RH Clark

I'm considering a long road trip to look at a Lemond Zurich with 853 tubes and full Ultegra. It has 23mm tires now. Anyone know if it will accept 28mm tires? Seller doesn't know and I have very rough paved county roads where I ride. Would it be worth $750 in good condition with good paint except a couple small chip spots near the drop outs?

AJI125 

RH Clark What year? Earlier years had horizontal dropouts. My SO has a Zurich Women's 2002 with vertical dropouts - I can try on my wheels with around 27.5mm actual width tires (Conti 4-season 25s running large). Those tires run fine on my 2005 Alpe D'Huez but that's the AC/DC frame so totally different (tightest clearance at underside of fork just FYI). I also have a '99 Buenos Aires with 853 but they shaped the tubes a bit different on the Zurich, so not sure if it would be exactly the same (but happy to pop in a wheel). And on that one I removed the DO screws to get a bit more 650b clearance, so a little different but might help.

Typically easy to spot year from paint scheme in the old catalogs: Trek, Fisher, Klein, Lemond bike catalogs, bicycle brochures

nlerner

I converted a Lemond Zurich to 650b x 38mm wheels. Had to dimple the chain stays to get clearance, but that was pretty easy to do in my vise.

RH Clark

I'm not sure what year. The frame is red with white where the Lemond name is. Seller says it has an aluminum fork. I meant to ask about the fork, if it is good, bad or more or less desirable. I haven't even learned yet if maybe all of them had aluminum forks. I've been trying to research old threads and such while still not missing out on a bike waiting too long.

I like steel bikes. I ride a steel Trek 400. Surly LHT and a Miyata 610. The bike is my size. I know top tubes are a little longer on Lemonds but I have a longer torso than legs and seem to need all my seats as far back as they will go and sometimes need a little more ,so I'm hoping for a grail type fit with a Lemond.

AJI125 

This is a 1998, does it look like this?


If it's the original fork, it's an Icon Air Rail (Carbon Fiber). Many people doubt the longevity of the 1990s carbon forks. Swapped out mine to steel FWIW.

I'll go check my 1999 BA real quick as the 1998 appears to not be the 853 pro shaped tubes that started around 2001 or 2002 for the Zurich (so could be same/similar geo).

RH Clark

Red and white like that one but this one has chrome chain stay, drivetrain side,with a yellow band before the red again. It has horizontal rear drop outs with a screw to adjust.

Maybe that one is the same, I can't see it that well.

AJI125 

If it’s a 1998 I’d give 28s a shot, had clearance on my 1999 BA. Got rims in mind? Wide/narrow? Tires? Some run larger than others (these are Conti 4 season 25s on sort of wider rims). Forgot about the rear fender so that made it tougher but the rear pic is about the front of the dropouts, same clearance each side. Actual front tire width 27.5mm. Actual rear 27.7mm. Note my rear chainstay are dented (more like crushed haha) for 650b clearance.

AJI125 

Yeah hard to tell. These are the Trek era catalogs, could be pre-Trek era of which info is harder to come by. Good luck! Grab it and sell it to someone here if it’s not what you want!

RH Clark

Trying to learn all about tires, but just supposing 25's were all it had good clearance for, Are there any supple 25mm tires? Just something better for rougher country patched up pavement, than what you would run on smooth tarmac.

AJI125 

That's a whole rabbit hole to go down. Short answer, yes, Veloflex Master gets pretty good reviews and comes in 25s. Continental Grand Prix 4000SII (if you find em, discontinued I think) and GP5000 get good reviews for balance of supple/flat resistance/rolling resistance but not being extra supple or anything. Some of the Vittoria Corsa get good reviews. YMMV

AJI125 

Oh man you’re right. I should have stopped at “short answer, yes” or just typed nothing. My tires I test fit above are GP 4 Seasons, 25mm measure 27.5ish... and apparently GP5000s run truer to size. And then rim widths... rabbit hole indeed!

ctak

Agreed! my "28mm" Michelins balloon to 33 on my wider Hunt aero rims (19mm internal and 24mm external)

RH Clark

Yea the tire clearance thing is a big deal to me considering I have the Trek 400 that rides extremely well with 30mm cycle cross tires. I live in the boonies. Most roads are pretty rough and I can Leave my front door and in 6 miles be on Bankhead forest dirt roads that I can do 70 miles on without back tracking. I have a couple older steel bikes for that with wider tires but heavier along the lines of my Surly LHT with 26X2.1 mtb tires.

easyupbug 

My red '98 Zurich is full stock other than the saddle and 28s on the open pro rims. 28s have given me no issues and I do believe a better ride that the stock 25s. Price might be high in some areas, reasonable in AZ and OR for a will cared for bike. I would not worry about the fork; however if you barrel down rough country roads you will definitely want to keep and eye on the fork and frame as you should on any bike, looking for anything like a crack. Send photos over to the Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals forum and you will get a better idea of value.

AJI125 

I love the 650b conversion on my LeMond as nlerner had also done. I had enough clearance for Col De La Vies (650x38b measured around 36mm on Zac 19 rims) with no modifications, I did slide the wheel all the way back after removing dropout screws. When I did some winter upgrades to the drivetrain I also built some wheels and put on Rene Herse/Compass Loup Loup Pass (650bx38b measure around 37.5mm on Pacenti Brevet Rims). Very, very happy with the bike. Per Strava, I set a few more segment PRs on my regular road bike, but it's not by much. And depending on the route I feel rattled on that, versus nice and smooth on the 38s. I also swapped the fork at that time to a steel fork with more rake for low trail, gotta get the full experience you know? I ride the 650b 90% of the time, even for paved road only routes (helps that it now has a dynamo and front/rear lights - always ready to roll), it's almost as fast, probably faster on >30 mile rides, and I just enjoy riding it more. YMMV, and a warning: you may spend more time and money than you ever expected......

Edit: this only makes sense if you have an irrational love for LeMond bikes..... maybe just find a bike with more clearance from the start

delbiker1 

I have Panaracer GKs in 26mm on a bike and Panaracer Pasela PTs 25mm on another. The GKs measure at 27.1mm on C17 rims and the Paselas measure at 24.3 on C15 wheels. They are both nice riding, sturdy tires. The Paselas have deeper tread. I have ridden both on gravel, not real harsh type, and cinder. They do very well. Both are available in the $30 range.

I have a 2001 Lemond Tourmalet, 853 steel, and 28's from a few different manufacturers fit on it with some room to spare. Right now it has 28mm Hutchinson Fusion 5 on Campy Zonda C17 and they measure at 27.5mm

RH Clark

The gravel I ride now is fine packed. It's sandy but not deep sand where wide tires would be a must. My mountain bikes and even the Surly is overkill. I lust after steel bikes. I'm 52 and was a late bloomer. I am 6'-1.5" tall and weigh 175lbs. I'm the guy that lost 190 lbs , went bike crazy, and got healthy in 2 years. Yes, I said 2 years ago I was 190 lbs. heavier.{no surgery pills, just diet and exercise}. I have 5 bikes I ride regularly,4 being steel. I know I might should buy something like a Ritchey Outback, which would likely better fit my needs but I'm stretching budget here. I might need have some fun at my age on anything I can get ahold of now rather than saving another year or two. I also went through a financial crisis lately but cycling is the only thing that keeps me sane.

AJI125 

That’s awesome cutting that kind of weight, way to go! I fairly recently got back into cycling (few years back) and so much better for it.

Sounds like the Zurich will handle 28mm width, so depends on tire/rim combo. I think the Cyclocross model Poprad was for 32mm tires, seemed to have seen some complaints it couldn’t run wider even in the later disc form. Might be worth a quick look. Was in 853 also I think

What size were you eyeing? One thing to note, I am just under 6’. I have two 55cm LeMonds, 1999 and 2005. If I could do it again I’d get a 57 in the threaded fork/quill stem model (99) as the bars are a bit low for me to be in the drops with a regular stem. I put a Nitto Technomic for the extra height and am happy as a clam but I’m the first to admit the extra height just looks off. I’m also not that flexible and like a level saddle/bars.

RH Clark

I'm looking at a 60cm bike. My LHT is a 60cm and I'm thinking of getting a set back post for it since I find myself sitting too far back on the saddle when I get aggressive up a hill or such. My Miyata is nearly 62cm and I like the fit as far as saddle to peddles but seems shorter than I want from seat to the stem. I like that shorter top tube when I am standing climbing up a hill though. My saddles are usually just above the top of my handle bar height. I'm not a gymnast or anything but I do a little yoga as part of my routine to health. I'm flexible enough to bend over and put my palms flat down on the floor with my knees locked.

My Trek 400 works out to about 57.5 cm. I have the seat post 1/4" beyond max height on it and it's a good bit higher than the bars but I enjoy that aggressive position on shorter rides. So far about 30 miles on the road is the farthest I have ridden it at one time. I like the 400 probably more than my other bikes even though I only have $50 in it. I love the leaned forward running type position it puts me in.

One of my main problems is that I love every bike I spend any time on for different reasons.