One thing’s for certain, this is not Eddy Merckx’s bike, it’s far too large for him. Instead, it’s a team bike, sprayed in Molteni colours, which, among other clues, dates it to the early 1970s.
It was almost certainly ridden by Merckx’s loyal, taller teammate Joseph Bruyère, a rider blessed with a talent of such magnitude that he was only eclipsed by ‘The Cannibal’ himself. The bike now forms part of Dave Marsh's collection.
Identifying the builder of this bike is a trickier proposition. The list of those who made frames for Merckx around this time reads like a roll-call of the most skilled artigiani who ever lit a brazing torch – Masi, Colnago and De Rosa being the most iconic.
However, the frame is later than Merckx’s Masi period, and it predates De Rosa. The Molteni-era Colnago frames often include an Ace of Spades emblem somewhere, often on the fork crown, but there’s no sign of a logo on this bike.
The Reynold 531 decal on the rear face of the seat tube does provide a clue. It practically rules out any Italian builder (Colnago occasionally specced Reynolds) and instead points us towards Belgian bike brand Kessels.
Fernand Kessels fulfilled orders from Merckx during this period, with many bikes featuring Reynolds 531 double-butted tubing throughout. However, he was not a builder, and instead relied on others to construct the frames for him. So, we’ll probably never know the builder behind this bike.
The components are mostly Campagnolo Nuovo Record – the outer chainring is Super Record – augmented by a Cinelli 1A quill stem and deep drop 66 pattern bars. The wheels feature Mavic Pro Rims laced to Campagnolo Record large-flange hubs. The sharp-eyed will notice that the Brooks Professional saddle has been modified by Ottusi of Milan.
