I hope you’re enjoying your holidays. We’ll be back in full swing tomorrow with some year in review posts. Santa Merckx hopes you didn’t buy any upgrades for Christmas, so go ride up grades! Original photo via Old Campy.
#Eddy-Merckx
tag
Radar
Merckx Mondays
A is for attack and P is for piste are just two of the details in this Eddy Merckx Alphabet poster.
Radar
Merckx Mondays
Do I really need to say anything here? Thanks for this Merckx Mondays inspiration, Shifter Bikes!
Radar
Team Too Late: Merckx Mondays Vest
What a perfect Merckx Mondays post. Team Too Late has a pre-order up for these Endo Customs-made Eddy Merckx scrapbook vests. Head over for more information…
Reportage
A Shifter Bikes Gilded Eddy Merckx Professional with Campagnolo 50th
It’s been over years since I’ve been to Australia, so I made a point to connect with a few of my mates in Melbourne while en route to Tasmania. One of which being Dan Hale at Shifter Bikes, a bicycle studio in South Yarra. Two years ago I shot some photos of a rare gold plated Eddy Merckx Professional at Shifter Bikes and on this recent trip, I got to document the bike, built from the ground up with a Campagnolo 50th group.
While most bikes of this rarity would end up on the wall, the owner of this Merckx enjoys riding it , hence the modern pedals and non-period correct seat post. I suppose when you come across a frame like this, you’ve gotta do what you can to make it road-worthy (just ignore the front tire) and the result is a bike with a patina that comes from years of continued use.
Radar
Merckx Mondays
Scott rolled into town, on the tail-end of his Pacific Coast tour, just in time for Merckx Mondays!
Radar
Merckx Mondays
A reader sent in this Merckx Mondays photo, straight from the Colnago Twitter account with the caption: “44 years ago Eddy Merckx beat the Hour record. Ernesto Colnago was at his side!” Look at that New Bike Day face on Merckx! You can read all about this bike from Merckx Mondays number 40 where we look in depth at this very Hour Record bike.
Radar
Merckx Mondays
Photo by Graham Watson
Cycling accessory company Brancale recently interviewed Phil Anderson on his racing career. Having raced on numerous Merckx teams, Phil’s life as a racer is filled with interesting anecdotes, ranging from extreme lows like losing the World Cup in 1985 due to illness, to highs like returning in 1986 to win the Paris-Tours. Head over to Brancale to check it out.
Radar
Merckx Mondays
Carla Fuentes‘ illustrations of Merckx make for a perfect Merckx Mondays post! See more at Little is Drawing.
Radar
Merckx Mondays
Here’s a rad bit of cycling history. Back in 1976, Eddy won the Antwerp 6 Days with his good friend Patrick Sercu. Here’s the duo racing the madison. Later, they would win the National Team Championship together. Photo via Walter Vermeulen’s Flickr.
Radar
Merckx Mondays
Photo by Andy White
My Merckxshake brings all the KOMs to the climb! Check out more of this delicious MXL Motorola at FYXO!
Reportage
Karen is the Original Owner of This ’80s Eddy Merckx – Morgan Taylor
For those of us who are taken by steel frames and appreciate their ride feel and longevity, the idea of a “lifetime” bike is a familiar one. In practice, however, the idea that a bike could last a lifetime is often just that – an idea – and for some reason or another bikes don’t always stay with us as long as we’d initially envisioned. Not so with Karen’s Merckx.
Karen bought her Eddy Merckx brand new when she was living in Edmonton, AB, in the ’80s. It was originally equipped with a mix of Dura-Ace AX and Campy Record, 6-speed downtube of course. She rode it for a number of years before hanging up the road bike in favor of mountain bikes in the mid ’90s.
Now based in Kelowna, BC, Karen and her husband Chris run a full service repair shop for vintage and modern European cars, with a focus on the details that those machines deserve. Chris took this attention to detail to Meshkat at The Lions Cyclery in the form of a restoration project, and Karen was inspired to dust off the Merckx.
To retain the bike’s classic aesthetic, a silver Campagnolo Veloce group was installed from front to back. The tan sidewall Strada LGGs look perfect on the polished Weinmann rims. The stem, bar, and headset are all that’s left of the original build; with its bombproof new groupset, Karen’s Merckx is ready for its next 30 years.
____
Follow Morgan on Instagram and follow The Lions Cyclery on Instagram.
Radar
Merckx Mondays
Here’s a nice one from Daemon Cycling!
Radar
Merckx Mondays
La Course en Tete is now on Youtube in its entirety. I highly suggest you watch this one if you haven’t. Happy Merckx Mondays!
Radar
Merckx Mondays
This is a banger of a photograph. Young Eddy in a Faema kit, battling it out against a Molteni racer during the Trofeo Baracchi in 1969. Photo via…
Radar
Merckx Mondays
… or is it Twerckx Mondays? Check out the details for this shirt at MtoTheEgg’s Instagram.
Radar
Merckx Mondays
Omar is a dear friend. Someone I trust with a straight razor and sharp scissors. He owns Vinny’s Barber Shop in Los Angeles and apparently has great style both on and off the bike. Which makes for a perfect Merckx Mondays entry. Check out Omar and his All City Mr. Pink below!
Radar
Merckx Mondays
Artist Chris McNally, like many of us have a long withstanding love for Eddy Merckx, his legacy and his bicycles. Maybe not his modern machines, but rather the years of classic racing. Specically, Faema and Molteni.
As part of a giant undertaking, Chris is working on a new watercolor painting project: a bike shop of life experiences both fiction and non-fiction. Inside this gem of a idea will be bikes he’s owned and bikes he’s yet to own. Case in point: a Molteni Merckx…
There’s more to come from this unique undertaking, but for now let’s just appreciate the detail he put into this classic race steed.
