Where Are Eddy Merckx Bikes Made? | Factory Origins Map

If you have ever typed “where are eddy merckx bikes made?” into a search box, you are not alone.

Fans care about where their frames come from, who builds them, and how much real Belgian craft is in each model with the famous Merckx name on the downtube.

Where Are Eddy Merckx Bikes Made?

The short location answer is clear today: modern Eddy Merckx bikes belong to the Belgian Cycling Factory group and roll out of its “Factory of Dreams” in Beringen in the Limburg region of Belgium.

Design, paint, and final assembly happen there, under one roof, while most carbon and alloy frames are produced by long term partner plants in Asia and then shipped to Belgium for finishing and quality checks.

Production History By Era

The brand did not always work this way. Over five decades the label on the downtube has stayed the same, but the workshop behind it has shifted several times.

Period	Main Production Location	Notes
Early 1970s	Italy, Belgium, France, Japan	Branded frames supplied by builders such as Pela, Masi, Colnago, De Rosa, Kessels, and Miyata for different markets.
1980s	Meise, Belgium	Eddy Merckx opened his own factory near Brussels, bringing brazing and finishing work under one Belgian roof.
1990s–mid 2010s	Zellik, Belgium plus Asian frame suppliers	The company assembled bikes in a Brussels area facility while importing many frames from Asia.
2017	Beringen, Belgium	Belgian Cycling Factory acquired the brand and prepared a move of Merckx production into its main site in Beringen.
Late 2010s	Beringen, Belgium and Asian frame plants	Design, paint, and assembly concentrated in the Belgian factory while frames kept coming from partner plants in Asia.
2020s	Beringen, Belgium and wider Asian supply base	Modern gravel and road lines follow the same pattern: frames from Asia, finishing and assembly in Belgium.
Limited steel projects	Specialist builders in Belgium	Small runs such as anniversary steel frames have been made by long serving Merckx craftsmen in Belgian workshops.

This mix of locations is common in high end cycling. Frame factories in Taiwan and other Asian regions deliver tube sets and complete frames, while the Belgian site handles visual identity, custom paint, build kits, and dispatch to dealers.

The result is a bike that carries global input but still comes together inside a single Belgian facility before it reaches your local shop.

Where Eddy Merckx Bikes Are Built And Assembled Today

Right now the heart of Eddy Merckx production is the Belgian Cycling Factory site on Beverlosesteenweg in Beringen, a plant shared with sister brand Ridley.

On the brand’s own pages you will see the line “Our bikes are made in Belgium: from design to assembly, almost everything happens in the Factory of Dreams in Beringen,” and that statement reflects the daily flow on the shop floor.

Raw frames arrive from partner factories, move through an in house paint shop, and then reach assembly lines where mechanics fit groupsets, wheels, finishing kit, and decals before the bike leaves for the dealer network.

Belgian Cycling Factory quotes a capacity of up to 400 custom bikes per day at this site, and it now runs an Asia office in Taichung that manages sourcing, quality checks, and logistics for frames and parts while Beringen stays the place where complete Eddy Merckx bikes are finished.

Why Frames Often Come From Asia

Many riders picture hand built steel in a small European workshop when they think about Merckx. Modern reality mixes that heritage with industrial scale frame work in Asia.

For years Eddy Merckx Cycles has imported a large share of its frames from Asian plants while keeping design, paint, and assembly at home in Belgium, a pattern backed up by a trade report on Eddy Merckx production and by the wider Ridley production model.

That split is common because Asian vendors handle high volume carbon layup and hydroformed alloy work at scale, while the Beringen factory can concentrate on fit, geometry, custom colours, and careful final assembly.

Vintage Eddy Merckx Frames And Country Labels

Many questions about where Eddy Merckx bikes are made come from collectors browsing old steel frames on auctions and local ads.

In the early years, framesets sold under the Merckx name came from respected builders in several countries, including Italian craftsmen such as Colnago and De Rosa, Belgian shops like Kessels, and Japanese partners such as Miyata for some export lines.

From 1980 onward the Meise factory carried more of the work, with in house staff trained by builders such as Ugo De Rosa, while certain production still sat with outside partners for some markets and models.

Later, the Zellik facility near Brussels took over as the main site for assembly and finishing, and that plant handled the brand’s shift from steel to alloy and carbon.

This layered history explains why two frames with the same logo can carry different country stamps, tube stickers, or serial number formats.

On many steel frames from the eighties and early nineties you may spot small “Made in Belgium” stamps even when some tubes or lugs came from abroad, because the last brazing, alignment, paint, and build steps still took place inside the Meise or Zellik facilities, and these marks matter to many collectors today.

How To Tell Where Your Eddy Merckx Bike Was Made

If you already own a Merckx and want to know its story, a little detective work can show where it sits in the timeline above.

Check The Frame Details

Start with the bottom bracket shell and the rear dropouts. Older steel frames often include stamped codes and country marks, while newer carbon frames carry printed serials under the clear coat.

Look for small “Made in Belgium” or “Made in Italy” labels, Columbus or Reynolds tubing decals, or Miyata marks on some seventies export frames.

Gather Paperwork And Serial Numbers

Dealer receipts, original build sheets, or warranty cards can narrow down the period and model name.

If you still cannot place the bike, you can send clear photos of the serials and frame details to a specialist Merckx forum or classic bike group; long time fans often help match codes to production years.

Match Features To Known Eras

Paint schemes, lug shapes, cable routing, and rear spacing all point toward certain periods.

In many cases internal rear brake routing often lines up with later steel frames, while external cables and quill stems suggest an earlier build.

How The Factory Process Works From Order To Bike

To answer that question in a practical way, it helps to see how one bike moves from your online order or dealer visit to the first ride.

The path stays short in distance, but it passes through a clear set of stages inside and outside Belgium.

Lead times vary with model and paint choice, but in many cases a bike can move from confirmed order to boxed shipment within a few weeks because most steps sit under one roof in Beringen.

Modern Production Steps

The outline below uses the current Belgian Cycling Factory setup and applies to most standard road and gravel models.

Step	Where It Happens	What It Involves
Design And Engineering	R&D teams in Flanders	Geometry, tubing, and layup are drawn up alongside Ridley projects in the Belgian headquarters.
Frame Production	Partner factories in Asia	Carbon or alloy frames and forks are produced to Merckx specifications and batch tested.
Shipping To Belgium	From Asia to Beringen	Frames are packed and shipped to the Factory of Dreams for paint and assembly.
Paint And Finish	Beringen paint shop	Frames receive primer, colour coats, logos, and clear coat by hand in the in house facility.
Bike Assembly	Beringen assembly lines	Mechanics build complete bikes with drivetrains, cockpit, wheels, tyres, and finishing touches.
Quality Control	Beringen quality team	Torque checks, alignment checks, and full visual inspection take place before packing.
Distribution	From Beringen to dealers	Finished bikes ship out to stores and distributors across Europe and beyond.

For riders, this means the “made in Belgium” claim on recent Eddy Merckx bikes refers to design, paint, assembly, and checks taking place in Beringen and not every gram of material coming from Belgian soil.

Frame factories in Asia and the Belgian plant work together, and you feel that mix when you ride a current Merckx on rough pavé or smooth tarmac.

Should Factory Location Guide Your Buying Decision?

When riders ask “where are eddy merckx bikes made?” the deeper question often sits behind it: does the mix of Belgian and Asian work change how the bike rides or holds value.

For modern bikes, the answer tends to be simple. Frames from trusted Asian vendors, finished and assembled by a skilled team in Beringen, deliver ride quality and durability that match what riders expect from a name linked to five Tours and five Giros.

For collectors, older steel frames built in Meise or by early partner builders in Europe and Japan can carry extra interest because they reflect specific periods in the brand’s story.

In both cases, you get a product shaped by Belgian racing heritage, current engineering, and a production chain that reaches from Flanders to Asia and back again.