you'll never really know. Just ride it and enjoy it. It's a beautiful bike.

[damocles]

Cheers for the insights... Your perspective and knowledge makes a lot of sense with what I see here too.

Originally Posted by 11.4

There were always a lot of frames hanging in the shop that someone in Belgium could walk in, buy, and have painted in whatever colors they wanted. These weren't repaints or if they technically were, they were not used frames. Also, there were tubing kits that were still around that would be built up for customers on request. They might look slightly dated or the tubing sets might not even be quite right for the design, but that's how the Merckx factory worked.

This frame doesn't look like it's newer than 1990. Merckx was changing small features all the time, but the bottom bracket hardware dates it a bit earlier. All of the braze-ons do look original, so I don't think anyone thinks it's a mod of an original Merckx. That paint sticker was a standard sticker on Merckx factory paint jobs -- sometimes they were repaints, sometimes original jobs.

Your bike has very clean stay ends and bottom bracket, etc. I don't think this was ever built up and ridden much, so I'd rule out a returned team bike or a rehabbed used bike of any kind. It's good to know it's almost certainly a new bike, and that it's definitely a factory Merckx. Hoever, whether it's a particular year or a particular configuration of braze-on styles or whatever is hard to make hay of, because the factory simply wasn't consistent. I spent a fair amount of time there and rode for two teams sponsored by Eddy. He knew people liked retro bikes and would mix and match to get there. And he didn't keep good records so you'll never really know. Just ride it and enjoy it. It's a beautiful bike.

[seanile]

the reissues werent chromed whereas nearly all the originals had some amount of chrome if i'm remembering right. so id be leaning toward a reissue.

[texbike]

Originally Posted by 11.4

There were always a lot of frames hanging in the shop that someone in Belgium could walk in, buy, and have painted in whatever colors they wanted. These weren't repaints or if they technically were, they were not used frames. Also, there were tubing kits that were still around that would be built up for customers on request. They might look slightly dated or the tubing sets might not even be quite right for the design, but that's how the Merckx factory worked.

This frame doesn't look like it's newer than 1990. Merckx was changing small features all the time, but the bottom bracket hardware dates it a bit earlier. All of the braze-ons do look original, so I don't think anyone thinks it's a mod of an original Merckx. That paint sticker was a standard sticker on Merckx factory paint jobs -- sometimes they were repaints, sometimes original jobs.

Your bike has very clean stay ends and bottom bracket, etc. I don't think this was ever built up and ridden much, so I'd rule out a returned team bike or a rehabbed used bike of any kind. It's good to know it's almost certainly a new bike, and that it's definitely a factory Merckx. Hoever, whether it's a particular year or a particular configuration of braze-on styles or whatever is hard to make hay of, because the factory simply wasn't consistent. I spent a fair amount of time there and rode for two teams sponsored by Eddy. He knew people liked retro bikes and would mix and match to get there. And he didn't keep good records so you'll never really know. Just ride it and enjoy it. It's a beautiful bike.

Fantastic post as always!

Texbike

[damocles]

So I got the Merckx built up and took it on it's first ride today... Here's a quick iPhone pic. I thought you guys might like to see how it turned out. I'm super thrilled with it. Will get my proper camera out and do some shots and details for the image gallery in the next day or so...

[velotrack]

Great build, and that white flite is icing on the cake. Not just because the fact that I sold it to you.

[ultraman6970]

Ultra approves!!

[damocles]

I did tell ya that it was going to a great home! Thanks again Velotrack!

Originally Posted by velotrack

Great build, and that white flite is icing on the cake. Not just because the fact that I sold it to you.

[Grant McLean]

Originally Posted by 11.4

This frame doesn't look like it's newer than 1990. Merckx was changing small features all the time, but the bottom bracket hardware dates it a bit earlier. All of the braze-ons do look original, so I don't think anyone thinks it's a mod of an original Merckx. That paint sticker was a standard sticker on Merckx factory paint jobs -- sometimes they were repaints, sometimes original jobs.

Did this paint scheme exist before the Motorola team?
I don't have a 1991 catalog, but the 7-Eleven colour is widely
featured in the 1990 version, and Motorola is in the 1992 catalog.

7-Eleven didn't became Motorola until 1991, so this example frame
is either a repaint of an earlier frame, or if it's original paint
then it's unlikely to be older than 91/92.

-g

[c-record]

I really like Merckx bikes.