<< I am curious if anyone else suspects that Eddy Merckx made the De Rosa frames in the 1980s? >>
Kevin, despite close resemblance, I do not think that was the case.
We sold both of those bikes brands through those years and I think that Eddie & Ugo shared in the cost of making the lugs, Ugo set up the Merckx workshop and Eddie used the DeRosa aesthetic....
In close scrutiny, there are differences, the most significant is that of the joinery at the dropouts... DeRosa almost always had the extra refined "points" filed in the dropouts where they meet the stays. Later, Eddie also embraced the Columbus pre-crimped stay ends rather than do any filing at all at those junctures. Those and other nuances make me think that, in balance, DeRosa was always slightly more refined...
That is just one man's opinion however....? :)
Dale
Dale Brown cycles de ORO Bike Shop 1410 Mill Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27408 USA 336-274-5959 http://cyclesdeoro.com http://www.classicrendezvous.com http://www.carolinacup.com http://www.greensborovelo.com http://www.bikegso.org http://nbda.com
-----Original Message----- From: Kevin Kruger <ktk1_7_0_2_8@yahoo.com> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Sat, 27 Dec 2008 6:20 pm Subject: [CR]Eddy Merckx and De Rosa frame relationship?
After seeing the photos of both Hilary's Eddy Merckx with De Rosa type cons truction and his De Rosa with Eddy Merckx frame bits, I am curious if anyon e else suspects that Eddy Merckx made the De Rosa frames in the 1980s???
For some reason, I am under the impression that Merckx built the 80s De Ros a's due to strikingly similar frame contruction appearances.
Not only do the frame's look nearly identical to my eye, but their respecti ve catalogs bear very similar photo layouts.? Per an early Merckx catalog , "Ugo De Rosa came to Belgium and helped Eddy Merckx set up his ultra-mode rn workshops".
Check out the Merckx vs. De Rosa frame catalog pages at the following Bulgi er links:
http://bulgier.net/
Am I the only one under this impression?? Hope someone can set the record straight one way or the other for me.
Regards, Kevin Kruger - Grantville, PA
=0A=0A=0A