Eddy Merckx Cycles Brochure of about 1980 — the Racing Record, the Workshops at Meise and the Professional Road and Track Models

A twelve-page brochure of Eddy Merckx Cycles, Meise, Belgium: the list of his victories (to 1977), a letter and portrait, photographs of the workshops with captions on brazing, finishing and mounting, a frame drawing and two bicycles. No year is printed.

— Page 1 (front cover) —
EDDY
MERCKX
CYCLES

EM

[The cover of an Eddy Merckx Cycles brochure with the EDDY MERCKX CYCLES title in black capitals above a logo of crossed colored bands and the EM monogram. The off-white paper has brown age stains near the top right edge.]

— Page 2 —
World 1 Hour Cycling Record
49.431 km
(Mexico 25th October 1972)

524 Victories on the Road
(1961-1977)

5 Tours de France
5 Tours d’Italie
4 World Championships
7 Milan-San Remo
5 Liège-Bastogne-Liège
3 Paris-Roubaix
3 Flèches Wallonnes
2 Tours des Flandres
2 Tours de Lombardie
32 International Classics
17 “Six Days”

World’s Most Outstanding Sportsman
1969 – 1971 – 1974

Super Prestige Trophy
7 times from 1969 to 1975

[A color photograph of a cyclist in a Belgian champion’s jersey raising both arms as he rides an orange bicycle across a finish line past a crowd, above the printed list of Eddy Merckx’s racing record.]

— Page 3 —
Everything I have achieved in life I owe to cycling. Now that my racing days are over, I would like to show my appreciation by doing all I can to perfect cycling technology.
Initially, I was somewhat apprehensive at the thought of building cycles rather than riding them. However, Ugo De Rosa, the superb craftsman who built my racing machines, advised me, convinced me and I am now fully and actively involved in cycling manufacturing.
Throughout my racing career, the pressures of top national and international competition made it imperative for me to get the maximum performance possible from my bicycles. I can now apply my hard-won knowledge of the best in bicycles technology to build even better bicycles. As a result, every Eddy Merckx bicycle offered to the public is the product of years of professional experience. And all are built with the care and attention of craftsmen who really love their art.
All of us at Eddy Merckx Cycles—myself, Ugo De Rosa and the entire team—are united in a single unswerving aim : to make the Eddy Merckx brand the symbol of excellence throughout the cycling world.

[A color portrait photograph of a man in a dark jacket, white shirt and red patterned tie above a text from Eddy Merckx, ending with a large printed handwritten-style signature at the lower right. The paragraph opens with a large decorated initial E.]

— Page 4 —
Eddy Merckx dominated national and international cycling for almost two decades. During that time he spent innumerable hours in the Italian workshops of master bicycle builder, Ugo De Rosa.

Eddy Merckx always knew precisely what changes and modifications he wanted in his racing machines and, encouraged by De Rosa, was soon completely involved in their design and construction. His knowledge grew from year to year and victory to victory. It was therefore only natural that the champion racer and the champion builder should eventually combine their talents. Ugo de Rosa came to Belgium and helped Eddy Merckx install his ultra-modern workshops in Meise, just outside Brussels. Their combination of unparalleled experience and uncompromising craftsmanship is your guarantee of perfection.

Eddy Merckx’s dedication to his work is such that his home and his workshops are in the same grounds.

[Four photographs with a text about Eddy Merckx and Ugo De Rosa: two men holding a bicycle frame in a workshop, a man standing with a bicycle in a doorway of a brick building, a stack of steel tubes seen end on, and two men looking at a drawing beside a frame jig. Two small metal staple marks show at the right edge of the sheet.]

— Page 5 —
Eddy Merckx’s workshops.

Assembly and brazing of the frame.

[A large photograph of a workshop with workers brazing bicycle frames at a central bench, captioned “Eddy Merckx’s workshops.”, and two photographs below captioned “Assembly and brazing of the frame.” that show men in blue overalls brazing frames with a torch.]

— Page 6 —
Hand-finishing and wheel balancing.

[Five photographs of workers in blue overalls at frame benches, filing a lug with a signature plate, checking a frame on a jig and truing a wheel in a frame, under the caption “Hand-finishing and wheel balancing.” A small brown stain sits at the left edge of the middle photograph.]

— Page 7 —
Mounting.

[Three photographs under the caption “Mounting.”: a workshop floor where workers in blue overalls assemble bicycles on stands beside a parts shelf, a close view of hands lacing spokes into a rim, and a young man fitting a frame on a bench. A brown stain marks the right edge of the sheet.]

— Page 8 —
The frame is assembled by solder-free microfusion welding. This process assures exceptionally rigid joints and a bottom bracket shell with virtually unlimited life and stability.

S.A. CYCLES
Eddy Merckx
‘s Herenweg 11
1860 MEISE – Tel. (02) 269.62.72
RIJWIELEN N.V.

Each cycle passes through every stage of production accompanied by a detailed measurements sheet, including choice of accessories, prepared by yourself with the help and guidance of our technician. The result is a “made-to-measure” vehicle, not just a superb machine.

But a bicycle that in a very real sense reflects you and your individual personality.

[Two photographs of a bottom bracket shell with lugs and of a bare frame, above a line drawing of a bicycle frame with dimension lines and a crank, set in a box carrying the Eddy Merckx logotype and the address. The drawing carries no printed figures.]

— Page 9 —
The experience of Eddy Merckx: your guarantee of perfection.

[A full-page photograph of a man in a light jacket standing behind four road bicycles in yellow, red, blue and white lined up on a tiled floor, with an Eddy Merckx sign on a brick wall behind him, under the caption “The experience of Eddy Merckx: your guarantee of perfection.”]

— Page 10 —
Professional road model.

[The Professional road model, a silver Eddy Merckx road bicycle with white handlebar tape and tan sidewall tires, photographed in profile against a gray studio ground under the caption “Professional road model.” A faint vertical fold crease runs through the center of the photograph.]

— Page 11 —
Professional track model.

[The Professional track model, a light blue Eddy Merckx track bicycle with white handlebar tape, a chromed fork and a single chainring, photographed in profile against a gray studio ground under the caption “Professional track model.”]

— Page 12 (back cover) —
EM
‘s Herenweg 11 – 1860 Meise
Belgium
Tél.: 02/269 62 72
REPRO CONCEPT COMMUNICATION

[The back cover of the brochure, with a tilted white card at the lower right carrying the colored band logo, the EM monogram and the Meise, Belgium address and telephone number. A small printed credit runs vertically along the lower right edge, and the paper shows brown age stains along the left edge.]