There's no substitute for a good eye and a practised pair of hands - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The product display area of the Merckx factory in Zellik, Brussels - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
A few specially painted bikes from Merckx's Quickstep team days - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Jerome Pineau's polka dot themed EMX-5 bike from the 2010 Tour de France - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Sylvain Chavanel's yellow EMX-5 bike from his time in the leader's jersey at the 2010 Tour - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Peter Van Petegem's 2003 Team SL Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders winning bike - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Campagnolo Record 10 speed levers were matched to a Chorus drivetrain - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Van Petegem's frame used Easton Scandium tubes - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Before carbon became common, Ambrosio's Nemesis rims were just that for cobbled races - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The Merckx factory floor with its bespoke bike building stands - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
No idea what this mid 90s Merckx was doing amongst the new builds - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Your custom built metal Merckx starts here - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
A wide range of round and non-round tubes to create a variety of frames - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Johan Vranckx is putting 35 years of frame building expertise in to every one of the limited edition EDDY70 frames - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Starting with these tubes (plus the other stays), it'll take Johan 10-11 hours to create one stainless steel frame - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
That time includes cutting and shaping every tube for a perfect fit - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
This jig is where every frame will be welded, with the big man looking on. This isn'the start of one of the EDDY70 frames, but an emergency aluminium frame order for a sponsored rider - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The masterplan for the EDDY70's paint and decals - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Frame decals being prepared for application - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The frame colours mimic those of Merckx's Faema team bikes, which he raced through some of his most successful years - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
At this stage the unpainted stainless stays are still masked - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Once the decals are completed, the frame will have a coat of clear lacquer to finish it off - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Patience and attention to detail is essential - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The full carbon Columbus fork is painted and detailed to match the frame - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The EDDY70 name will be supplemented on every frame with Eddy's handwritten signature. He will personally sign the frame anywhere the customer requests - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
A stainless cutout head tube badge will be fixed on once the painting process is complete - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
A frame in the spray booth for its clear lacquer coat - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Eddy Merckx helps to unveil the first fully built EDDY70 bike, number 1 of the 70 that will be built - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Taking a good look at his new bike for the first time - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Each bike will bear a stainless steel plaque denoting its series number - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Eddy was joined on stage by Jan Toye of Eddy Merckx Cycles (EMC), and Valentino Campagnolo - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The EDDY70 certainly met with their approval - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
We're not alone in testing a new bike by lifting it up… - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Eddy's new ride, which he says he will definitely be using, and not hanging on the wall - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
Italian steel, Italian components and tyres, Belgian craftmanship and the biggest name in cycling. What's not to like. - Robin Wilmott / Immediate Media
The Eddy Merckx factory sits in an unassuming unit in a business park in Zellik, on the outskirts of Brussels, Belgium. Aside from the distinctive Merckx logo above the entrance, it could be almost any other commercial premises, although closer inspection shows the unusually narrow parking bay next to the front door is labelled “Eddy’s Bike”, showing the very personal connection the great man still maintains with his eponymous brand.
Giant images of Merckx in his racing days cover several walls, and a number of notable bikes from more recently sponsored Merckx teams are dotted around the building, as well as a showroom displaying the current road bike range.
Bikes and jerseys from Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel and Jerome Pineau sit alongside Peter Van Petegem’s cobbled Classic winner from 2003, showing the progression from aluminium to carbon manufacturing.
Down on the factory floor, we passed the assembly area with its custom made jigs allowing workers to set frames in almost any position for perfect access, with no loss of floor space. But next door is the workshop, where aluminium and steel frames are constructed using methods that have changed little for decades.
This jig is where every frame will be welded, with the big man looking on. this isn'the start of one of the eddy70 frames, but an emergency aluminium frame order for a sponsored rider: this jig is where every frame will be welded, with the big man looking on. this isn'the start of one of the eddy70 frames, but an emergency aluminium frame order for a sponsored rider
This jig is where every EDDY70 frame will be welded. The tubes above aren't the start of one of the EDDY70 frames, but an emergency aluminium frame order for a sponsored rider
Every one of the new commemorative and limited edition EDDY70 steel frames will be built here by Johan Vranckx, who has worked for Eddy since 1980, when he was 16. From brazing cable stops on to Eddy’s steel frames, to refining his trade with De Rosa in Italy and Litespeed in the USA, Vranckx has been ever-present on the workshop floor at Eddy Merckx, ensuring quality in manufacture.
We visited the paint shop and watched decals being meticulously applied, again by one man, showing the care being lavished on each of the stainless steel machines.
Finally, we attended the unveiling ceremony of the EDDY70 with Eddy Merckx joined by Jan Toye, majority shareholder of Eddy Merckx Cycles and Valentino Campagnolo, who assisted with the supply of monogrammed Campagnolo Super Record groupsets for the project.
Click through the gallery above for a tour of the Eddy Merckx Cycles factory.
Robin Wilmott is a freelance writer and bike tester. He began road cycling in 1988 and, with mountain bikes in their infancy, mixed experimental off-road adventures with club time trials and road races. Cyclocross soon became a winter staple and has remained Robin's favourite form of competition. Robin has always loved the technical aspect of building and maintaining bikes, and several years working in a bike shop only amplified that. Robin was a technical writer for BikeRadar for nearly a decade, and has tested hundreds of bikes and products for the site. He has also written extensively for Cycling Plus, Velonews and Cyclingnews.
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