Dylan Vandenstorme, of Team Flanders-Baloise, will line up at the UCI Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands this Sunday aboard an all-new prototype titanium gravel bike from legendary Belgian brand Eddy Merckx.
It shows the latest direction from the brand, which is known for doing things a little differently. Back in 2019, Oliver Naesen, of AG2R La Mondiale, rode an all-steel Eddy Merckx in the Tour de France. Until then, it was a material that hadn't been seen in the Tour this century.
The Eddy Merckx Corsa line of bikes is due for a major update in 2026. It will see the brand continue making high-end steel and aluminium bikes, although this Corsa gravel prototype shows it is expanding into titanium. That’s a great choice for gravel bikes, thanks to titanium’s strength-to-weight ratio and longevity.
Titanium for the win
Titanium has been a proven material at the highest level, with Lotto riding titanium GT Edge bikes in 1999 and Robbie McEwen taking the green jersey in 2002 aboard a titanium Litespeed.
However, it was perhaps Magnus Bäckstedt’s 2004 win at Paris-Roubaix aboard a custom titanium Bianchi that signalled a heyday for this wonder metal.
Merckx claims the new prototype gravel bike combines the durability, corrosion and fatigue resistance of titanium with a "refined blend of vintage allure and contemporary flair". This titanium prototype has a tyre clearance of 47mm. It also features a SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger and internal cable routing.
I love the look of the prototype, although I’d like to see the tyre clearance pushed out beyond 50mm to take advantage of the new wave of larger tyres for gravel.
Columbus Hyperion is not your average titanium
The Corsa prototype is made using tubing from Italian specialist Columbus. The Hyperion titanium tubing, which launched in 2024, is a 3Al-2.5v grade 9 material that’s cold drawn into butted tubing.
Columbus claims the process and material used for its tubes leads to a strength of 200[kNm]/kg. When compared to standard titanium tubing, which is rated to 156[kNm]/kg, it means a 22% increase in ultimate tensile strength (UTS).
Compared to aluminium, it’s a 40% increase, and 15-20% lighter than Columbus’ high-grade steel tubing, with a density 40% lower than traditional steel, which should mean a more compliant frame over rough terrain, making it a great choice for gravel.
Hyperion is the lightest titanium tubeset Columbus has ever produced.
Custom build
The bike put together for Vanderstorme certainly has some very personal touches.
The drivetrain sees the latest wireless Shimano XT rear derailleur matched to a Dura-Ace crankset running a single Wolf Tooth 50-tooth chainring.
Wolf Tooth also provides plenty of matching blue anodised parts, with the headset, seat collar, bolts and thru-axles all coordinated.
FFWD provides the latest version of its gravel-specific Drift wheelset, and these are wrapped with Vittoria’s Terreno tyres here in Dry spec, although that could change, of course, if the weather takes a turn for the worse this weekend.
Titanium is coming
Eddy Merckx has announced that new bikes made from titanium are coming next year and I can’t wait to see what it has in store with these new models.
I’ve been a long-time fan of titanium and still own both a Kinesis ATR and a custom Lynskey. Perhaps the next gravel bike on my wishlist could be a metal Merckx.
