that's not a max seat lug, nor is it a max top tube in the normal orientation. did they flip the tube, mx-leader style? but then what lugs did they use? this is a max seat lug on a merckx frame. i wonder what the scoop is?
is just another mxl frame or some oddball? the owner says it's a custom max frame, but it's gotta be an mx-leader, even if it wasn't called one by the company.
update: this an mx-leader seat lug. the lug, top tube, brake cable routing and seatstays all look the same as on the custom 7-11 merckx. the 7-11 is a cool frame for sure; one-off merckx's gotta be wicked rare around here.
I'm guessing that Eddy did it both ways but he's best known for the horizontal oriented toptube axis at the head tube which would require two new lugs to be cast - it could be those weren't in existence for his first few MAX frames.
ReplyDeleteEither way it's a Merckx, using MAX tubing and lugs, cool paint - what more could you ask for except to remove five pounds from the weight of the frame and fork?
merckx made lugs special to flip a max top tube around? that's a scary thought. how much would that cost for just a few frames? that bike doesn't look like max tubing; it looks like an mx-leader. the wide part of the top tube doesn't look wide enough at the head tube. round or mini-max? it has to be an mx-leader. those seatstays aren't max, either and look very mx-leader-like. could the merckx factory really have made true max frames, mx-leaders and then a few weird hybrids in between? if that's true, eddy or somebody at the company was a monster. this frame is probably a custom geometry frame without the mx-leader decal.
ReplyDeleteit surely is a cool frame; i've said before a custom-geo merckx max frame will be one of the first stop once i figure out how to get the tardis going.