Eddy Merckx Cycles

Eddy Merckx, who is generally considered to be the greatest cyclist of all time,[2][3][4] founded his eponymous bicycle company on March 28, 1980. Merckx had retired as a professional rider a little under two years earlier, and he made the manufacturing of high-end road bikes his new professional challenge.

Merckx got the idea to build bikes from Ugo De Rosa, who headed the Italian bike manufacturer De Rosa, and who had built bikes for Merckx throughout his career.[5] Prior to starting his company, Merckx went to Italy, and got trained in the art of making bikes by De Rosa for several weeks. Conversely, Ugo De Rosa visited Eddy Merckx in Belgium to get to know his first employees.[6]

Merckx built his factory in what were formerly farm stables in Meise, a small town in the outskirts of Brussels, and went to live in farm house nextdoors. Later, the company moved to the bordering municipality of Zellik, where it remains until today.

Among his first employees were some of his former Molteni teammates, the team with which he won three of his five Tour de France victories, three of his five Giro d’Italia victories, and two of his three World Championships. Among these employees were Jos Huysmans, Edouard Janssens, and his former team manager, Bob Lelangue.[7] After Merckx’ teammates retired in the recent past, the company has continued the tradition to hire former professional riders to work for the company in the different roles.

At first, Merckx specialized in making steel frames, then the industry standard. Later on, he successfully switched over to aluminium and, briefly, titanium. Today, all but one of his bikes are made of carbon fiber, the lightest and stiffest material to make bikes. Eddy Merckx himself has resigned from company management and sold all his shares.[8] The company was owned by Diepensteyn NV from 2014[9] until June 23, 2017, when Race Productions NV, the owner of Ridley, another Belgian cycle brand, announced the acquisition of Eddy Merckx Cycles.[10]

Eddy Merckx’ name quickly became a synonym for one of the most prestigious brands in the cycling world, a reputation it keeps until today.[1]

Merckx had always been obsessed with having the best possible bike for his rides. As a rider, he famously adjusted his saddle height during races, stopping over several times in crucial races such as Paris–Roubaix or the World Championships, to ensure he would be able to perform at his best.[11] And even as manufacturers like Masi, Colnago and De Rosa built the bikes for him and his team, in the 1970s, they already carried Merckx' name due to his involvement in the design of the bikes. Ugo De Rosa said:[12]

Eddy was so scrupulous that sometimes he might seem capricious. How many sleepless nights for Eddy...but how many satisfactions!

As a manufacturer, Merckx continued to spend a lot of efforts in the geometry, quality and safety of his bikes. Sam Dansie of Procycling wrote:[12]

The bike's main appeal was that they were Merckx's own exacting standards and they soon found favour with professionals.

In 2008, after 28 years of leading the company, Merckx retired from his post as CEO, but continued to instruct his engineers and test the bikes that carried his name:[12]

Merckx sold most of his shares [...] but remains heavily involved. Indeed, there is something comforting about knowing that, even in a world of nano-tubes and computer-aided design, The Cannibal — the living representative of cycling's golden age-sometimes throws a leg over a frame in the factory he founded, just to check that the geometry is still absolutely perfect.

Nowadays, Eddy Merckx engineers are known for making bikes that are stable and reliable at speed. Following the advice from its founder, the company has decided to move away from a focus on only weight, focusing instead on stability of bike and rider:[13]

Among [most] bike manufacturers, the exploration of bike stability has played second fiddle to the pursuit of lightness and rigidity. However, Eddy Merckx Cycles are hoping to change that. They [...] work with academics from Ghent University to explore what makes a bike stable at speed, the parameters that affect stability and [...] suggest design changes that could improve stability and safety for all types of rider.

The fact that Eddy Merckx founded the company still instills a sense of obligation among the company's engineers and mechanics, the company says:[14]

Everything that bears the Eddy Merckx Cycles name is a tribute to the rich legacy of the greatest competition cyclist of all time.

As from its first year, Eddy Merckx bikes were used by professional riders, a tradition that continues to date. Some of the best professional cycling teams in the 1980s and 1990s rode them.[20]

The Marc – V.R.D. team of manager Patrick Lefevere rode Eddy Merckx bikes a mere three months after the company was created, and immediately won two le Tour de France stages.[21] Later, teams like Panasonic, Kelme, 7 Eleven, Telekom, Motorola and Quickstep used Eddy Merckx bikes. Hundreds of professional riders, including former Tour de France winners like Jan Ullrich, green jersey winners like Erik Vanderaerden, Erik Zabel, Robbie McEwen and Tom Boonen and American professionals like Frankie Andreu, Lance Armstrong, Steve Bauer and George Hincapie rode an Eddy Merckx bike at some point in their career.[22][23][24][25][26][27] Today, Eddy Merckx still sponsors three pro cycling teams, including Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise, a Belgian team for promising young professional cyclists.

About the lasting presence of Eddy Merckx in the peloton, Procycling journalist Sam Dansie wrote:[12]

Part of the reason [Eddy Merckx] managed such a long stint at the very highest level of the sport was the company's adoption of materials and processes. Merckx may have been a traditionalist at heart when it came to bike — but the company has largely moved with the times, adopting new materials and designs as they emerge.

In 2019 Eddy Merckx bikes will return to le Tour de France with team AG2R La Mondiale.

Eddy Merckx bikes are assembled in Belgium, and sold through a dealer network in Europe and other export markets. In the US the bikes are also for sale via the company's website.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eddy Merckx Cycles.

• Official website