Phatman

First of all, I want to mention that The weather was really nice today, 55 degrees, sunny, and no wind. Perfect day for riding. so I did. I went to the shop, in shorts, and my biking shoes, and I road a Lemond Alpe d'Duez and a Trek 2000. (Both are 105) I actually liked the Lemond a lot. Steel+carbon fork = MAD SMOOTH! just for fun, I switched into the big ring, and stood up on the pedals and mashed a bit, and indeed, there was a bit of flex, but it was bearable. The 2000 had a bit more vibration, though there was not as much flex.

For some reason the 2000 had clips and straps which are deathtrap torture devices. Too tight, and you cannot get out. Too loose, and your foot slips out. Plus the 2000 is the same color as my friends bike, while the Lemond is a gorgeous green. Plus, it is cheaper!

DnvrFox

Just finished 25 miles on my Lemond BA. Love it as much today as when I bought it 3 yrs ago.

ZackJones

Phatman: You'll love the Lemond. I used to have a BA and wish now that I never sold it

Zack
I like my K2 but it's no Lemond

ParamountScapin 

You'll never regret buying a steel bike. It will last forever with reasonable care and feeding and will always give you the best ride available. That is why there are so many new high-end steel bikes becoming available. Nothing else can match their superior ride qualities. BTW, both the Trek and the Lemond are Treks. Trek just uses the Lemond name to brand their steel and Ti frames.

Phatman

ParamountScapin, I know that lemond is made by trek. However, there is very different geometry between the two. The lemond has a relaxed seattube, and a tight head angle, while the trek had a more upright seattube.

ParamountScapin 

Indeed, you are correct. Before Lemond got together with U.S. bike builders (Calfee and now, Trek) his bikes were made by Scapin. Both are lugged steel. I've had two and they are great machines. Lemond addresses the design features he likes in his book. Enjoy your bike. Was a great day to ride today, as well. Back into winter tomorrow.

johnr

I have a Lemond Zurich and it is an incredible machine -- love riding it.

SipperPhoto

I jsut test drove a 2003 Lemond Zurich on Saturday... good lord that bike is smoooooooth... ok I guess any bike would be after riding my early 90's Centurion LeMans... but wow.. i was sooo impressed... now If I can just find a good deal on one... I was looking for the '02's since every place around me had them on sale for $1299 USD.. and a new one is $1899... and I liek the paintjob on the '02's better as well...

It was the first new bike I have test rode, and so far the is clearly the benchmark to be compared to. Now all I have to do is Ebay some more junk and save up and buy it.... so far I've made about $200 ebaying stuff... only $1700 to go :-)

Jeff

Phatman

Bumping this thread up, almost 20 years later. I’ve owned this bike for the duration, and yesterday I went to take it for a ride and realized my poor bike had a crack in the headtube/toptube weld. The end of an era.



Here she is in her most current condition. I knew something was wrong, it felt a bit wobbly and recently started creaking every time I stood to climb. I explained away the wobblyness as being due to the fact that it’s a steel bike and less stiff than my other bikes, and I thought the creak was the bb, but I couldn’t find any issues even after taking the whole thing apart.




This was my first real road bike - did my first races on it, put tons of miles on it in training, let my brother borrow it when he lived in Belgium, and put some newer stuff on it when it got back.

Here’s a pic from one of my first races - in my 99$ Nike Poggio cycling shoes and NC State Cycling kit;



Anyways Lemond, rest in peace.

ericcox

So sad - glad it served you well.

Is / was NC State in the ACCC with UVA, West Virginia, VA Tech, etc.? I seem to remember they were - I raced very briefly for UVA when I was in grad school in the late 1990s. Then officiated a few races in the early 2000s, including the conference championships on that lovely but tough Virginia Tech course.

fishboat

Sorry to see.

It's steel..it's repairable. If not that road, then there's plenty of used ones available.

Eric F 

Great bike. Sorry to see it having issues.

My first real road bike was a Zurich, and it delivered me to my first win. Lots of fond memories on a LeMond.

growlerdinky

Maybe the beginning of the next era? If it were mine, I would have the frame restored, and it would get a fresh groupset and wheels. 20 more years on the green machine. Its completely lovely.

datlas 

RIP. I hope it had a good life.

Dean V

You must be imagining that crack as apparently steel frames last forever.
I think it has been reported that titanium does as well.

ParamountScapin 

Let me elaborate................ lugged steel frames last practically forever (my Paramount is an '87). Welded steel, not quite as much.

ksryder

I'm not sure what I love more -- the fact that OP came back after 18 years to update us that the frame had a crack, that someone took the opportunity to call someone else out on their claim from 18 years ago, or that the person who was called out responded to it.

Never change, Bikeforums.

mstateglfr 

bruce19

You are aware that Trek dumped LeMond when he alleged Lance was drugging? His steel bikes after that were made by Zen until he stopped production.

Phatman

Yep, sure was. I raced 2004-2008, but I only got to race that VT course once, they stopped holding it on that course starting ~2005. That 4 mile climb at the end was rough.

I've definitely considered it, but its a little rusty all over. I could have it blasted and the HT weld repaired, but I think it might make better wall art. And as sad as this sounds, most of my new bikes are objectively better than the Lemond. Don't get me wrong, the Lemond handled great, rode great and fit me great, but just about every bike I've bought since has been better than the Lemond at some aspect of riding so it hasn't been accumulating the kind of miles it did between 2003 and 2006ish.

For what its worth, I've cracked an aluminum frame (Cannondale CAAD8) and a carbon one (Specialized Stumpjumper Carbon Hardtail) also

Haha, it is funny. I actually dug this thread up because I was looking to see if I had posted a pic of me in front of the bike shop after I bought it. Apparently its still under warranty, but I was an idiot 16 year old when I bought it. This means that of course I didn't keep the proof of purchase and I have no way of proving that I'm the original owner. That's probably okay though, I think I'd miss this thing like crazy if I had to give it back to the shop.

Eric F 

According to the BF collective, carbon fiber frames don't crack, they assplode. All of them. Every day.

ParamountScapin 

Proves that riding keeps us alive.

As for Lemond & Armstrong........ he who laughs last and all that.

ericcox

[QUOTE=Phatman;22055248]Yep, sure was. I raced 2004-2008, but I only got to race that VT course once, they stopped holding it on that course starting ~2005. That 4 mile climb at the end was rough.

I was firmly with the C's back then - the first time up, most of the field was zig zagging up the wall at the end. I was a moto official and got to ride with the A race one of the year's a UVA rider ended up winning the national championship, and Matt Decanio (who went pro) was riding for App St. I could not believe how fast those guys went up the climb. Incredible.

SoSmellyAir

This is the first time I have seen a Bike Forums trifecta. It has inspired me to ride more so that I too can last long enough to one day in the future pull up one of my own 18 year old posts.

Lazyass

I had a red '97 Zurich. The one bad thing about the Lemond's and Trek's of that era is the paint was super thin and peels/chips easily. The worst paint jobs in cycling history. It's very rare to find a Lemond that still has a nice paint job.