Inside: Eddy Merckx Cycles

<source media="(max-width: 320px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=90&resize=160%2C208, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=320%2C416 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=480%2C624 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=640%2C832 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 375px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=90&resize=190%2C247, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=380%2C494 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=570%2C741 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=692%2C900 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 425px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=90&resize=215%2C279, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=430%2C559 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=645%2C838 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=692%2C900 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 768px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=90&resize=295%2C383, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=590%2C767 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=693%2C900 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 992px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=90&resize=136%2C176, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=272%2C353 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=408%2C530 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=544%2C707 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(min-width: 993px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=90&resize=155%2C201, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=310%2C403 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=465%2C604 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=45&resize=620%2C806 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <img class="wp-image-334293 size-portrait_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--aspect no-wrap js-gallery-grid-src-image" src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C723" width="556" height="723" data-crop-width="" data-crop-height="" alt="There's no substitute for a good eye and a practised pair of hands" title="1422661250133-1p99q1e5lsncu-60dcf0b" style="width: auto; height: 100%;"> There’s no substitute for a good eye and a practised pair of hands 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.

<source media="(max-width: 320px)" data-srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250121-zckz4dzzog5z-1000-90-6c61a29.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=300%2C169, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250121-zckz4dzzog5z-1000-90-6c61a29.jpg?webp=true&quality=45&resize=600%2C337 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250121-zckz4dzzog5z-1000-90-6c61a29.jpg?webp=true&quality=45&resize=900%2C506 3x" type="image/webp"><source media="(max-width: 320px)" data-srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250121-zckz4dzzog5z-1000-90-6c61a29.jpg?quality=90&resize=300%2C169, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250121-zckz4dzzog5z-1000-90-6c61a29.jpg?quality=45&resize=600%2C337 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1422661250121-zckz4dzzog5z-1000-90-6c61a29.jpg?quality=45&resize=900%2C506 3x" type="image/jpeg"> 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.