After several months, I have finally finished my restoration of the Eddy Merckx Corsa in Team 7-11 colors that I first acquired last year. I started by stripping off the worn and non-period-correct Ultegra group that was on it, and sent the frame to Allan Wanta for a complete re-paint.
Allan is the real hero of this project. His work is impeccable – from the paint to the decals, he did a truly perfect job on the bike. It took about seven weeks from when I shipped the frame to him to when I got it back. He was great about communication, updating me on the progress of the restoration and even sending me pictures. The price for this work was very affordable as well – about 50% less than all the other quotes I got! He gets my top recommendation and I will certainly send more work his way in the future. Check out the pictures after the jump to see lots of up-close, hi-res shots.
To properly complete this restoration, I slowly collected up a complete Dura-Ace 7400 group on eBay. Most of the group was New Old Stock, with little to no marks on it at all. Being a fan of brifters over downtube-mounted shifters, I did drift just a little out of period by including the Dura Ace STI shifters from 1990. The photos I’ve seen of the 7-11 team’s bikes don’t include these shifters but I’ve seen a number of other 7-11 Merckx’s using them, and more importantly I’m gonna ride this baby a lot so I wanted to go with what I like. And it doesn’t disappoint – it’s fast and aggressive ride, with the trademark stiffness of Columbus TSX steel. I feel like this restoration has really brought out the racing spirit of this bike.
The rest of the parts used were:
- Modolo EVEN ergo bars
- Selle Italia Flite saddle
- Time ATAC pedals (Eddy Merckx Podio pedals and shoes coming soon)
- Cinelli stem with Eddy Merckx pantograph
- NOS Casiraghi brake cable
- Matric ISO rims
- Fizik Microtex bar tape
Alan Tansey was kind enough to volunteer his awesome photo skills to take a great set of pictures of this beast. Check out the full photo gallery and specs after the jump…
Click a thumbnail to see the full size, hi-res photo:
Very, very, very, very, very, VERY nice bike (and great pictures of it).
Since ravetrash is dead and you havent updated with bikes recently I decided to swing thru and see some new posts.. I must of missed this one down the line but glad I got caught up.
Very nice looking indeed and am very envious of your end product.. Glad you took off all of that red tape and ugly red saddle.
Nice work!
AMAZING! How much did you spend total?
Hey – is this thing still on? Wow what an amazing build, the best i have ever seen of this model bike, fantastic!
Just wondering if it is still in high rotation or if it would ever want to be offloaded?
Would love to hear from you either way to discuss the build/bike if you have a moment.
Cheers from downunder
Mark
Hi Mark, i just recently sold this bike on eBay to someone in Atlanta. i hope he’s riding it a lot! if you have any questions about the build, you can email me at mechastudios at usa dot net.
Hi,
I am the proud owner of the very same bike. Mine is still with the original paint, which is now a bit chipped in a few points. Instead of going for a full restoration (really, it is only some minor spots), I would like to get the original paint and cover them.
Would you by any chance have the color codes for the original paint?
Thanks!
Edoardo
Hello Edoardo – I'm sorry but I do not have the color codes. You should try contacting Allan Wanta, the guy who repainted my Merckx for me. He may know, since he's restored a couple of 7-11 Merckx bikes.