kellefson

Just wondering what experiences any of you might have had with this bike. A local bike shop has one on sale right now for $1700. Seems like a good buy…titanium/OCLV 110 carbon frame, Bontrager Race Lite Wheels, Ultegra 10 speed.

Just wondering if anyone had any experiences with this bike.

haimtoeg

The price is good. They were over $3500 just a few months ago. I had one for a short period of time and sold it for reasons that had nothing to do with the bike. In the months I rode it I had the impression that it was pretty solidly made. The only problem I had with it are the bearings in the rear wheel falling apart. This is a known problem with those wheels and they are replaced as part of the warranty to wheels with newly designed (bigger) bearings. Make sure your new bike has the newer wheels.

teterider

That is a great price.
I have the same frame in the Tete De Course, and you'd be getting a piece of art with that frame.
For one thing it is an amazingly comfortable bike. What size do you ride/is this bike? I hear the larger sizes (59, 61) can get flexy, although that is still up for debate and always a person-specific feeling.

I love mine.

kellefson

Thanks for the replies. The bike is a 57, which is what I ride. I guess I was a little concerned about the frame setup...seems strange to me having two different materials butted together like that. I see the 07 models are all carbon. Was there a problem with the carbon/titanium setup?

Mr. Beanz

Going by what a riding partner told me: He has a Scattante(Supergo housebrand) Lemond carbon/ti Victoire and a$8000 Time bike. He said the Scat is a much better ride than the Lemond as far as stiffness. Said he flet like he was losing energy on the Lemond as it was to flexy and mushy. That's the reason he bought the new Time bike. Those are his words though.

55/Rad

Great frame, great price. Just don't give in to the urge to paint it.

Markedoc

Careful with the sizing on the LeMond - I thought they measured differently than some other bikes (center to center seat tube?) but perhaps 55/Rad can shed more light.

rooftest

$1700's a smokin' deal. I've got that same setup on the Zurich, their carbon-steel frame.
I had to spend $50 to get the rear wheel rebuilt - I don't think Bontrager even checks spoke tension before it leaves the factory, and they don't warranty a wheel that needs retrueing every 200 mi.

Even if you had to re-build both wheels, it's a smokin' deal.

Markedoc

Is it new?

kellefson

It's new. The guy working there said they wanted to get rid of it before they brought out the 07 carbon frames, which made me wonder if there was something wrong with the carbon/ti frames.

Serpico

nah, they're nice frames. if it fits (repeat three times) go for it. I know of someone who crashed one and it ripped the headtube from the steel "lugs", the carb top tube didn't unglue or shear at all.

I really like Lemond's "classic" steel frames (sarthe, poprad, etc), but the geo doesn't work for me

make sure it fits with a proper stem length. don't get sold a bike because someone is trying to clear inventory.

trek has a good warranty too. good luck.

teterider

There was no problem, the model had just run its course and the market now demands a sub-1kg carbon frame. Lemond needed a frame to meet a better price point, meet the market demands of all carbon and very light, and one they could use over a wider range of models. The asian made Triomphe series carbon gives them all that and should be successful. I honestly think its a miracle the higher powers at Trek actually said "yes" back in 2002 to bring such a very high end model out in 2003. We can all thank the successful Saturn team for that I'm sure.

And yes, if your current 57cm also has a 57cm top tube, then make sure you will be ok on the Lemond with the longer top tube, but I assume you're going to take a test ride. Lots of companies have put carbon and titanium (or other materials) together. Almost every company at some point had a material hybrid with at least carbon seat stays until full carbon became more accessible to build through experience or better asian factories. Serotta, Seven, and Titus all still offer similar Ti/carbon hybrids to the Lemond and all are highly regarded.

The Victoire/Tete De Course frame was the exact same frame used by the Saturn cycling team in 2003. Tommy D. and Chris Horner were on the team then and the team won almost every domestic race on this frame including the Tour De Georgia. Tommy D. also won the Mt. Washington hill climb. Yes the guy is a climbing machine, but the Lemond frame was clearly good enough to put his energy to the road to fly up that mountain. If Saturn could have made a decent car during this time and been successful, then perhaps the team would have lasted past 2003 and this frame would have lots more wins under its belt.


By the way, mine is built up without many exotic parts at 15.8 pounds. The 57cm bare frame should weight around 1350 grams.