Eddy Merckx relaunched today with new models, including a limited edition "Retro Sonic" series.

Eddy Merckx is a name that every cyclist knows, and Merckx, widely regarded as the greatest cyclist of all time, founded his own bicycle company in 1980 after his retirement.

Merckx frames and bikes have been used by amateur and professional riders for decades. In fact, some of the greatest champions and teams have achieved success riding Merckx bikes. Tom Boonen and Johan Museeuw are two that immediately come to mind.

Merckx itself sold its shares to the holding company of Belgian manufacturer Ridley in the late 2000s. After several years of silence, it appears that it is time for Merckx bikes to make a comeback.

The new series was announced today, and a new website already has details of the new series.

Jochim Aerts, CEO of the Belgian Cycling Factory (manufacturer of Ridley and Merckx bikes), said: [Today is a great day for Eddy Merckx Bikes and by extension the Belgian cycling industry. With this new impulse, we want to consolidate and maintain in the long term the position of Eddy Merckx Bikes in the top segment of road and gravel bikes."

Currently, the Eddy Merckx series consists of five official models with different frame materials and build options The series consists of five official models with different frame materials and build options. Some models are available in carbon, steel, and aluminum. The series also offers custom configurations and paint jobs via an online configurator.

The bikes in the series are named after places of significance in Merckx's racing career: the 525 and the Mendriso, two outright road bikes: the 525 is a carbon race bike, while the Mendriso is an endurance-oriented model.

The next step is to find out more about the Mendriso.

Next is the brand's gravel bike, the Strasbourg, available in carbon, aluminum, and steel; the Pevele model is also available in three different frame materials and is billed as being for "road or field use."

Finally, Corsa is available in steel or titanium, in road, gravel, and all-road geometries and guises. Custom sizes are also available.

All bikes appear to be available as framesets or whole bikes in a variety of builds with Sram and Shimano. In keeping with Merckx's racing career, we expected to see at least one bike equipped with Campagnolo, but there does not appear to be a Campagnolo option at this time.

Merckx also introduced a limited edition "Retro Sonic" series to celebrate the relaunch. These are heritage-painted versions of the carbon fiber bikes.

Panasonic teams raced on Merckx bikes in the 1980s, with riders such as Phil Anderson and Erik Vandeirden using the blue and white machines. The RetroSonic bikes use the old Merckx decal font and white and blue color scheme.

Luc Douce, designer for Eddy Merckx,

"It was clear from the first sketches that the 'interpretation of the truth' would work very well. Of course, some tweaking was necessary, as the carbon bike frame is simply different from the steel of the original Corsa road bike.

The Retrosonic bike will be available on February 24. Pricing has not yet been determined.