The Eddy Merckx bike raced by the Cannibal - Gallery
With the relaunch of Eddy Merckx bikes, I dug these photos out from my archive
Few names have an impact like Eddy Merckx. He's a true legend of the sport, racking up innumerate victories over all imaginable terrains, on the road at least. Given that we've just seen the relaunch of the Eddy Merckx bike brand, nowadays owned by Ridley's parent company, Belgian Bike Factory, it seemed as good a time as any to knock up this gallery.
The bike is an Eddy Merckx that Merckx himself raced back in the day. Early in his career, Eddy Merckx frames were repainted Colnago Super's, but the 'EM' monogram on the fork crown is the giveaway that it's an original Eddy, in this case in Molteni livery. The year is unknown, but the late '70s to early '80s is the best guess I've got. In '75, the team was still on Colnagos, and later in the '80s, the tube shapes and lugs changed, especially the fork blades, which became deeper and more aero (by the standards of the day).
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Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.