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-   -   LeMond Buenos Aires (https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=1225116)

Steel Charlie 03-04-21 09:45 PM

LeMond Buenos Aires
 
so I saw this on CL and thot - WTF The seller was pretty adamant about the price so I broke down and paid the $100.
2002 Buenos Aires. Made in USA. Renyolds 853 w/carbon fork. Hate the wheels. All Ultegra 3x9. Def in desperate need of a good cleaning. Not a garage queen and was obviously used but not beat up fortunately. Over the next week or so it'll get new cable/housings, bar tape, etc.
I read a lot about the long top tubes but this one measures seat 53 c-t and top 53 c-c just like my two Masi. Strange or no? Only been on a couple quick spins around the 'hood but it feels pretty nice even with the 25mm tires. anyway.....
something wrong with the color balance in my camera as the bike is way redder than the pic
all y'all be safe
Charlie

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5a387c620a.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d27643e43d.jpg

canyoneagle 03-04-21 09:52 PM

Great score! Insanely cheap too. Love the sarcasm 😝
25’s are OK, but I definitely prefer 28’s if they fit.

have fun with the tweaks!

55/Rad 03-04-21 10:54 PM

Yep...good score. Clean it up and ride it. Unless you get something good for free, you'll never have a better bike for $100.

diphthong 03-05-21 02:46 AM

miss my 2002 buenos aires. still using some of the original ultegra parts from it tho. super stable and descended up to 55 mph w/o speed wobbles.

nlerner 03-05-21 06:46 AM

Mine is a bit earlier with a steel fork, and I outfitted it with 650b x 38mm tires. Had to dimple the chain stays a bit, bit now it’s light, fast, and stable.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a5319dcc2.jpeg

jamesdak 03-05-21 06:49 AM

Awesome find at that price!! Enjoy, the Lemonds are great bikes.

fishboat 03-05-21 07:04 AM

You dun good! ..at $100, I'd take a dozen.

28mm Gravelking Slicks will fit (they run about 27mm). I do like the 650b conversion..on 38's, fun bike. (I just picked up my second Poprad for a screaming deal..it'll run 38s)

AJI125 03-05-21 07:05 AM

Welcome to the LeMond Buenos Aires club. And awesome deal, that 9s Ultegra shifts great (hell even the 9s 105 on my BA shifted nice and smooth). Maybe you'll join nlerner and I with 650b. Although ours have horizontal drops, not sure you can get the wheel quite far enough back for adequate clearance.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...095c2da154.jpg

fishboat 03-05-21 07:10 AM

BTW..OP, you have a 2002 BA, spec'd with 853 frame, 525 stays, carbon fork, Ultegra group..and a triple..nice.

icemilkcoffee 03-05-21 09:44 AM

A whole $100 bucks. Where are you guys finding these deals????

mercator 03-05-21 09:52 AM

It's threads like this that keep me compulsively checking CL and Kijiji.
I'm a bit conflicted with that guilty feeling I have when I finally score a deal I would gladly pay multiples of the asking price for.
On the other hand, how do I assign a value to all that time spent searching?

Also, nice bike :thumb:

due ruote 03-05-21 10:15 AM

Well done. I don't think the wheels would be so bad with the stickers removed. Or maybe that's not your complaint(?)

Steel Charlie 03-05-21 10:57 AM

I have to admit that the big tire thing just totally eludes me. 100psi is a 100psi and spinning a bigger wad of rubber just seems against my religion. I suspect that the less rolling resistance is everyone's go-to but I also suspect that I'm slow and insensitive enough for it to be meaningless to me. Whatever wheels are on it will very likely have 23's on them. Just like the other six bikes.
As to the wheels on it now - I'm not crazy about low spoke-count wheels. I mean, what's in it for me? But the part I really don't like is the color - all part of that black component package that I have grown so totally weary of. Just looks like nothing. Fades from view. An assembled bike is a beautiful machine and all the pieces contribute. Silver, visible wheels in particular since they are so much of the bike's presence. And just as an aside, red and black is a DULL color combination IMO. White and silver to be much in store for the LeMond since the graphics don't really mesh with yellow.
All JMO of course and YMMV substantially
be safe
Charlie

Andy_K 03-05-21 11:39 AM

Nice! I've got a 2001 BA. I paid more than three times what your did just for the frame, fork, and headset. You got a sweet deal!

It looks like 2002 must have been the first year for the threadless fork. Mine's got a quill stem. Your fork looks a little beefier too.

My Buenos Aires was responsible for my renewed interest in steel bikes. I bought it to have a "beater" to ride to work so I could keep my carbon road bike clean. A couple of year later I noticed I hardly ever rode the carbon bike because I enjoyed the LeMond so much more.

It fits 700x28 tires easily. I'm kind of shocked to hear that you aren't interested in that. Do you not have chipseal in your area?

Whit51 03-05-21 01:40 PM

The Trek era LeMonds are great bargains, imho. The geometry of my 2001-2002 Tourmalets (53 cm and 55 cm) and 2001 52 cm Poprad seems pretty conventional. I think the long top tube thing may have applied to the pre-Trek LeMonds.

mstateglfr 03-05-21 11:27 PM

Killer score, especially with general prices right now!

The drop of that bar is wild. Maybe its the camera angle, but it looks to be 170mm of drop.

Steel Charlie 03-06-21 11:39 AM


Originally Posted by Whit51 (Post 21953786)
The Trek era LeMonds are great bargains, imho. The geometry of my 2001-2002 Tourmalets (53 cm and 55 cm) and 2001 52 cm Poprad seems pretty conventional. I think the long top tube thing may have applied to the pre-Trek LeMonds.

Yeah, that sounds good about the geometry. Interesting how early geometry/ride reviews of a particular bike can be carried on even tho they no longer have any truth for the later models. And ya never know where the change happened :foo:

thanks for the thot
Charlie

PS - I'll check the drop on those bars but they're just some ergo 3TTT thing nothing special AFAIK


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