Eddy Merckx Kessels Team Fiat Road Bike 1970s

The first bikes which were to bear the Eddy Merckx logo, were the Eddy Merckx Kessels bikes in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Nobody less than the Champion himself rode them.
Unfortunatly Kessels made some cheaper, mass produced Eddy Merckx bikes some years later. Thus many people forgot about the professional bikes they once assembled.

A small manufacture, the family Vaneenooghe were amongst those who were producing for Kessels back in the early days. Later in the 1980s they made the bikes for the pro team Splendor, with riders as Sean Kelly, Eddy Planckaert and others.
Our Kessels is one of those which were built by the specialists of Vaneenooghe, clearly recognisable by the "Compass" on the fork crown.
The frame is completely built with Reynolds 531 tubing, at least that is what the stickers say. Many Kessels frames used those butted tubes just on some of the main tubes and heavier gauge for the stays. Worth mentioning are also the rather unusual slotted headlugs - a fine detail, indeed!
The bike is fully equipped with a nice Campagnolo Nuovo Record Groupset.
The bike has been refurbished recently and thus is in accordingly great condition.

A bike for real Eddy Merckx fans. Great for vintage cycling events. But of course it is also an eye-turner wherever you ride it.