I think this is second most expensive to Andy’s BT carbon track bike with risers abomination (remember that?)!
Price is certainly ‘eye catching’ !
Nice bike though… 
not a bad price given the carbon groupset
unless you consider carbon a bad idea
I disagree, and at the risk of being unpopular, this colourway is freakin ugly.
the eddy merckx name will help sell it, if it was any other brand you’d be having trouble moving something that ugly.
I’d hit it, but I don’t have a lazy 4 grand sitting around to spend on more bike. Max forks are some of the sexiest forks ever made.
I don’t think so. Ever walked into a bike shop lately and seen what $4k will buy you. Nothing that I’d consider a keeper, let alone impress the peanut gallery.Whereas this is a very cool ride, quite collectible and in near new condition.
Believe it or not there’s people out there with a few $'s and that couldn’t be arsed wasting time trawling the webs, dealing with O/seas shipping and trying to piece together a magic bike. This one’s ready to go … Chorus graphite brake calipers, Campy Record and Columbus Max by Merckx. Of the latter, this is what Andy Hampsten had to say in 2004 of the Columbus Max Merckx frames that he rode during this early to mid 90’s:
Eddy Merckx was and still is the master of matching riders
to frames. He would start all of us on Columbus’s Max tubing for the earlier
season races. They weighed more than other tube sets but it was a joy to get
such responsiveness out of a frame. For my bikes Eddy would get me on
lighter but very strong frames for the April Ardennes races and early stage
races. By June and the important stage races I would be flying on his
lighter bikes with the Tour ride being a very sweet Reynolds 753 based super
light frame ready to rocket.
Of course a lot of riders, me included would moan about “yeah but that team
gets to ride super light carbon or aluminum” or what ever else looked like
greener grass to us. Eddy was good at pointing out to us that there was no
sense shaving ounces off of a frame and fork that would save us seconds on
the climbs but wouldn’t handle well. “Why gain 40 seconds on a climb and
loose 2 minutes on a descent?” he would reason. Looking back to where those
materials where in the early 90s I have to agree.
Keep In mind Hampsten is a little skinny climber … for anyone of average build or a strong rider I’d suggest Max tubing is as good as it gets and Merckx frames have always been well built, with good geometry/smartly designed.
TC knows what he’s doing and does it very well IMO. Some of you chicks are envious of anyone that does a good job of selling. And if it’s not apparent to you some of this stuff isn’t being made anymore.
4k does sound cheap when you can easily spend 300dollars on cleats alone.
Whats the verdict on the headset, graphite brakes (never seen them before) and the stem? Cool but weird combinations
FTFY
do you mean paintjob? this bike clearly does not have a colourway
Bring back word substitution:
this cock is freakin ugly.
By June and the important stage races I would be flying on his
lighter bikes with the Tour ride being a very sweet Reynolds 753 based super
light frame ready to rocket.
If only there was somewhere you could find a nice 753 frame…
I shouldn’t have snipped Hampsten’s quote … he went on to say …
I really liked the 753 tube set, but Eddy knew it was not a long lasting
material. He let me use them for the mountainous tours and a few big one day
races, and then put them to rest.
In '88 I had a fantastic frame made by John Slawta of Landshark that got me
up and over the snowy Gavia pass. He used Tange Prestige tubing back then.
Enjoy your ride, whatever it is. Andy Hampsten
1stly, I wanna know where all them 753 frames were dumped and 2ndly, knowing about steel (modulus of elasticity, and tensile strength) I find his 753 assessment is mostly bunk but racers are racers and I’ve not ridden anywhere near the heights or miles that Hampsten has, so I might be right but who am I to call him out?
753 is good stuff but it has it’s limitations. Jim Merz of Specialized fame …
753 is not a tube choice without some risk of frame failure. I was certified
to build with this and did quite a few bikes in 753. First problem was the
early QC was not the best, the hardness of some tubes was too high. Then, if
the heat applied during assembly was over 1200F the tube would fail at that
joint. As the silver melts at 1100F there is not much room for error. Very
highest level of brazing skill is required. This is why Reynolds only sold
sets of 753 to certified builders. But also, these 753 frames were light and
one cannot expect any very light steel frame to last forever. I have to say
the failures I saw were almost always at the seat stay/seat tube joint, and
it was not a failure that would put you on the ground. I rode a Merz 753
frame into the mid 1980’s. Finally noticed a creaking sound and found a
cracked seat stay. I mentioned before about my role in Tange Prestige
tubing. It is not as sensitive to heat, so is easier to build with. And, the
QC was great. Some of the best steel tubes ever made for bikes in my
opinion.
My own opinion: I had a Reynolds 753 frame made for me by KenEvans in the late 80’s. Never met him. I was a know it all and specc’ed the exact dimensions and material I wanted through by LBS then and waited a few months. To be honest I thought it was shit. Too light and thin gauged tubing for me and my riding style … I came from a sprint/bmx background and was only new to riding. Sold the frame for a much beefier/heavier Colnago Master Piu with Gilco tubing and found exactly what I really wanted.
Conversely, my mate had the exact same frame made for him … different size/colour so we didn’t look too ghey and he loved it. Of course he was built like Pantani and skinny MoFo climber type. I still hold a grudge against all climbers … jerks sat on my wheel all day till the hills came up and then left me for dead. Every time. Cvnts !!!
Sometimes light is too light
Am I the only one who doesn’t mind the paintwork on this? And as far as price goes, something tells me Andy knows a bit about what he’s doing…
IMHO I’d rather spend $4k on a roadbike with a soul like this than a new off-the-shelf production line carbon racer
i think US$4k is a little ambitious considering its condition, which isn’t bad, but could be better. guessing it wont sell.
Great Bike. I saw this in Shifter Bikes when it was being assembled and had bike envy. a Titanium Gramo stem would look great on my Sancineto Max. Actually I would be happy to put all these parts on my frame.
There was a lot of this paint style during that era.
Um, no, FTFY.
You’re dead to me…
I stand by my comments, shit colourway, paintjob, style, look etc, which ever way you look at it. I won’t budge on my stance of this bike being some cashed up fuckers way of instant cred.
Sounds like me lamenting that Angelina Jolie hasn’t left Brad for me … bitch
So you’re not the one thats going to buy it. I’m sure the guy who does will be hyped on it.