[CR]Merckx Hour Record Bike, 12.2 stem

(Example: Framebuilding:Technology)

Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 07:34:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Raymond Dobbins <raydobbins2003@yahoo.com>
To: edvintage63@aol.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
In-Reply-To: <8CA7F2094A0BCBF-1DC8-979@mblk-d18.sysops.aol.com>
Subject: [CR]Merckx Hour Record Bike, 12.2 stem

I think Ed Granger hit the nail on the head. I happened to have the Negri book handy this morning, so I checked the drawings/specs for Eddy's frames. The book has seven different drawings for Eddy (and a bunch more for other pros of the time). Of these seven, only four include specs for the stem length. Of these four, threee are 12.5, and the last one is the 12.2 stem for the hour record bike.

It would appear that Eddy generally rode standard length stems, and that the 12.2 stem was a custom size, fabricated by Pino Morroni (in Detroit if I'm not mistaken?!).

BTW, the drawings for Eddy's frames show that the top tube lengths he ordered, varied from 54.5 to 58.5!!! In between, he also ordered frames with 56.5, 57.5 and 58 top tubes. Molto interessante...

Ray Dobbins Miami Florida USA

edvintage63@aol.com wrote: QUOTE: George, I do not doubt your source, but even for Eddy, did Cinelli really make a 12.2cm stem?

Best regards, Marcus Helman Huntington Woods, MI USA ______________________________________________________

While there was apparently more than one bar-stem combination for Eddy's record bikes (holes drilled in bars, Cinelli stem), the stem he used for the actual attempt was a custom Ti job made by Pino Moronni.

Ed Granger
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA