# 2011-2012 Merckx EMX 3



## kegbert1

Anybody here on the Merckx thread recently purchase or riding a 2011 or 2012 EMX 3? I am currently riding a slightly too large Ridley Excalibur. The Excalibur is a great, lively bike, but a little too stiff @ 30 milles. Many thanks for any comments or experiences.


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## vette

This is a dead forum... someone play taps please...


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## Cinelli 82220

The Merckx brand is dead. 
They made great bikes in their heyday, but it's a shell of its former self.
I used to idolise Merckx and spent months last year trying to buy an EMX7. Nobody there has a clue. They don't make or design anything anymore anyway, it's just another Sette or Ritte.


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## atpjunkie

Merckx should go back to making steel. Outsourcing your CF doesn't do much. Though the last CF Merckx review I read was glowing


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## tigger

It is a great shame Merckx bikes are no longer made in Belgium when Eddy worked there.IMO the bikes are not special like they used to be.


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## HigherGround

Cinelli 82220 said:


> The Merckx brand is dead.
> They made great bikes in their heyday, but it's a shell of its former self.
> I used to idolise Merckx and spent months last year trying to buy an EMX7. Nobody there has a clue. They don't make or design anything anymore anyway, it's just another Sette or Ritte.


I thought it was interesting that when I did the Gran Fondo New York ride earlier this year, there were 5,000 riders, and I saw only two other people riding on Merckx bikes. They were matching carbon rides.


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## pablo pinchasso

*why Steel MERCKX will go up in value...*

This is exactly why the steel Merckx will continue to climb in value...no more built under Eddy Merckx supervision or in Belgium....chrome on a steel Merckx died in 2001 when the Belgian goverment stopped any chrome plating....so chrome is $$$$ on a Merckx.

the slurpie Merckx from 2005...looked like crap...i have heard problems with the 2005 MX also.....
But never much complaint about the 1980-2002 era bikes....


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## atpjunkie

*I have all the details*



pablo pinchasso said:


> This is exactly why the steel Merckx will continue to climb in value...no more built under Eddy Merckx supervision or in Belgium....chrome on a steel Merckx died in 2001 when the Belgian goverment stopped any chrome plating....so chrome is $$$$ on a Merckx.
> 
> the slurpie Merckx from 2005...looked like crap...i have heard problems with the 2005 MX also.....
> But never much complaint about the 1980-2002 era bikes....


2005 Motorola MXL (last 100 built) size 61. Not a problem encountered yet


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## HigherGround

pablo pinchasso said:


> This is exactly why the steel Merckx will continue to climb in value...no more built under Eddy Merckx supervision or in Belgium....chrome on a steel Merckx died in 2001 when the Belgian goverment stopped any chrome plating....so chrome is $$$$ on a Merckx.


I did the GFNY on my 1992/93 MX Leader - blood red with a chrome chainstay and drop outs.  I actually remember a rider from Germany who passed me, and his Delta brakes caught my eye. It turns out that he was on a nice, classic steel Tommasini.


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## waydownsouth

I would love to see new steel Merckx frames made in Belgium, but I presume that there must be a reason it's not happening (the chrome issue aside). The tubing exists, Columbus has new Max tubing in the latest steel not to mention XCr. I can only speculate that the costs of producing these frames in Belgium would be prohibitive, or that the skilled labour required to do so simply no longer resides there. Perhaps the sad truth is that those of us willing to pay what it would cost for a modern steel made in Belgium Merckx are simply too few in number to make it a worthwhile proposition. What I suspect it's partly this and partly simply the fact that it's so much easier to put the name of the legend upon the downtube of an outsourced CF frame from asia. It would require passion, commitment and money to make great steel frames under the Merckx name in Belgium. The great man himself has clearly had his fill of being a bike maker, and fair enough. On a purely selfish level I'm glad I have stockpiled enough MX Leaders and Arcobalenos to last me for quite some time.


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## HigherGround

I think waydownsouth has hit the nail on the head. I agree that it is a combination of lack of market demand, paired with the cost of manufacturing steel in Belgium vs. carbon in Asia.


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## Yerma

I have a 2011 EMX 3, Matt black. I've only put 500-600 miles on it and I think it's a very good to excellent frame set for my style of riding and my needs. After 30 years of fast riding and racing I was looking for a few things in the frame set. Slightly more relaxed position but not sluggish, slightly higher head tube but not true fondo geometry, not a dead feeling that some carbon frames have and durability vs uber light. The EMX 3 fits the bill. That said, I plan to sell it and go custom. A few rides on it were in the 70 mile range and I din't feel it was too stiff or harsh. I like it better than my Madone.


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