Andy Hampsten's Motorola Merckx

Aside from Lemond, in the early '90s, Andy Hampsten was getting to be as big a name in US cycling as you could get. Lemond was struggling in that year's Tour, while Hampsten finished 4th overall. Were we witnessing the passing of the torch from Lemond to Hampsten? Was Hampsten going to be the next US rider to win perhaps multiple Tours? It was an exciting time for both Hampsten and the storied team he rode for, Motorola.
I was pretty stoked when I came across this article - much of my Motorola resto ended up being based on these specs.

A few interesting items of note:

- External rear brake cable routing still present on what I assume to be a 1992 model

- Interesting use of "Dura Ace Grey" brake cables instead of the Motorola blue seen so often on team bikes.

- Chromed driveside chainstay.

- The rear derailleur cable fixing bolt is in the 'reversed' position

- Specs and pic indicate a Dura Ace Aero seatpost, but also reference an XTR post. I have yet to see an example of a Merckx Motorola team bike with an XTR seatpost. Heck, I barely even remember what an XTR seatpost from the early '90s timeframe even looks like!

- Definitely looks like a 7410 crankset there, which is referred to as a 'prototype'

This post rounds out the Motorola Merckx chapter of the blog for now. I'd been looking all summer for another suitable project for all the Valued Blog Readers out there, but it seems it's been pretty slim pickings. Don't fret though, I still have a backlog of at least two more projects so you'll probably be seeing one of those soon.

In keeping with the current Phil Anderson Team Motorola theme, today's post is a couple pages of the 1991 Motorola Cycling Team Press Guide. I acquired this while researching the buildup of the Phil Anderson Merckx. Although the pics of the bikes are really small, there is some information to be gleaned here (mainly from the bikes in the team picture).

- The bikes shown here do indeed have exterior top tube rear brake cable routing

- It does appear that Wolber aero-profile rims were spec'ed front and rear.

- The fluted version of the Dura Ace seatpost was spec'ed instead of the aero version.

- One big question that's still unanswered for me and is difficult to tell from the pics: Are those 7402 or 7410 cranks??

Here's the 1991 team roster according to the guide:

Norm Alvis

Phil Anderson

Frankie Andreu

Steve Bauer

Andy Bishop

Mike Carter

Nathan Dahlberg

Andy Hampsten

Ron Kiefel,

Dag Otto Lauritzen

Scott McKinley

Bob Roll

John Tomac

Brian Walton

Sean Yates

Urs Zimmerman

Let me know if you see a favorite rider in that list and I'd be happy to scan a page from the guide and send it to ya. I could probably do the entire guide too, but that would take a while longer. :-)

Stay tuned, as I have one more Motorola Cycling Team-related article to post before I round out the Motorola theme and move on to something else. Could be more Merckx, could be more 80's Japanese goodness, could be Campy, maybe time for another poll?

Phil Anderson's 1991 Team Motorola Merckx specs

As promised, here's the specs of the Team Motorola build. I consulted various sources both online and in print (which will featured in a future blog entry) in order to come up with the final build that would hopefully be a reasonably good representation of the way the bike would have looked when it was still in Phil's hands.

Frame: 57.5cm Eddy Merckx Team Motorola (custom geometry for Phil Anderson)
Fork: (Not Original) Eddy Merckx Columbus Steel, professionally repainted and color-matched to frame. Fork decals from Cyclomondo

Wheels:
Hubs - (Front) Shimano Dura-Ace 7400
(Rear) Shimano Dura-Ace 7403 Freehub
Spokes - DT Swiss Champion 14-gauge
Rims - Wolber Profil 20, 32-spoke
Tires - Vittoria Rally tubular

Drivetrain:
Derailleurs - (Front) Shimano Dura-Ace 7403 (clamp-on)
(Rear) Shimano Dura-Ace 7403
Brake/Shift Levers - Shimano Dura-Ace 7400 STI
Chain - Shimano
Crankset - Shimano Dura-Ace 7410, 53/39
Bottom Bracket - Shimano UN-72
Cassette - Shimano HG-50 8-speed cassette, 13-23

Components:
Brakes - Shimano Dura-Ace 7403 Dual-Pivot
Pedals - Look PP96 clipless
Headset - Shimano Dura Ace 7400 (NOS)
Seatpost - Shimano Dura-Ace 7400 Aero
Saddle - Avocet Racing II (NOS)
Bar/Stem - Cinelli 66-42 with Cinelli cork tape/Cinelli XA 85mm (NOS)

As far as I know, many of the Motorola Team bikes had a Shimano sponsor sticker on the non-drive chainstay and mine was no exception. However, the frame was in poor condition and all that was left of the original sticker was the top part of the "M" and a bit of the "I" and "A". I ended up removing those scraps and replacing it with a new sticker. The replacement was just a bit larger than the original, but I think it completes the look.

I searched long and hard for an Avocet Racing II saddle and found this one in "NOS" condition with a lot of shopwear. No titanium rails like the team used, but good enough to complete the build. Note the DA 7400 aero seatpost - I've since found some evidence that the 1991 team may have used the fluted version instead.

L Look PP96 pedals - donated from another famous Merckx bike (which will be featured in a future post) and perfect for this project. Period correct, but not for the Motorola team. They actually used a similar pedal that was a 'pro' model.


Really scored on the rear derailleur. Absolutely gorgeous!
Note the cable fixing bolt is reversed. Out of the box, the 7403 bolt is actually hidden by the derailleur body. The Motorola mechanics (as well as scores of other owners) reversed the bolt to make accessibility and maintenance easier.

Dura Ace 7403 hubs, but with a 'modern' 8 speed HG cassette. First set of wheels I ever built, so we'll see how well they hold up.

Shimano's first ever STI shifters. Some of you may already know that a few Motorola riders still preferred DT shifters, and even more used a single DT shifter to handle the front chainring shifting duties to save weight on mountain stages.

Wrapping and finishing bars is truly an art form.

NOS Cinelli XA stem mated to 66-42 bars. Just the way Phil would've liked it.

DA 7400 front hub laced to Wolber Profil 20 rim. Absolutely one of the greatest hubsets. Ever.

NOS DA 7400 headset. The DA 7403 brakes aren't the prettiest, but they get the job done.

Absolutely stunning paint job on the forks.

Note the incorrect cheap black plastic ferrules on the shift casing. Back in the day, it probably would have been cheap chrome plastic ferrules.

Anyone who's ever shopped for Merckx fork decals will know exactly where these came from. The shape of the white background on the Columbus decal still bothers me, but these decals are undeniably top notch all the way.

No, I didn't forget the dustcaps! None of the Motorola Team bikes I've seen had dustcaps for the crank bolts. I'd assumed this was because they spurned the traditional cap/bolt in favor of titanium bolts to save weight.

That's it for now, kiddies! Stay tuned for my next post detailing the inspiration and references that helped me complete this build, as well as some other cool Motorola stuff!

Happy 4th of July!

Well, boys and girls, the 4th of July is almost upon us and what better way to celebrate our nation's birth than with the patriotic colors of the Motorola Team? And now, without further delay, I present to you Phil Anderson's 1991 Team Motorola Eddy Merckx!

I'll have full details soon in an upcoming post and hopefully better pictures. My camera's battery squirreled itself away in hiding somehow and I had to use an older backup camera. Hope y'all enjoy the pics and I'll do a full writeup in the coming days. In the meantime, hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July!

The Merckx Build Kit

Here's a few of the pieces I'll be hanging on the Team Motorola Merckx soon. I thought it'd be fun to arrange the pieces in a similar manner to a Dura Ace advertisement I saw online once.

Even though Shimano will never reach the status of Campy's bling, working with these parts really impressed me in terms of finish and appearance. Shimano really pulled out all the stops for their top-end 90's gruppo.

Stem: Cinelli XA 80mm with matching blue insert (NOS)

Seatpost: Dura Ace SP-7400 Aero style

Pedals: Look PP96 - these are takeoffs from another bike project I'm working on. I thought the red pedals looked hideous on that particular build and was going to sell them. Fortunately, they are period-correct and very similar to what the Motorola team used so they'll be used for this build.

Crankset: Dura Ace FC-7410 175mm - I've seen a couple pics of the Motorola Team in the 1991 time frame using what looked to be FC-7402 cranks. The 7410 cranks were still a couple years away from being released to the public and still in the prototype stage for the pro teams. Motorola bikes with the 7410 cranks are iconic in their look, but I may still opt for the 7402's if I can find further evidence of the year(s) they were used.

Hubs: Dura Ace HB-7400 front and FH-7403 rear with 8 speed 13-24 HG cassette.

Brake/Shift levers: Dura Ace ST-7400 with NOS hoods - Apparently there are a couple variants to this model that aren't well documented, as well as a 7410 model. These particular examples have a mid 90's date code.

Rear Derailleur: RD-7402 - the workhorse of the Dura-Ace lineup.

Front Derailleur: FD-7403 w/clamp - No braze-ons for the team bikes!

Brakes: BR-7403 - A well-used example that cleaned up rather nicely. The original pads are long gone and it's doubtful I'll find replacements easily. In the meantime some late-model Ultegra one-piece shoes achieve a similar look.

Stay tuned for the buildup!

More of Phil Anderson's Motorola Merckx

Good ol Maui's been pretty busy letting the other guys do the dirty work this time around.

As you know from the previous posts, the Motorola Merckx I acquired didn't have the original fork. Luckily, I was able to track down a replacement fork and have it color-matched, cut to size, and have the threads extended.

A BIG shout out to D&D Cycles of San Lorenzo. They did a fantastic job color-matching the fork - you'd think it was the original fork on there. Needless to say, D&D will get all my business as long as they're around. Check 'em out if you have a respray in mind for the future.

And let's not forget another HUGE thank you to Justin at Velo Sport in Berkeley. Back in 2006, they prepped the frame as well as installed the HS and BB of my Colnago Altain and did such a stupendous job, they were the only shop I'd trust to do the work on the Merckx. This time around, they cut and threaded the fork, installed a NOS Dura Ace 7400 headset, and chased the threads of the BB. Another great job! Justin's a great guy, know his stuff well, and tells it like it is. Check out Velo Sport if you're in the East Bay.

Have a look at the pics and look for more updates as the build progresses!

Oh yeah, and you'll notice I replaced the Selle Italia Flite saddle with an Avocet Racing II saddle. And I've still got lots more nifty parts to hang on this bike soon!

Note to the long-suffering Specialized Allez fans: The work on the 1987 Allez SE is just about complete; I just need to do some detail work before I snap some pics, but I PROMISE I'll have those up sometime this month!

The Motorola Merckx Owner Revealed!

I emailed gitabike the serial of the Motorola frame in the previous post in mid-December. Their customer service replied promptly and said they'd get in touch with the factory. About a week later, they replied that my frame was a 57.5 built for Phil Anderson in the spring of 1991!
I am thrilled with the news and am slowly amassing Dura Ace parts to hang on the frame. Stay tuned.

Eddy Merckx Team Motorola

The addiction strikes again and Santa visited good ol' Maui a bit early this year! I had been looking for a 1991 Eddy Merckx Motorola TSX Team frame for a while and just happened to stumble on this one. Yeah, I know, I'm a couple years out of the '80's time frame, but when the addiction rears its head, it doesn't really care about two measly years...

I installed the seatpost/saddle just so I could clamp it in the workstand. The seatpost, a Dura Ace 7400 Aero will stay but the Selle Italia Flite saddle most likely will not.

While I wasn't 100% sure as to the authenticty or the year of the frame, I did consider the following evidence:

Authenticity:
1) Number hanger present on top tube.
2) American Airlines sponsor decal on left side of top tube next to seat tube.
3) Team Motorola decals on both sides of the top tube nearest the head tube.
4) Serial number format (see below)
5) No braze-on mount for FD.
6) Remnants of Shimano sponsor decal on non-driveside chainstay

Date:
1) Serial Number: Not using the typical production format found on http://www.cadre.org/Merckx/. The single "C" on the right side maybe matched the date code of 90/91. If that's true, then this had to be a 1991 frame since in 1990 Motorola was known as hmmm... what was that team again... oh yeah 7-Eleven.
2) External top tube cable routing: I have seen pics of Hampsten in 1992 with the external routing, so I'm leaning more towards 1991. Several later examples that can be found on the internet have the internal routing. I guessed maybe earlier than 1993, but the external cable routing proves nothing by itself. Even my '89 Corsa Extra has internal cable routing.

Mysteries
1) No name decal: Although all the evidence points to this being a legit Team Motorola frame, the lack of a name decal is disappointing. Further inspection doesn't reveal any adhesive residue along the top tube where a decal could have been at one time.
2) No original fork: I don't know what it is but I have bad luck with Merckx forks. The last Merckx I acquired was in amazing condition in just about every aspect except the chrome on the fork was a peeled mess.
3) No tubing sticker: I mean none; not even a small remnant. Crazy... I've seen my share of cracked, torn, flaked, scraped, scratched, gouged, and downright false Columbus tubing decals, but never where all traces have vanished. Could be there was no decal to begin with - which begs the question, SLX or TSX?? I can feel the spiraling in the seat tube from the bottom bracket. However, shining a flashlight through the BB down the downtube, it appears as if the spiraling only extends maybe less than 1/4 of the way through the tube, but I can't be entirely positive. Anyone else have any methods of differentiating SLX and TSX tubing?

UPDATE: 01/06/2011 - I guess I didn't have to look very far to answer my own question. In my post here the steel tubing reference chart shows 1) Columbus TSX top tube and down tube both feature "helical reinforcements the entire length of the tube" and the chainstays feature "longitudinal reinforcements". My, how embarrassing to find an answer in my own blog!

As for the questions of authenticity and year of manufacture, I did write to Gita asking if they could provide any information on the serial number. I'll reveal that information in January sometime after the holidays, but in the meantime, I thought it'd be fun to have the Valued Blog Reader Faithful put in some guesses as to who the frame belonged to. Look for the poll on the right and put in your vote!