The Radavist

What’s that? Campy 8 speed-era graphite Croce d’Aune calipers? Surely this bike has to belong to someone “in the know”. Luckily, I’m in the know with the person who’s in the know. Know what I mean? Er… Here’s the noble steed that guided me on Friday down King Lake and through wombat blood with Mr. Track Cunt himself, Andy White.

When we reached the bottom of the range, I stopped to admire the daylight and decided to shoot a few photos of Andy’s gorgeous MX-Leader with modern Campy 10. Check out more below!

I received this awesome Polaroid from Jake Ricker yesterday and while It’s too late for an official Merckx Mondays entry, it’s gotta get some love! Especially after that nice feature on Tracko. On a related note, I just got a fisheye lens. Stoked!

I feel like I’ve posted about Anthony’s Eddy Merckx Pista more than my Merckx Pista. At any rate, you can’t go wrong with a bright red track bike, especially when it’s built with a palette of Italian components and it’s a Merckx. You’ve got my attention!

Check out more photos of Anthony’s Eddy Merckx Pista below!

It’s always interesting for me to see who owns the Beautiful Bicycles of the world. Sometimes it’s easy to guess based off the build alone. For instance, if you’ve got neon parts, well, you’re probably a hep cat. Tri-spoke front and stickers? SF hill-bomber. But what about Chris’ Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra pista? There’s no way to nail down the kind of person who builds a fine vintage bicycle. Not that I’m into profiling people based on their bikes but you know…

Check out Chris and his Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra Pista below!

Speaking of classics, as promised in today’s Merckx Mondays post, here’s Chris’ Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra pista in all its glory. Chris has been an avid reader on the blog for a while now and we’ve shot emails back and forth throughout the past year. For some people, it might be a little strange to meet up with a reader from their blog but I love doing it. Nothing gives you perspective on your readership than putting a face with an email address!

Last Saturday I met up with Chris and shot his lovely Merckx Pista, a truly Beautiful Bicycle. Check out more photos below!

As I pointed out in last week’s Merckx Mondays, an eBay seller was liquidating their stock of French-made Adidas Eddy Merckx cycling shoes. I snagged a size 12 and crossed my fingers that they’d fit. Well, today, literally minutes after I published today’s Merckx Mondays, they arrived.

Check out some more photos below.

I’ve had photos from the samples of these for 8 months now and was sworn to secrecy from the get go. The grand scheme was to release them on Merckx Mondays but since they’ve been blown out of the water already, I’ll just give them their own post. No one has tried to explain these shoes yet, so here you have it:

Joe from Brooklyn Machine Works was approached by Adidas a few months back to develop a pair of cycling sneakers that were to be influenced by the Eddy Merckx Adidas shoes from the 1970’s, pictured beside the BMW models above. Obviously, no one wants to walk around in cycling shoes all day, so they took some liberties with the design while still nodding to the precedents. Here’s the end product, in the silver, baby blue and orange colorway. There will also be a black and white version, so fear not those who adore the simple colorways in life. I’ll have a sample of these soon enough and will write a thorough review of them.

Next up, Eddy Merckx’s own cycling shoe company.

Previously:
NOS Eddy Merckx Adidas Cycling Shoes

Unfortunately, these came a day late for Merckx Mondays but I’ll post them anyway. I won a pair of Eddy Merckx Adidas cycling shoes off eBay a few weeks ago. Finally, after dealing with a tough work schedule, I was able to pick them up from the post office. I’ve been scouring the internet and bike shops for a pair for years. Usually they come up in the later models from the 80’s colorways. Never with the old cleat style.

Adidas made these particular models in 1974 if I’m not mistaken; I’ve looked everywhere on the shoes and the box for a date mark for some indication. Check out some more photos below.

A recent score that I’m pretty stoked on. Cinelli XA stem with a nice big Eddy Merckx panto. It’s nothing crazy and yeah, there are better pantographed Merckx stems out there, like the 3ttt ones with the Belgian flag and the EM logo, but it’s nice to have one in my parts bin.

Emiliano went on the Ride in the Park with Eddy Merckx today and got the cannibal to sign his 7-11. The rain didn’t stop people from heading out and meeting with Eddy. Looks like fun! Bummed I missed out.

If you missed today’s event, tomorrow Eddy will be at Strictly Bicycles from 12:00 – 1:30 signing autographs. Just 5 blocks north of the GW bridge on Hudson Terrace. If you’re heading out to the Hills Hurt race, you’ll be really close-by.

To see the Emiliano’s full build, click below.

I was kinda bummed when I heard the Cannibal was at Interbike this year and I missed out. He was there the year before, but was swarmed the whole time making it impossible to meet him. Maybe this event will present an opportunity to shake his hand?

$100 is kind of steep and I wonder what bikes they’re supplying. If they’re the new EM models, it’d be worth it. I’m thinking more than likely they won’t be. Regardless, I’m gonna show up and see if he’ll sign my MXLeader!

Liam at Cyclosity gave me the heads up on this one. Thanks man!

Well I sold my Hollands on Saturday and picked up this beautiful Merckx today. It’s a mix-matched Dura Ace group on a MXLeader frame. The wheels are odd, a Vento rear and a low-flange Nr/Sr hub to a tubular rim. Yes, that’s a number hanger too and it has the pro decals on the front of the fork blades. Oh yea and the rider’s name on the nds TT.

I’ve got some adjusting to do to it before I’ll ride it. I need a 100mm stem and would love to get some better wheels. I really need to polish the seat post, swap the saddle and put on my Merckx bar tape too.

thanks to Sasha for the pic!
That’s three Eddy Merckx bikes now. I’ve got a problem…

With all the talk of Cavendish a few feet from breaking the outright TDF stage win record, then failing, and then crashing out, artist Richard Pool found inspiration in the G.O.A.T. and drew this up. It seems the outright stage win record, will now never be broken. Read on below for an op-ed on why Eddy Merckx will always be the king.

While I missed this in time for this morning’s Radar Roundup, I had to share it!

I love browsing Bring a Trailer if for no other reason than gems like this. Vintage cars, much like vintage bikes have a panache unmatched by their modern counterparts. Take, for instance, this 1977 Volvo 244 DL that was refinished in Molteni Orange, one of Eddy Merckx’s teams in the 1970s, and covered in team decals like the original TdF chase vehicles.

These little 2.1-liter inline-four Volvo engines are legendary, yet that is no Merckx. Check out more photos at Bring a Trailer.

Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…

Dave Moulton wrote a piece on Eddy Merckx, comparing his legacy to that of Chris Froome’s with a critical edge:

“By opting out of the Tour de France in 1973, Eddy Merckx still goes down in history as the “Greatest Rider Ever,” by the sheer number of races the won over the years. He chose the honor people’s feelings over his own ego.

What a shame that Chris Froome is not taking a leaf from Eddy’s book and opting voluntarily out of this year’s Tour de France. Why would anyone want to participate in an event when no one wants you there?”

Keep reading this piece at Dave Moulton’s Blog!

Photo by Bill Woodul

It’s not often you come across never before seen photos of Eddy Merckx, well, photos I’ve never seen anyway and that what we’re sharing with you today. Bill Woodul shot the 1976 Milano SanRemo and got some excellent photos of Merckx. Just check out those gloves! See more at this album.

You can never have too many Eddy Merckx prints. Artist Richard Long made 100 of these giclée prints on 29.5cm x 21 cm on high-quality Redcliffe 210gsm Watercolour Paper to fit in an A4 frame with border. Head over to RideVelo.cc to order.