About Eddy Merckx Very Own Bicycle built by De Rosa
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- Опубликовано: 19 май 2016
- Here we present a bike that Eddy Merckx rode in the Tour de France 1975. This Team Molteni bike was built by Ugo De Rosa.
For more photos and information please visit: bit.ly/merckx-tdf-75
Some bikes are interwoven with the history of cycling sport and its champions in a way that is humbling to anyone who has the chance to take a glimpse of them. They are iconic artefacts, deeply loaded with stories and anecdotes. Each of which roots in the soil of unique performances which brings forth to legends. This is one of these bikes and it has many stories to tell. But we will only briefly touch three of them:
A story of a cyclist and his framebuilder. A story of pure willpower. And a story of a present fitly for a champion....
I have one of those bikes. In 1975, while living in Arizona, I had a cycling coach from Belgium named Willy Roza. He knew several pro cyclists in Europe and knew the builder of Merckx's bikes. I destroyed a frame in a crash during the Tour of Marana road race that spring. He called me and asked for some strange information like the distance from my elbow to my fingertips, my ankle bone to the floor, height and weight, type of racing I did, etc. Then he ordered a custom frame from Europe. It is painted in Molteni orange with the blue panel and is exactly like the one in your video; decals and all. It is not a copy like the later ones from Falcon of England. It rides like a dream and I still have it after all these years. I have been a serious cyclist since 1972. I will always keep and cherish it!
What were the pros and cons of riding 32 and 36 spoke wheels? Straight gauge and double butted spokes?
@@ralphc1405no concerns for the front wheel 32 spokes and light guage double butted spokes. The rear that just depends on your weight. Double butted spokes always and you can usually get away with a lighter set of double butted spokes on the non drive side. This is of course old school rim technology. I was pretty heavy so I used a heavy rim in the back with a wider cross section and prefered 36 spokes I also prefered a 27-28mm tire (usually a Vitoria Tigre worn smooth)
in back. The front I could get away with a lighter an narrower rim in 32 spokes I often had a Clement Griffo 61 on the front that was a little under 26 mm . I didn't race this was just what I rode on daily. The spoke count is really a matter of rider weight combined with riding style. Those DT Swiss double butted spokes were so reliable and strong due to the process of making them double butted. A straight 15 guage spoke just wouldn't hold up at the elbow on the drive side of a rear wheel. Staight 14 were fine and reduced the cost. But the double butted ones made a better riding wheel and didn't need as much break in mileage, they also took less time to true. I spent more time work harding and sketching those straight guage spokes in a new wheel while truing it in a new build. The double butted ones had that somewhat built in from the process of butting them. I've been building wheels for four decades so I'm speaking from experience and my wheels rode nice ... ride like the wind.
I was bor in Belgium and I purchased an Eddy Merckx Vele in 1972 an still have it. Werner
I ❤️ retro cycling. More stories like this one please.
you said Eddy was one of the greatest, i'm sure about everybody would say he IS the greatest of all time. I don't think anyone is even close to his 525 wins.
I had a British Eddy Merckx bike at this time. They were made by Falcon up on Humberside. I was a keen cyclo-cross rider and Leedhams' Cycles of Leicester sent it up there to have braze-ons for Mafac Driver brakes added.
It looked fab, the orange and blue, but was only any good in dry races because of the lack of clearance in the mud.
I rode it in the 1983 BCCA National Championship in Sutton Park.
(Well, perhaps someone is interested in the above. But I doubt it).
I purchased an Eddy Merckx bike in 1972 in Belgium and I still have it. Werner Baeckelandt
Did Ferdi Kesels build it? I had a frame #32 Kessels Main D'Or Road Bike in 1977
Good bro I follow I like classic bike more than new bike generation.
What a beautiful history
One of the greatest cyclists!?!? He is best that has ever been or will be.
Thanks for this. Built my own road racing bike - based on the Raleigh Professional Team bikes - back in 1981. I still have it!
This is a beautiful short snippet. Thanks to you againfor making and sharing. My coach knew Eddy. There was a picture of them together from that time, hanging on the wall of the shop. My brother still has his old De Rosa sweater. I didn't remember the story about the football! Merckx -- and De Rosa -- the epitome of the High Classical period of bicycle racing. I still ride with a proper set of Campagnolo friction down tube shifters and real pedals :)
SUPER RECORD!!!!!
brill reynolds tubing - even the dents where the brake hits the frame - track pedals - and campag - nice
Very Very very Nice!!!
When bicycles were bicycles.....today all technology....
Remember in 1970 a 13 lbs bike was not available to the country peasants of France, Spain, Portugal etc. In 1985 I still remember the country village folk on their old 35 lb bikes with rod brake levers, licence plate on the back with their baskets full of bread and vegetables. They would walk up the hill with their bikes and coast down in the downhills. Less than 1% obese in those times, 2019 90% of Portugal is obese lol.
And pathetic, soulless plastic (carbon) made in China, prefab'd with "gruppo" ALSO made in China. Yep, that crap "gruppo" IS also made in China.
RIP Ugo.
Wish you would have filmed more of the fing bicycle
So that everyone is aware these bikes are still lighter than any road bike under $500 in 2019. That is how good the gear these guys already had in the 1970's.
@John lightweight steel is special, it was not uncommon for country peasants in the 1960's to 1970's to ride a 35 lb bike. I still remember the old folk getting out of them to go up hills in Portugal and this was already 1985, now everyone is obese there as bikes are for weekend leisure and riding them to work is considered " Poor". In 1970 not many had a bike in the rural areas of Portugal especially a racing road bike.
1 : Ittsa track bike. 2 : Ittsa track bike. 3 : Ittsa track bike. Yes, specially built for the Hour Record attempt. But it was still a track bike. Specialty KL was used to make this bike combined with some specialty component/gruppo. The gear back then WAS and STILL IS better than the plastic (carbon) crap being troweled out today.
@@death2pc LMFAO lol I have both a heavy alloy (30 lbs) alloy and a Carbon at 8.2 kg road bikes. Not the most expensive carbon or alloy but I have more road feel and control on the Alloy vs the Carbon. The ride is different between alloy and carbon. My alloy road bike is a GMC Denali $250 road bike and serves my purposes.
Good history and beautiful bicycle!!! Regards from Chile.
Don't forget Nagasawa was apprenticing for De Rosa at the time, and most likely built one or more of those frames!
Really? Who's Nagasawa?
@@nielskjr5432 That's like asking, "what is Keirin?"
Bravo
Nuovo Record, 175mm crank, 13-18 freewheel, 42cm cinelli, 130 mm stem.
This is a nice video, but you seem to be talking more about Eddy than the bike. I'd like to know more about the bike! Gearing, components, measurements, weight, etc.....
what's to know? It is a quintessential mid 70s DeDosa of 531, complete Campagnolo groupo with Mavic tubular rims ,Cinelli 66-44 bars and Cinelli stem...and note the pista pedals.
vibratingstring: That's the kind of information I'm talking about, which is kind of a lot.
Good point! We will consider it for the next video. You will find all technical info and pictures here: www.steel-vintage.com/eddy-merckx-very-own-tour-de-france-bike-molteni-1975-detail
Isn’t that Columbus steel ;)
Nice historical bike! Name of the background song?
This is supposed to be more about the bicycle. Not Merckx so much.
Kessels, Colnago, Masi, all built frames for Merckx.
Is the saddle height we see the unchanged, original setting he had it at? If so, what was his main saddle height? And the frame size? I read in a cycling book that he rode a 59cm?
Do you have spart part colnago set or campangolo set part anf how much the price and delivery Charge in the Philippines
Hi I have a bike that is a eddy merchx bike but not sure what bike it is can anybody help me out with finding out please as I’m restoring it
Weight of this specific bike?
Hola mundo linares chile
I personally prefer pre-Mercxx frames, but I'm a freak.
Ask anyone: Team Beautiful Mutant finishes.
reynolds 531
Very nice video with some good insights. Think you should do more, just keep them between 3 and 4 minutes, I'd like to hear more about the kind of average speeds achieved on bikes like that, am wondering with all the technological changes and nutrition advice is anyone really going any faster than Eddy Merkcx, I don't think they are. I have a mid 80's Olmo, is really not that different, was almost a calm zone in bike progress between 75-86 when not a lot changed.
Yes. Carbon is a superior material because you can place the right material in the right amounts in the right places with a precision you cannot achieve with anything else.T he balance and power transfer are vastly superior to steel or aluminum. It's not merely about weight. Carbon allows a builder to maximize performance by easily fine-tuning the bicycle in very specific ways. That being said, I think there will always be a place in our hearts for steel frames. They are alive. Riding a good steel frame is a joy. You will go faster on a modern carbon fiber bike than your dear Olmo. You might not love it in the same way, but you will perform better in terms of power reaching the road. No question.
No amount of cool bike stuff is an acceptable substitute for just riding your bike with determination and heart. Often. No matter what you ride.
@John I've ridden the piss out of my carbon frame, and here I am to tell you about it. I do, however, have more confidence in my titanium frame.
@@codyeynon8467 Excluding weight there is a lot can be done about steel creatively. Read of Columbus for info about butting for strength in various places along a tube.
@@gregordonnaghchaid26 Yes. There are some amazing steel frames. They have certainly not stagnated in development.
@@codyeynon8467 "It's the rider not the bike."
Interesting that DeRosa used Reynolds 531, not Columbus. Masi did the same.
531 exhibited a slightly greater degree of elongation to that of SP, SL which translated to (slightly) greater shock absorption : any degree of pragmatic increased shock absorption/comfort. Ron Cooper brought this subject up on several occasion when we were talking in the mid-1980's. He would build with either; pure Reynolds or Columbus or mix, that, mixing was his preference when allowed. Miss him so!
Nearly every steel frame De Rosa built utilized Columbus tubing. A very unusual choice of 531 (for De Rosa) here.., perhaps as part of the formula to produce a frame that worked better in the wake of the injury discussed.
FYI I just acquired a 2001 (I think) De Rosa Neo Primato Acciaio which, as best I've been able to determine, was made of Columbus Genius. No decals but on-line resources are substantial.
Eddy Merckx rode Super Record?
Do you think............? Duh.
Nuovo Record actually: www.steel-vintage.com/eddy-merckx-very-own-tour-de-france-bike-molteni-1975-detail
he started in BP Peugeot so he ride even Simplex but Campagnolo Record and super records series later. Cinelli stems and bars even sadles
@@carlossaldesalvarez97AMBROSIO made aluminum bars as well as rims too. Their bars had a peculiar outward flare at the drops-much like today’s gravel bike bars
Hey, do you send to China as well? :3
Yes, we do!
No disrespect to China but can we please not sell off and sell out on our European heritage, that is Eddy Merckx tour bike, it should always be within a few miles of Belgium. Enders Lai, you could easily ask to have replica made up, in fact there is probably a small business to made from making up replica bikes from the past.
Edthony Mercktano
OK I'll give you 25 Euro for it.
What u want to pay 25 euro? Pls explain