Hello Nigel & welcome to the CR List!
(Psst, signoff with home town too please. It's a rule!)
I hestitated to zing Flacon for their loose use of tubings but I can say unequivocally that I observed this in many of the Eddy Merckx bikes I built, sold & serviced in my days as an employee at a shop called A&S Cycles, circa 1973-4. Seamed head tubes, non butted main frame tubes, non butted steerer tubes, seamed forks, etc., were common.
But I think the top of the line Pro bikes were always full of the correct stuff.
During the bike boom of the 1970s, shortages and short cuts abounded. Falcon surely was not the only company that used what they had to make the delivery...
Dale Brown cycles de ORO, Inc 1410 Mill Street Greensboro, NC 27408 USA 336-274-5959 http://www.cyclesdeoro.com http://www.classicrendezvous.com Giant, Specialized, Bianchi, Felt, Orbea, Litespeed, Kuota, Argon 18, Colnago, Landshark, Townie and other exotica. Member, board of directors, National Bicycle Dealers Association
-----Original Message----- From: NIGEL LAND <ndland@btinternet.com> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 19:44:51 +0100 Subject: [CR]Falcon Merckx
So, my first foray, in earnest, into this august forum. Falcon had an agreement with Merckx c.1972/74, which was based on a price per transfer - £1 per set. This was like a royalty. Frank Clements agreed the deal and then Ernie (ever optimistic) doubled the quantity. I have several photos of Eddy and Co visiting the Falcon factory in Barton and I am told he was quite happy with the quality. While my main interest is writing a history of the Elswick-Hopper company, it inevitably impacts on Coventry Eagle/Falcon, as they moved to Barton in 1968. I have no evidence that Falcon cheated on materials as Dale suggests, though I agree that Ernie was a wheeler dealer. Perhaps he, or others can substantiate this claim of Falcon 'lead pipe' Merckx frames? I would also be interested in hearing from subscribers off-list, of any Falcon or Elswick-Hopper bikes with frame numbers. I am confident with dating E-H frames but struggle with Falcon.
Nigel Land
In a message dated 7/5/2005 4:08:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Carb7008@cs.com writes:
<< I'm a little suspicious anyway ever since I bought a "vintage" Eddy Merckx in the Bay Area for 80 bucks a couple of years ago when I was still green.
After getting it home, I could find no provinance, frame weighed and "rang" like a lead pipe. I later learned that these counterfeits were/are common in Italy for the unsuspecting. Nice-lookin' frame though. >>
More likely it was a Falcon made, legitimately licensed bike. In addition to full-on pro models, they also made a full range including
cheap models, all the way down to $150 bicycles, and Falcon was famous for placing Reynolds 531 stickers on frames not necessarily having all that......
Dale Brown
Greensboro, NC USA