I have a great Colnago Crystal (mid '90's)that I built up 2 years ago. I love the bike. I recently scored an incredible deal on a '91 or '92 Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra. I can only keep one bike (space issues) and aside from basing my decision on ride quality, I'd like some others opinions, as they are both incredible steel frames. Colnago has full DA 9speed and is Columbus Crystal and the Merckx has full Ultegra 8 speed and is Columbus SLX. Whichever one stays would get the DA. Please give me some advise in terms of 1)ride quality 2)rarity 3)value 4)longevity 5)any other opinions. most of my rides are 40-70mi. i train for 40k distance in triathlons, but have a tri specific bike. i am 6'1" and 185 and would consider myself a fairly powerful rider excelling at flat sprints and descents. thanks.

What a nice quandry to be in, however I would vote for the Corsa Extra. During those early 90s years was the height of truly nice lugged frames. At your size, a little more stoutly built frame like the SLX would be a benefit. You're never going to notice the few more ounces it weighs. Your Merckx is something special with a proven history and not to mention top the line, the Crystal is very nice too, but it's not a Master Olympic or anything. You will probably get $400-500 depending on condition for the Crystal on Ebay if you choose to part with it.

brewster

thanks for the input. i tend to agree that although the crystal is a great frame, it won't have the snap that slx frames are famous for. i got the frame for $300 before i built it up, so i shouldn't see a loss. i do love the road feel and responsiveness that the colnago precisa steel forks provide. do you happen to know if merckx forks provide the same responsiveness? i don't have any experience with merckx frames and was also wondering if there will be toe/front wheel overlap due to the tightness of the wheelbase (like on the crystal). i know i should be shamed for calling my situation a predicament (but i got the merckx for less than the cost of my conago frame), but i appreciate all the info. thanks.

I did own a Pinarello Montello SLX a long time ago, but I have not ridden a Merckx SLX. My understanding is that the geometry is more laid back than some Italian brands for a long day in the saddle and controlled handling. My SLX frame was a 52cm, so it probably rode much different than one in your size. You might pose the question in the Merckx forum about the forks. Post a picture of your predicament!

brewster

Merckx. I just think the 90's Merckx slx were undeniably sexy and you can't go wrong with that choice.

107099

107100


merckx is, of course, sans aero bars now.

I just built up my Merckx Corsa and I am stunned by how well it rides. SMOOOOOOOOOTH!!! Solid out of the saddle, and I weigh more than you do. Absorbs the rode beautifully. I ride it and just break out laughing. I have a MX Leader also, and I think I like the Corsa better. Take the aero bars off and its perfect....

b21

that is the kind of info i am appreciative of. although i love the geometry of the colnago, it feels a little lackluster during sprint bursts on the flats or climbs. that said, i once had a serotta colorado that was beautifully stiff, but beat the crap out of me on rides more than 45mi. sounds like the merckx is a magical combination of the two qualities. however, i am still curious as to the handling and absorption of the merckx fork versus the colnago's precisa straight bladed fork (which i love). does anyone have any insights regarding this?

merckx is, of course, sans aero bars now.

Of course. I'd keep the Merckx, but that's just because I hate Colnago's straight-blade forks. A frame that classic ought to have a proper fork, rather than something designed to meet ease of production.

is ease of production the rationale behind colnago's straight blade forks? i was under the impression that the straight blades were designed to provide better lateral stiffness and a more agressive 43mm rake? although it would seem easier to make them than a beautiful sloped crown traditional style fork, i thought that the design was purposefully implemented to provide a tighter wheelbase and a slightly shorter downtube due to a lessened head tube angle. these were just my assumptions, so if anyone knows the facts please correct me. thanks for the input.

is ease of production the rationale behind colnago's straight blade forks? i was under the impression that the straight blades were designed to provide better lateral stiffness and a more agressive 43mm rake? although it would seem easier to make them than a beautiful sloped crown traditional style fork, i thought that the design was purposefully implemented to provide a tighter wheelbase and a slightly shorter downtube due to a lessened head tube angle. these were just my assumptions, so if anyone knows the facts please correct me. thanks for the input.

you have bought fully into the marketing-speak.

A properly designed fork with solid blades is what you need and will provide you all the "feedback" you want.

I am ashamed (?) to say I have 5 Merckx bikes. 4 of them have steel forks and the ride from those forks is sublime.

I very much like like my Corsa Extra with the beautifully raked steel fork.

Merckx's just have the mojo. take both down a twisty mountain road and let us know which one makes ya feel better

and after all, even with due respect to the Maestro Ernesto, we're talkin' Eddy

I would buy a rack that holds two bikes, one above the other on the wall.

thanks toomanybikes. i am compelled to provide you with the info that convinced me otherwise (howeverI have yet to ride the merckx fork). this is from the Societa Colnago webpage and can be viewed here:
http://www.ileach.co.uk/post/2005/colnago/index.html

"straight and to the point

did you ever wonder why ernesto started making straight forks? i remember phil and paul during a tour de france coverage from many moons ago surmising that one or two crashes on a very wet descent might be due to straight forks being less manoeuverable than the more traditional curved variety. not so.

in a filmed interview with ernesto, he mentions that it was due to the start of his collaboration with ferrari. their development engineers asked why he made curved forks when a straight fork would absorb road 'buzz' more efficiently, demonstrating this with a computer simulation.

in 1987 colnago introduced the precisa straight fork."

I will give my 2 cents after I have ridden both and can comment accordingly. Thanks again for the input.

i already have one holding my tt bike and my girlfriends cinelli super corsa. she says one has to go. maybe i just need to move out of the city and get a garage...

is ease of production the rationale behind colnago's straight blade forks? i was under the impression that the straight blades were designed to provide better lateral stiffness and a more agressive 43mm rake? although it would seem easier to make them than a beautiful sloped crown traditional style fork, i thought that the design was purposefully implemented to provide a tighter wheelbase and a slightly shorter downtube due to a lessened head tube angle. these were just my assumptions, so if anyone knows the facts please correct me. thanks for the input.

None of those things hang on whether fork blades are straight or curved. Rake and wheelbase are a function of a number of geometric concerns, and are part of the WHOLE. Most steel track and keirin framesets, for instance, feature curved fork blades and 30-35 mm rake, and steeper head angles to accommodate that. In fact, achieving really short rakes with straight blades can be hard because the crown castings' sockets are standardized to 40ish mm.

But yeah, Colnago just did that because raking fork blades by hand is difficult and inconsistent (relatively speaking). With straight blades, his builders could be dumber and could work faster, and if he used 43 mm rake forks on all his bikes (which I didn't know, and which I actually kind of doubt) then he could use the same head angles and have to adjust jig and lathe hardware less frequently (or not at all).

i already have one holding my tt bike and my girlfriends cinelli super corsa. she says one has to go. maybe i just need to move out of the city and get a garage...

your ex-gf and her Cinelli too much...

yeah...unfortunately i would.

i can see how straight blades=standardization=less specialized labor=faster production=more money. though i really hate to believe it; especially on a frame that has so many other nice details. i was thinking about trying a carbon fork on this frame. would it screw up the geometry by using a non-straight legged fork? thanks for the info.

I'd keep the merckx.

i can see how straight blades=standardization=less specialized labor=faster production=more money. though i really hate to believe it; especially on a frame that has so many other nice details. i was thinking about trying a carbon fork on this frame. would it screw up the geometry by using a non-straight legged fork? thanks for the info.

The only way a CF fork wouldn't mess up the handling is if it were EXACTLY the same dimensions as the stock fork, but it's pretty unlikely that you'll find such a beast. The axle-to-crown needs to be the same (and I've heard Colnago forks are short, but I kind of doubt it) and, more importantly, the rake needs to be spot-on. A-C is easy to measure; rake is not. I would not under any circumstances consider scrapping the steel fork.

As per curvy blades reducing "road buzz" more or less than straight, or one being stiffer than the other, that's a COMPLETE load of crap. Don't perpetuate its dissemination. Any Colnagophile who tells you otherwise is just trying, for the sake of his conscience, to excuse the fact that his brand sold out, as it were, ages ago...

I have both a Colnago C40 and a Merckx MX Leader (painted in Telekom Team colors). The C40 has seen 99% of the miles I’ve put in over the last several months.

However, yesterday I missed the group ride that was planned and decided to do a 70 mile solo ride instead. Since the MX Leader hadn't been out in a while, I decided to take it.

Wow! Once again, I was totally surprised and impressed by the bike. It is a full 5 lbs heavier than the C40, but it just "feels" so right! Don't get me wrong, I love the Colnago and its Italian heritage, but there is just something about the Merckx that makes me smile and laugh when I ride it.

I caught myself sprinting just for the hell of it and weaving back and forth on a few of the empty roads just enjoying the sublime, solidity of the bike. The ride route was through a lightly populated, agricultural area with nice, rolling hills Northeast of Austin. There are several old Lutheran churches in those old, German farming communities with classic, highly-steepled architecture. The Merckx and the surroundings made it feel like a one-man, mini-classic. :)

Either bike would be a fantastic machine. However my vote goes to the Merckx. To me, it represents a certain blue-collar, bare-knuckles, European cycling ethos. Don't get me wrong, I love Peroni, but would much rather have a Chimay! :)

Texbike

I have both a Colnago C40 and a Merckx MX Leader (painted in Telekom Team colors). The C40 has seen 99% of the miles I’ve put in over the last several months.

However, yesterday I missed the group ride that was planned and decided to do a 70 mile solo ride instead. Since the MX Leader hadn't been out in a while, I decided to take it.

Wow! Once again, I was totally surprised and impressed by the bike. It is a full 5 lbs heavier than the C40, but it just "feels" so right! Don't get me wrong, I love the Colnago and its Italian heritage, but there is just something about the Merckx that makes me smile and laugh when I ride it.

I caught myself sprinting just for the hell of it and weaving back and forth on a few of the empty roads just enjoying the sublime, solidity of the bike. The ride route was through a lightly populated, agricultural area with nice, rolling hills Northeast of Austin. There are several old Lutheran churches in those old, German farming communities with classic, highly-steepled architecture. The Merckx and the surroundings made it feel like a one-man, mini-classic. :)

Either bike would be a fantastic machine. However my vote goes to the Merckx. To me, it represents a certain blue-collar, bare-knuckles, European cycling ethos. Don't get me wrong, I love Peroni, but would much rather have a Chimay! :)

Texbike

how many brands, and more specifically modern additions to the market make riders wax so poetic?

how many brands, and more specifically modern additions to the market make riders wax so poetic?

I was just thinking the same thing. Half my family predates the Revolution in Tennessee, and the other half is sixth-generation Albertan. Still, the bikes I have build don't speak to me as having any sort of "heritage" - toothless-hic-cowboy-yokel or otherwise. In all honesty, I don't see how a bike can have any sort of heritage whatsoever, even less how it might change the ride quality: I mean, has Ernesto's successor succeeded in exporting it to wherever in Taiwan Colnagos are now built? I don't think it would detract from their ride quality whatsoever to suggest that the reason [insert brand] rides so well is because of design. Really: by any measure, Richard Sachs - even less his "new wave" - has no heritage, but no one would confess his bikes to be any less because of it...

And what could evoke such criticism save poetry? Sorry.

...............and the other half is sixth-generation Albertan. ..................

.


That explains everything!:D (just kidding - I'm from there - but now-a-days .........)

Wow. Two posters above mention "breaking out laughing" above.

Well I third it. I've been known to giggle a time or two, and I've been riding my Corsa 01 for seven years, and during that time have abandoned a Pinarello, and even a 3Rensho in favor of the Corsa. If you've got legs it'll be there, in fifty miles, a hundred miles, or two hundred miles, it'll still be there. It's butter smooth, predictable, and just begs for more miles.

It's also interesting to note a poster above favoring the Corsa over the MXLeader. I've heard this before as well. The Corsa is just flat out a great all around bicycle.

I'll sell my car before I get rid of my Corsa.

I would not under any circumstances consider scrapping the steel fork.


I don't think I will after all of the responses to my question. I am going to pull the DA from the Colnago and put it on the Merckx, meaning the Colnago is going to the ebay gods. thanks for all your input on colnago pedigree and design. I was not privy to most of that information and was foolish (as a scientist myself) to believe sources with an obvious vested interest in the marquis. I can't wait to get that "proper fork" ride.

Let me know if you get to the point when you want to sell the Colnago, I would be interested. Plus, like the color, not exactly a bike color you see everyday.

Keep the Merckx... Although I personally like the straight-blade Precisa fork, the Crystal was a budget Colnago.

I'd think the EM would handle better too.

i am going to sell the colnago. i got the merckx and it is incredible. i can offer the colnago as a bare frameset or built up. if you are interested in just the frameset make an offer. if you are interested in a built bike, email me for details of the build and we can take it from there. keep in mind that it will probably take me two weeks to strip the merckx, swap my gruppo to the merckx and get the colnago ready for sale. thanks. ryan ylwgto@hotmail.com

thanks to everyone for their input. you were all right. the merckx is incredible. i went on a short 30 mile ride and fell in love. the colnago will be for sale soon along with other stuff that i got in the merckx deal. i may be violating forum rules, but check out my eb*y auctions for some good stuff. my member id is ylwgto. if something strikes your fancy email me with an offer. thanks again for all the valuable info.
ryan ylwgto@hotmail.com

damn that merckx is SOO GOOD... great bright blue color.. dura ace would be sweet on it... very jealous.. NOW SOMEONE GET ME A TEKECOM or 711 !! haha..