I searched the archives and found the link:
http://www.speedbicycles.ch/
A very nice collection of photos of many interesting bikes, including four Merckx/Moltenis, two by Kessels, one by Colnago, and one my DeRosa. The DeRosa one bears no resemblance the the current eBay bike, and in fact it has the heart-shaped lug cutouts that are a DeRosa signature feature.
So DeRosa-bulit Molteni frames did exist, even when Eddy was riding for Molteni, although the current eBay bike probably isn't one of them.
It isn't clear from the speedbicycles site whether the DeRosa and Colnago Molteni bikes were replicas offered for sale to the public or whether they team frames built only for Merckx and his teammates. Does anyone know if DeRosa, Colnago, or anyone other than Falcon and Kessels sold Molteni replicas to the public during Eddy's years at Molteni?
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA
> From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
\r?\n> Subject: Re: [CR] Supposed Merckx De Rosa on English Ebay
\r?\n> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, "Hugh Thornton" <hughwthornton@yahoo.co.uk>
\r?\n> Date: Sunday, September 6, 2009, 12:22 PM
\r?\n> I've heard that Eddy consulted with
\r?\n> Ugo DeRosa in setting up production of his bikes, but I
\r?\n> believe that was only after Eddy's competitive career
\r?\n> ended. Eddy rode through the 1978 season.
\r?\n> Judging from the first-generation Super Record RD, this bike
\r?\n> is probably from 1974 or 1975, when Eddy was still with
\r?\n> Molteni. AFAIK, Eddy never had any direct involvement
\r?\n> in bike production during his competitive career. This
\r?\n> looks to be one of the Molteni replica bikes for which Eddy
\r?\n> licensed use of his name. It has been established that
\r?\n> such bikes were manufactured both by Falcon and by
\r?\n> Kessels. I've never heard that DeRosa had anything to
\r?\n> do with those replicas, although he may have built some of
\r?\n> Eddy's personal bikes, or maybe even some for Eddy's
\r?\n> teammates.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I see no reason to believe this is anything other than a
\r?\n> Falcon or Kessels built replica from Merckx's years at
\r?\n> Molteni. Nice bike, relatively rare first generation
\r?\n> SR RD, but I'm not sure that justifies the 1,750 GBP
\r?\n> BIN. I think one should simply ignore the dubious
\r?\n> reference to DeRosa.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> A while back someone posted a link to some Kessels-built
\r?\n> Molteni replicas, and perhaps Falcon-bulit ones as
\r?\n> well. If someone still has that link, it might be
\r?\n> interesting to compare those bikes to this one.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Regards,
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Jerry Moos
\r?\n>
\r?\n> --- On Sun, 9/6/09, Hugh Thornton <hughwthornton@yahoo.co.uk>
\r?\n> wrote:
\r?\n>
\r?\n> > From: Hugh Thornton <hughwthornton@yahoo.co.uk>
\r?\n> > Subject: Re: [CR] Supposed Merckx De Rosa on English
\r?\n> Ebay
\r?\n> > To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
\r?\n> > Date: Sunday, September 6, 2009, 10:59 AM
\r?\n> > What is disturbing about this listing
\r?\n> > is that it sidesteps the issue of saying what it
\r?\n> actually
\r?\n> > is. To quote:
\r?\n> > "The frame is a very early, DE ROSA consulted,
\r?\n> 'MERCKX'
\r?\n> > brand item, made of COLUMBUS tubing with CAMPAGNOLO
\r?\n> > dropouts"
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > Whatever that means. The frame is claimed to be "DE
\r?\n> ROSA
\r?\n> > consulted" which doesn't say that De Rosa built it,
\r?\n> just
\r?\n> > that they allegedly consulted with whoever did.
\r?\n> "MERCKX
\r?\n> > brand" just means that whoever built it stuck Merckx
\r?\n> decals
\r?\n> > on it, with or without permission. It looks like
\r?\n> the
\r?\n> > vendor is going to great pains to avaoid saying that
\r?\n> it is a
\r?\n> > De Rosa Merckx while wanting to imply that it is..
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > Could it even be a Falcon Merckx frame that has had a
\r?\n> bit
\r?\n> > of fettling before its repaint? Except I think the
\r?\n> Falcons
\r?\n> > were 531 and this is said to be Columbus. I think
\r?\n> that
\r?\n> > anyone contemplating offering for this should try to
\r?\n> get a
\r?\n> > straight explanation of what the frame actually
\r?\n> was/is
\r?\n> > because I otherwise consider that it has no real
\r?\n> interest or
\r?\n> > historic value -- just a nice looking bike with nice
\r?\n> > equipment that has been made to look like a Merckx.
\r?\n> Does
\r?\n> > anybody know if Ugo De Rosa consulted with any other
\r?\n> > manufacturers to give a possible clue as to what the
\r?\n> vendor
\r?\n> > meant?
\r?\n> > Hugh Thornton
\r?\n> > Cheshire, England
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > --- On Sat, 5/9/09, Hilary Stone <hilary.stone@blueyonder.co.uk>
\r?\n> > wrote:
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > From: Hilary Stone <hilary.stone@blueyonder.co.uk>
\r?\n> > Subject: [CR] Supposed Merckx De Rosa on English
\r?\n> > Ebay
\r?\n> > To:
\r?\n> > Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
\r?\n> > Date: Saturday, 5 September, 2009, 7:36 PM
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > Just recently what purports to be Merckx De Rosa bike
\r?\n> has
\r?\n> > been listed on English Ebay - item number
\r?\n> 160359704131 Its
\r?\n> > obviously rather late to be a Molteni Merckx De Rosa -
\r?\n> the
\r?\n> > dropouts are Campy Portacatena though they do appear
\r?\n> to be
\r?\n> > finished in the De Rosa style. However the lugs - in
\r?\n> > particular the head lugs don't look De Rosa to me...
\r?\n> I'd be
\r?\n> > interested to hear what other CR members who have seen
\r?\n> many
\r?\n> > more De Rosas than I have think...
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > Hilary Stone, Bristol, British Isles