# The one that got away - How I ended up with a Team SC



## Nurgen Pete

Over the winter I stumbled across a message on the website of the UK Merckx distributor, announcing that Merckx would sell off their NOS stock of MX Leader-frames. Instantly I wanted one, and I wanted one bad. 









_All the NOS MXL's were to be painted in this paint scheme. Instant love_

And lo and behold, the next day my old boss at Oslo Sportslager (The Norwegian Merckx distributor, and one of the biggest bike shops in Oslo) called me at work asking if I'd be interested in one of these steel Merckx frames he'd got an offer for. I told him to hold the line for a minute while I started furiously searching the internet for a MX Leader geo-sheet. I placed an order with him over the phone within five minutes of him saying "hello".
A week or so later I got the depressing e-mail message telling me that we were just too late, all the small size MXL's had been blown away in a matter of days, and I got the impression that a few frames were even double booked..

Now what? I knew I wanted a new bike, I have an early 80's Professional that I love, and I knew that I wanted Merckx and I wanted one with a horizontal TT..
"Claes, what price can you offer me on a Premium Classic?"
He called me up within an hour or so and gave me a quote. It was a bit too much for my wallet, and not retro enough. He must have known because he had checked with the guys at Merckx and they had an unpainted 50cm Team SC in stock. The price was right and now we were down to choosing paint schemes.. The choices were the obvious Domo/FarmFrites-scheme, or any of the current '09 catalogue paint schemes, others would cost extra. "What about the white with red decals that were offered on the MXL's?" I asked. He agreed to check and call me back. "No problem" was the answer. "Go for it!" I said.









_Servais Knaven rocks the Domo/Farm Frites Team SC in the '01 Paris - Roubaix (image from cyclingnews.com)_

Fast forward a couple of months and working for the Norwegian Shimano distributor starts paying off: The new Dura-Ace 7900-kit and assorted PRO-goodies start turning up with my name on the boxes. And just before easter I get the news that there's a frame set waiting for me at Oslo Sportslager..
I immediately jump in my car to go pick it up. The frame is GORGEOUS! While in the store I also pick up a Campy Record hiddenset headset for the frame and the I go home with a permanent grin on my face. Too bad I "have" to go on an eight day easter vacation/skiing trip with my wife & kid.. 
Now that easter is over and I've been spending a few hours in my basement workshop I can present to you all: The result!









_Slightly retro, very much modern, yet all classic Merckx_

The bike is built with a complete Dura-Ace 7900-group, including a compact crankset, Dura-Ace C24 carbon/alu clincher wheels.









_My opinion is definitely biased, but I still think the new Dura-Ace is pretty cool looking. We can all agree that the drop-outs are sweet, though_

This is my second Scandium-frame (I have a Niner One9 single speed mountain bike with Easton GX2 tubing). I love how the tubes aren't insanely over sized, and the classic round shapes.









_Check out who Easton lists as a reference for SC-tubing on their website_

It also comes in handy that Shimano Nordic is also a Selle Italia distributor









_If it works for Alessandro Ballan.._

Not a lot of choices when it comes to head sets, guess the Hiddenset-standard never quite caught on? But as long as you can get Campy-quality bearings it's all cool
Shimano sponsored Credit Agricole last year with both Shimano and PRO-stuff, they even got Thor Hushovd to endorse a stem and a handlebar. I put on "his" stem as tribute one of the winningest Norwegian pro's ever









_The token Campy-component on an otherwise "tout Shimano"-bike, also - the mighty hammer of Thor, err.. Thor Hushovd signature edition stem_

When I contemplated paint/decal options for the frame I decided early on that I needed to have the bike/rainbow/drikleur-logo on the head tube.









_When the guy who puts his name on the bike is both a world- and Belgian champ you earn massive bragging rights_

The roads around Oslo are notorious for the sh**ty roads. The blacktop gets really beaten up during winter, and even worse when the ground thaws up.. 25c tires are a real savior. No problem fitting those on a Merckx!









_Notice the matching red buttons on the Elite Ciussi bottle cages_  

The paintwork is next to flawless and the color is really shiny. I love it!









_I'm in a reaally bad shape, I need the 34!_

Oh, and that image on the FK Marketing-site of the paint-scheme? It doesn't do it justice at all! This one's a bit better, atleast you see the gold trim around the EM-logo :ihih: 









_Che Merckx! (as my t-shirt says)_

Too bad I'm caught up in the extremely time consuming job as a dad to an 9 month old boy, haven't had the time to ride the bike yet  (My kid said "papa" for the first time today, so it's definitely worth it)
Hopefully I'll be able to take it out on it's maiden voyage this weekend, weather forecast looks promising at least.


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## ElvisMerckx

*Beautiful!*

Love it! I bought my Team SC in 2002 and it's been my primary ride ever since -- that's saying a lot because I've suffered from newbikeitis since the 1970s, and, prior to the Team SC, never kept the same road frame for more than 2 seasons. I sincerely hope you love yours as much as I love mine.

Now get out an ride it!


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## HigherGround

What - Campagnolo was good enough for Eddy, but it's not good enough for you? :wink: 

Just kidding, of course. What a beautiful bike! Thanks for telling the story behind it, and for posting all of the great pictures. I'm sure that many of us will be looking forward to the ride report. Best wishes for the new ride, and with the family!


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## barry1021

Great story, great bike, great build, congrats NP, you done good, no you done great!

b21


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## cannibal

nice work on the frameset acquisition and narrative. The build is quite nice too.


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## boneman

*Well done*

I have a Domo Frite livery SC in 50cm size as well. Nice job with the paint and the story. Although I have Corsa, 753, EX and Genius Merckx's, I've never really gone hard after an MX. In our size, they rarely come up for sale although I said that about the 753 and after 10 years of waiting, I finally own one.

Good job with the bike. How do you like the 7900 and what gruppo were you using before?


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## Nurgen Pete

*First impressions on Team SC + 7900*

I'd love to have one of the Century geo' steel frames, like a Century TSX, but I don't have the patience to surf E-bay for one.. On the other hand I don't have the space for yet another Merckx, but if the opportunity arose I'm sure I'd find room for one 

So far I have only one short ride on both the Team SC and 7900, but my first impressions are:

Team SC - Instant love. I felt at home from the first pedal stroke and everything fit like a glove, much like my Professional. The Specialized I used to ride was OK, but never ended up with the same fit as this bike. Long top tubes and slack seat angles rule!
Even though I have a 31.6mm alu post and a pretty stiff Selle Italia SLR-seat on the bike it felt plenty "horizontally stiff, yet vertically compliant" - I'll credit that to the 25c tires and said angles. Going downhill was really fun too, and I even managed to push my top speed going down the Ekeberg-hill* a couple of km/h's up from what I've been used to running. I believe "confidence inspiring" are the words used in magazines..

Dura-Ace 7900 - Rear shifting is pretty much the same as before, but that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone - Campy, SRAM and Shimano have all pretty much perfected pushing a chain on a cassette down to an art anyways. But the front shifting on 7900 is out of this world. No need for trim, and this time it's for real. No rubbing or fuzzing about, and shifting from the small to the large chainring, even on a 50/34, felt almost as effortless as shifting from 15 to 16 in the rear.. The brakes are supposed to be more powerful, but I never really had to toss the anchor during my one hour ride. Modulation felt nice though and the ergonomics of the new STI's are perfect, at least for my stubby little fingers. 

Previous groups I've been using are Ultegra 6600/Dura-Ace 7800-mix, Ultegra 6500 and Tiagra 4400 + a handful of testrides on various Campy-stuff

*)The road down the hill from Ekeberg is the one at the end of the '93 world championship race course


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## jaxxon

I'm back on my 2002 Team SC (which I have been using as my winter/foul weather bike) and I just love it. It is an extremely comfortable, stiff, durable bike that just keeps impressing me. I might put some more modern parts on it soon, but it is a great ride. Enjoy it.


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## Rot Weiss Essen

Just curious on what your Team SC/Shimano 7900 ended up weighing in at?


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## Guest

Team SC. nice ride, I would love to have one in the Domo scheme.


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## MerckxMad

Wow! That's a beautiful build. I've recently rediscovered my Team SC ('02 Domo colors) and am really enjoying a return to aluminum for a change of pace. That photo of Knaven's PR win in '01 is what spurred me to buy an SC. Pure adrenalin. Have fun on yours!


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## Nurgen Pete

Rot Weiss Essen said:


> Just curious on what your Team SC/Shimano 7900 ended up weighing in at?


Pretty close to 7.4kg with a ridiculously long 350mm seatpost and big ol' 25c tires. I've recently acquired a 27.2mm reducer shim, so I'll have a go at mounting my pretty SP-7410 Dura-Ace seatpost soon, my guess/hope is that this will make for quite a visible difference on the scales

Watching Thor go nuts on the way down from Roselend and Col de Saisies yesterday really makes me want to tear it up on the down hills, and I love how this bike descends


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## Rot Weiss Essen

That is a pretty good weight at 7.4k considering you have 25mm tires on it. My 05 Eddy Merckx Race weighed in at 7.2k or 15.9lbs when I got done building it up in May, but it was the largest size they make in a sloping geometry. I also thought about doing the new 7900 Shimano, but the shape and feel of the new Campy hoods and levers won me over. I like the clean look of your Team SC, very well done.


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## marykhana

Great post, I just bought an 09 Team SC Frame and I can't wait to get it fitted out and out on the road.


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## tcurtbike

Nice bike! Did you have to change to seatpost clamp on your 7s seatpost to use the SLR?


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## atpjunkie

*Nice bike*

the white is cool
I would have gone Domo FF in a heartbeat


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