For a lot of newbie cyclists racing within the Nineteen Seventies, the determine of Eddy Merckx dominated ideas for example of the final word skilled. There was a lot celebration across the Cannibal’s eightieth birthday as followers regarded again upon an incredible profession that has not been surpassed within the many years since. An entertaining YouTube video reveals what is likely to be the final word fan tribute to Eddy, one thing that clearly required distinctive ability and diligence.
There’s a YouTube channel named “John’s Classic Bike Storage,” through which John, who lives close to Chicago, reveals his spectacular bike assortment or takes viewers to classic bike occasions. He was concerned within the bicycle retail finish of issues and appears to like just about all previous racing bikes. He’s an actual fanatic, which makes up for video methods that could be missing a bit. Don’t count on fancy graphics, dramatic background music or tight scripting however there may be loads of authenticity to go along with the digital camera waving, together with brow-furrowing effort to attempt to pronounce overseas names.
In a half hour video which John apparently posted in November 2024 however just lately confirmed up once more on YouTube, he travelled to Golden, Colorado to go to Wealthy Gangl at his workshop. Gangl was a proficient highway racer within the Nineteen Seventies and in 1979 started constructing his personal frames, but additionally impressed by Merckx he constructed up a really outstanding tribute assortment, the topic of the video.
Within the automobile fanatic world, there are “tribute” automobiles which permit folks to reside out their automobile goals. Should you liked the Highland Inexperienced Mustang within the movie “Bullitt,” getting the unique automobile would have value you $3.7 million when it offered at public sale in 2020 however you should buy a 1968 Mustang Fastback and with the fitting paint and equipment, you could have your individual Bullitt Mustang. Wealthy Gangl has executed the equal of this with bicycles as he has recreated all of the bicycles utilized by Eddy Merckx in his skilled profession. And the place he was unable to discover a period-correct Colnago or De Rosa to revive, he went even additional and utilized his framebuilder expertise to construct the bicycles from scratch. The outcomes, together with a formidable assortment of jerseys and pictures (many signed), is jaw-dropping in case you are a classic bicycle fanatic.
The video begins with Mr. Gangl speaking about his time as a racer and the folks he knew from then. He’s standing in his workshop and my understanding from the video is that he’s now not actively constructing for patrons however just for his personal enjoyment. The workshop is completely spotless—it appears like no bike was ever constructed there!–and consists of areas for mitering, brazing and portray, all very orderly. He may do every little thing aside from chroming.
The topic of the video is the Merckx tribute assortment and Mr. Gangl has organized the bicycles within the workshop and he and John go over every of them in chronological order, with every bike having an info signboard in entrance of it, with associated pictures close by and the suitable jersey behind.
In 1965 Eddy Merckx joined his first professional crew, Solo Superia, captained by Rik van Looy. The gorgeous bicycle proven by Mr. Gangl is a precise reproduction of the one Merckx would have ridden as made by Remi Claes again within the day however is definitely made by Wealthy Gangl. The componentry, together with New Previous Inventory elements from Campagnolo, is immaculate and all the bike represents years of analysis to get every little thing good. This consideration to element is manifested in each bike displayed, the one distinction with the precise Merckx bikes is that Gangl has constructed them in his personal body measurement in order that he can experience all of them!
Merckx moved on to Peugeot so a PX-10 is current, then on to the Italian Faema/Faemino crew, the place Mr. Gangl has constructed precise replicas of the Masi Speciales utilized by Merckx. Then it’s on to the long-lasting orange Molteni bikes constructed by Colnago and De Rosa earlier than Merckx ended his profession with the FIAT and C&A groups.
Clearly the satisfaction of the gathering is the exact reproduction of the Colnago monitor bike on which Merckx set his One Hour File in 1972 in Mexico Metropolis. The reproduction is really precise, with even the edges drilled to save lots of weight. Mr. Gangl is clearly proud that the bicycle weighs solely a fraction greater than the 12 kilos of authentic because of the few additional grams of the tires he has used in comparison with the now-unobtainable ones of the Merckx bike. He even has replica Windsor stickers placed on the bike in Mexico on the final minute, to the consternation of Ernesto Colnago.
After all, no assortment each appears to be fairly full and when Mr. Gangl discovered {a photograph} of Eddy Merckx on the Masi monitor bike he used for Six Day Races, he needed to discover a Masi body to duplicate that one as effectively, noting particular variations corresponding to Merckx’s use of highway handlebars fairly than monitor ones.
For these within the classic bicycle pastime, this video is a take a look at a formidable assortment that isn’t a mere accumulation of bicycles however a centered one capturing a profession of an amazing bike owner but additionally highlighting the dedication of a collector whose capability and expertise far surpass what most of us may think about. It’s properly captured right here for posterity by a collector recognizing that Wealthy Gangl’s Merckx mission is one thing fairly particular.
“A Tribute to Eddy Merckx: Each Bike He Raced”
A YouTube video by John’s Classic Bike Storage
November 2024
34 minutes lengthy.
Like PEZ? Why not subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter to obtain updates and reminders on what’s cool in highway biking?
