Strengths: Fast, Responsive and....SMOOTH..... an all day ride !
Weaknesses: I haven't found one yet !
Bottom Line:
Awesome...... It is truely something to behold. I bought this bike to upgrade from my first roadie...a Jamis Eclipse. One ride on the Tete and I was blown away. As a mountain rider first and roadie second my primary reason for road riding is fitness, but the more time I spend on this bike the more I am falling in love. I have completed several centuries and 1 double on this bike and I cannot begin to describe the diffrence this bike makes on those long days in the saddle. Smooth, quick, precise, predictable are just a few words to descibe this bike. I can go farther, faster and longer wothout feeling beat up at the end of the ride !!
Strengths: Great ride feel, light weight, everything!
Weaknesses: Not crit geometry if that is your thing - otherwise none.
Bottom Line:
To follow up on my previous post now that I've logged some quality saddle time - this bike far exceeds my expectations! The bike has the magic of ti, is very stiff, snaps to accelerate, handeling on technical decents is very stable, climbs fantastic, is light weight, and the carbon takes the edge off of the road chatter. The geometry is better suited for raod/stage type races and less for crits, so if you are a crit rider, the slightly laid back seat and head tube angles, might not be the right fit for you. I could not be more pleased and feel fortunate that I got a good close out deal on a 2003 as the price jumped up about a grand in 2004.
To the reveiwer below griping about a non repairable frame - Find me any bike besides a steel frame, that is repairable in the event of a crash - if you crash a ti, carbon, aluminum bike and your frame is bent or broken there is little that can be done to repair the frame other than replace it - that's not LeMond/Trek's fault - it's just bad luck.
Strengths: It's a sweet bike if you don't break it.
Weaknesses: NOT REPAIRABLE! NOT REPAIRABLE! CONSIDER THIS AS A WARNING. THINK BEFORE YOU BUY A TI/CARBON MIX FRAME. IT'LL COST YOU A LOT OF $$$ TO REPLACE IT.
Bottom Line:
This is a follow up to my last review on January 2004. I had a training accident and broke my rear derailler hanger drop out. Took the bike to my local Trek dealer( Trek Bicycle Store, La Mesa, CA) to have them check out the bike. As it turn out Trek could not fix the drop out because of the way it was made. I have the email response from Trek. They wanted $2200 to replace the frame. I don't think that is right and they should put a disclaimer on the Lemond catalog/website that the ti/carbon frame is not repairable. I wouldn't mind paying for the repair but for $2200, come on. Trek is deceiving and cheating its customers by making expensive product that they could not fix when it breaks. If I knew that a ti/carbon frame could not be fixed, I would have bought an OCLV bike instead.
Submitted by
larrynipon
a Recreational Rider
from Great Neck, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: January 13, 2004
Strengths: handling, responsiveness, road feel, geometry, power to the pedal, climbing
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
If it's possible for a bike to make you a better rider, this one is it. The perfect combination of compliance, stiffness, dampening...this bike does everything well. I never want my rides to end!
Similar Products Used: Trek 5900, Litespeed Ultimate, Cannondale CAAD 7, Specialized E5, Airborne Zeppelin, Bianchi EV2, Litespeed Sirius, Giant TCR, Giant TCR carbon, you name it I had it.
Bike Setup: Campagnolo Record 10sp carbon components, Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels, Easton EC90 Sl fork, Easton EC90 seatpost, Deda Newton bars and stem, Speedplay X2 pedals.
I bought this over the summer and am about to build it up but I need some measurements before I order. I can't get through to anyone about it at Lemond since the site is not existe Read More »
I just finished this build today . Pardon the picture,camera takes bad photos . Anyway ,I would like some suggestions on two things:
1.Do you like the bar tape and if not ,what wou Read More »
Any advice or experiences you could share about this Ti/Carbon bike build would be greatly appreciated. Seems like a great deal, looking into a purchase. Thanks MD45 Read More »
I have a 2006 Lemond Tete De Course in a size 59. This is the Ti/Carbon frame. After riding it for a bit I realize that it is a bit too large for me - I need a size 57.
A total Read More »
