Merckx '98 Titanium AX
Warner Yuen
I am interested in purchasing a 1998 Eddy Merckx Titanium AX. Does anybody
have any information on these? Who is it made by, is it a good frame, is
it better than a Litespeed Vortex. How is it different than the older
'97 Merckx TI AX frames.
I am also interested in how it rides, any impressions? I currently ride an
Merckx Century 653 and like the way it rides which is why I am interested
in the Ti AX frame.
I have read that the Merckx Ti bikes use Litespeed tubesets and are made
by both Litespeed (in the U.S.) and Eddy Merckx (Belgium) factories. I
read that it depends on if you buy it in Europe or the U.S. Is this true?
Thanks, any info would be appreciated.
Warner Yuen
yu...@netcom.com
--
Warner Yuen
NetGenics, Inc.
wy...@netgenics.com
yu...@netcom.com
off# (650) 617-9657
fax# (650) 617-9658
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VCopelan
yu...@netcom.com (Warner Yuen) writes:
>I am interested in purchasing a 1998 Eddy Merckx Titanium AX. Does anybody
>have any information on these? Who is it made by, is it a good frame, is
>it better than a Litespeed Vortex. How is it different than the older
>'97 Merckx TI AX frames.
>
>I am also interested in how it rides, any impressions? I currently ride an
>Merckx Century 653 and like the way it rides which is why I am interested
>in the Ti AX frame.
>
>I have read that the Merckx Ti bikes use Litespeed tubesets and are made
>by both Litespeed (in the U.S.) and Eddy Merckx (Belgium) factories. I
>read that it depends on if you buy it in Europe or the U.S. Is this true?
I own a old 1995 Eddy Merckx AX Ti frame in 58 cm. It is slightly different
than the 1998 Eddy Merckx in that the 1998 frame has an ovalized seat-tube and
ovalized chainstays. The 1995 model has S curved chainstays. All Eddy Merckx
Ti frames are manufactured by Lightspeed in the Unites States. Merckx
attempted to get Lightspeed to show them how to build the frames which
Lighspeed refused to do (at least that is what I was told by a racer who knows
David Linskey at Lightspeed).
I have had trouble with the frame in high speed descents. At speeds above 42
mph, the frame has a bad shimmy. I was told by the customer service people at
Lightspeed to talk to Gita Sports who market the frame. The customer service
person at Gita has not returned my telephone calls! BTW I have tried 3
different front wheels and the problem persists.
The ride of the Titanium AX is nice except at high speeds. The frame has a
wheelbase some what on the long side. The frame has a long top tube. I would
recommend the frame if you ride a smaller than 58 cm frame. The frame is not
as stiff as my steel frame but it is two pounds lighter. The Merckx AX is not
better than a Lightspeed Vortex! The Vortex is made of 6/4 alloy and is far
lighter and probably stiffer because if uses ovalized tubes in many locations.
Donald Butler
Warner Yuen wrote in message ...
>I am interested in purchasing a 1998 Eddy Merckx Titanium AX. Does anybody
>have any information on these? Who is it made by, is it a good frame, is
>it better than a Litespeed Vortex. How is it different than the older
>'97 Merckx TI AX frames.
The AX is basically a Litespeed Classic. I don't know if they use the same
geometry or not. Merckx may put his stamp on it using more classic Euro
geometry. Who knows? I have heard that the Merckx at speed gets a little
out of kilter and folks I know who own the Classic don't have that problem.
Rider input maybe?? The probability of getting a bad ti frame is neglible,
especially if Litespeed has a hand in it. The geometry becomes the issue.
The Merckx frames are going to be more expensive than the comparible
Litespeed. (Pay for the name)
As for it being better than the Vortex. ABSOLUTELY NO WAY IN A MILLION
YEARS IS IT BETTER. I own a Vortex. I can't say that I am an expert about
a lot of bikes, but have owned Cannondale, Colnago, DeRosa, Paramount and an
old Alan. I still have the DeRosa but I am not sure I will ever ride it
again. The Vortex immediately made me a better rider, whether
psychologically or because of the bikes properties, can't say. But I know
that I am more comfortable in every condition, especially climbing and
sprinting. However, where this bike takes off is in handling downhill, this
thing runs on a rail. I've had it to 55 with nary a shiver (except from me)
Plus my bike weights in at a heavy 18lbs.
There is a lot of confusion regarding the who makes it issue. Litespeed
does not release information on exactly who's bikes they do and do not
produce but every ti bike at Gita is in a Litespeed box. I had heard that
Merckx tried for a little bit to make the frames but decided it wasn't it
worth it. If I were you I would do a careful comparison between the
geometry of your current bike and the AX and decide if the changes are worth
it. Try to find a built bike of similar geometry and try it out. I will
say that riding a ti frame is better than steel, IMOH. I think that the
comfort level is just greater eventhough the frame is stiffer. Plus if
weight is an issue....
You said you like the ride of your current bike, why the change? Consider
the factors that are leading you to a change and address those.
I have heard several stories about problems with Gita's customer service. I
have even heard them from people in Charlotte (where Gita is located). I
personally have never had a problem with them (I am a sucker for Diadoras).
So you may want to consider that.
Hope that helps.
Donald Butler
drbu...@mindspring.com
Bruce Frech
Donald Butler wrote:
>
> Warner Yuen wrote in message ...
> >I am interested in purchasing a 1998 Eddy Merckx Titanium AX. Does anybody
> >have any information on these? Who is it made by, is it a good frame, is
> >it better than a Litespeed Vortex. How is it different than the older
> >'97 Merckx TI AX frames.
>
> The AX is basically a Litespeed Classic.
No. The Merckx AX is much closer to the Lightspeed Tuscany. The
Classic is the next model up in finish: it has ti water bottle mounts,
ti shifter bosses, front der mount, and a higher price. The Tuscany and
AX have similar price and none of these bits are ti. Bottle mounts are
rivets, shifter bosses are bolted on, and neither have a frt der mount.
The Classic also has a sculpted seat cluster design (which doesn't
affect the ride but it looks nice).
The main difference between the Lightspeed models and the Merckx is the
geometry. Merckx specifies different geometry. All road Lightspeeds
have almost the same geometry (Classic has longer chainstays, Ultimate's
aer shorter), and usually slightly longer top tubes than the Merckx.
Note that the Merckx's are measured center to center while the
Lightspeeds are center to top.
VCopelan
<bruce...@bentley.com>writes:
>> The AX is basically a Litespeed Classic.
>No. The Merckx AX is much closer to the Lightspeed Tuscany. The
>Classic is the next model up in finish: it has ti water bottle mounts,
>ti shifter bosses, front der mount, and a higher price. The Tuscany and
>AX have similar price and none of these bits are ti. Bottle mounts are
>rivets, shifter bosses are bolted on, and neither have a frt der mount.
>The Classic also has a sculpted seat cluster design (which doesn't
>affect the ride but it looks nice).
No. The Merckx AX does have Ti water bottle mounts which are welded and Ti
shifter bosses. The Merckx does not have a front derailleur mount. The Merckx
also does not have vertical rear dropouts and does not come with the polished
finish option. The Lightspeed classic also has a ovalized toptube. BTW what is
a sculpted seat cluster design? The chainstays/seattube cluster on my Merckx
AX looks exactly like my friends Lightspeed classic.
Gene Tolli
A couple years ago when I was eyeing the Ti Merckx it had an
Italian-threaded BB. Not sure if this is still true, but something to
keep in mind.
--
Regards,
Gene Tolli
form...@mailbag.com
"Yes sir," said Zenoida, "I do prefer the dwelling of simplicity
and truth to the mansions of treachery and imposture."
Voltaire, Candid.
VCopelan
<form...@mailbag.com>writes:
>A couple years ago when I was eyeing the Ti Merckx it had an
>Italian-threaded BB. Not sure if this is still true, but something to
>keep in mind.
Yes, this is true. I believe the Lightspeed frames have English thread
bottom brackets. I know that the Lightspeed manufactured Merckx Ti frames have
an Italian thread BB.
The older Merckx AX frames like mine also has S curved chain stays like
Serrotta. The newer Merckx AX has ovalized chainstays and seattube.
Rick Steele
In article <6cka8e$h...@camel12.mindspring.com>, "Donald Butler"
<drbu...@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Warner Yuen wrote in message ...
> >I am interested in purchasing a 1998 Eddy Merckx Titanium AX. Does anybody
> >have any information on these? Who is it made by, is it a good frame, is
> >it better than a Litespeed Vortex. How is it different than the older
> >'97 Merckx TI AX frames.
>
> The AX is basically a Litespeed Classic. I don't know if they use the same
> geometry or not. Merckx may put his stamp on it using more classic Euro
> geometry. Who knows? I have heard that the Merckx at speed gets a little
> out of kilter and folks I know who own the Classic don't have that problem.
> Rider input maybe?? The probability of getting a bad ti frame is neglible,
> especially if Litespeed has a hand in it. The geometry becomes the issue.
> The Merckx frames are going to be more expensive than the comparible
> Litespeed. (Pay for the name)
[snip]
From the sizing I see listed in catalogs, Merckx Ti frames have different
geometry, to include longer top tubes, and C-C sizing in 1 cm increments.
I'm considering the purchase of one because the geometry appears to suite
my dimensions better than the stock Litespeed sizes. Maybe pay for what
fits! From what I can tell, the 98 AX is priced comparable to the
Litespeed Classic.
Rick
Bruce Frech
Looking at the Colorado Cyclist Catalog, Holiday 97:
Classic/Tuscany vs Merckx AX:
price: 1525, 1350, 1295 (all with same fork:Kinesis AL)
sizing seat tube(C-T or C-C)/top tube(TT)
(subtract one cm from C-T to get C-C):
LS Merckx
C-T TT C-C TT
49 51.0 48 51.6
51 52.5 50 52.8
53 54.0 52 53.8
55 55.5 54 54.8
57 56.5 56 56.0
59 57.5 58 57.3
61 59.0 60 58.3
So the top tubes on smaller Lightspeeds are slightly shorter than the
Merckx and on larger they are slightly longer. But the seat angle is
steeper on the smaller LSs so the horizontal distance from the BB to the
headtube is longer or the same in all sizes.
The Merckx does have the advantage of one cm sizing as you mentioned,
but unless the price has changed the AX is much less money than the
Classic. It's even less than the Tuscany.
The Merckx has longer chainstays. And looking at the little picture I'd
say the rear dropout is not as pretty. I also don't like the looks of
the ovalized seat tube. I know it helps the BB stiffness but the
downtube determines most of the BB stiffness by it resistance to
twist/torsion. (Hence Cannondale's use of HUGE downtubes.)
The big question is which decals do you prefer.