<< So how does one distinguish a Falcon built Merkcx from a Kessel built one? The real thing? >>
It's pretty easy when inspecting the real bikes..
The Kessels made Merckx frames I sold "back in the old days" were decidedly different in style. Different "personality"
They had larger diameter fork lower ends (blades cut more from lower end), larger seat stays, fluted seat stay top treatment, lugs were filed more extensively, more Kermesse geometry & less stage race/road racing.
Without hurting Falcon fans' feelings, the Kessels were more refined and carefully built (by way of apology, that was during the bike boom days and the bigger factories were at max production...)
Dale Brown Greensboro, NC USA
-----Original Message----- From: Freek Faro <khun.freek@gmail.com> To: Keulen, Ferdi <ferdi.keulen@atosorigin.com> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 12:57:40 +0200 Subject: Re: [CR]Molteni Merckx
Without pretending to know anything really about Merckx bike's, I suppose i t could have been like this: Falcon built the Merckx bike's as (one of) his first commercial undertaking(s), more or less mass-produced, maybe some of them in Molteni team colours. Kessel built the teambikes, to measure, to fit the individual teammembers. So how does one distinguish a Falcon built Merkcx from a Kessel built one? The real thing? Freek Faro Rotterdam Netherlands (I bumped into Eddy Merkcx at the 1988 IFMA in Koln; gee, he was big!)
2005/10/19, Keulen, Ferdi <ferdi.keulen@atosorigin.com>:
>
> Most of the framesets of Merckx's biketeams of 1974-1978 were made at
> Kessels (Main d'Or), a frame building company in Belgium:
> - 1974: Molteni Team - orange+ blue
> - 1975: Molteni Team - orange + blue
> - 1976: Molteni Team - orange + blue
> - 1977: FIAT Team - silver + blue
> - 1978: C&A Team - silver + yellow
>
> This year I purchased a Molteni Team road-bike from 1974/1975 and a
C&A
> Team trackbike from 1978. The Molteni frame has a decal memorating
this
> Super Prestige Pernod wins by Eddy of 1969-1970-1971-1972-1973-1974.
> Pictures at:
>
> http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/
>
> Ferdi Keulen
> Utrecht, Netherlands