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Submitted by
ewums
a Recreational RiderDate Reviewed: January 20, 2010
Strengths: Unbelievable stability-all day smooth rideWeaknesses: Why diid they paint the beautiful reynolds butted Ti tubes? Was it so the bike would sit unpurchased for 7 years for me to find?? Graphics were conservative then, stodgy now but as I ride to all the old familliar places and see it there am beginning to really like the look-(sleeper?) Everybody thinks it's steel. Bonty race light wheel are many levels down in looks and quality from the rest of the bike. Silver ssc's woke up the look insatntly.Bottom Line: It's a little late to be raving about a product that's been discontinued 7 years, but I was very impressed with the feel and stability of the Ti frame. Found the bike nos at an lbs, had the bonty race light wheels off and Ksyrium ssc's fro my 03 steel Lemond on before rolling it out the door. First day out rode 75 miles felt like I was just getting started. Next day went to the canyon with our 'wall' - 1.7 miles of 12% avg grade over a nest of gnarly tar snakes, noticed on descending that the frame is not only smooth but stable like a freight train. Next ride out involved a 5 mile long 30 mph descent over smooth but washboard prone pavement, once again the UNCANNY STABILITY put me into corners much faster than either steel or carbon frames on the same road. Long story short if you are wondering if Ti frames are that good, they are...at least this old one is/was. After a 6k mile year with half done on my old alpe d'Huez, it was hard to cannibalize it to make this bike fly but so far have had anything but regrets. Awesome bike.
Favorite Ride: long valley loops, canyon climbs
Price Paid:
$2000.00
Purchased At: lbs
Similar Products Used: Lemond alpe d' Huez (2003)
Trek 5500 (2004)
Bike Setup: Ultegra triple 52,42,30 crank. Full ultegra except D/A 12x27 cassette and mavic ssc wheels, all else brand new stock as per '03 catalogue spec
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Submitted by
Bill
a Road RacerDate Reviewed: June 10, 2008
Weaknesses: Graphics are cool but may not be put on the bike well.Bottom Line: Bought new with campy record. The marketing and bike companys may be selling carbon but this Ti bike is spot on. I have has eddy merx,serotta among others and this is a great handling bike. Not a crit bike but one you could road race for ever and be comfortable. One of the best.
Price Paid:
$5000.00
Purchased At: fat cat cycles lake
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Submitted by
steve devon
a Recreational RiderDate Reviewed: October 2, 2003
Strengths: Ultegra components and Ti frame with classic geometryWeaknesses: None so far especially with the price being rightBottom Line: Bought Victoire after my Tuscany Litespeed was stolen. Could not replace my Tuscany for same price I paid and found price was right on this bike - bought a leftover 2002 model. I am happier with the geometry than the Tuscany and from what I can tell so far performs almost the same. I like the feel, durability and the looks of a brushed Ti frame.
Favorite Ride: any without much traffic
Price Paid:
$2000.00
Purchased At: Hudson Trail Outfitt
Similar Products Used: Tuscany Litespeed (stolen)
Bianchi Brava
Trek 5200 (test rode)
Bike Setup: Ultegra components and Race lite wheels
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Submitted by
Steve Bailey
a Recreational RiderDate Reviewed: May 31, 2003
Strengths: Terrific handling, great price !, nice paint scheme (the Arivee yellow), stiff where needed (bottom bracket), yet a nice ride everywhere else. An easy build up as I already knew saddle height a reach to h-bar from my other bikes, thus a great from on the get go.Weaknesses: None that I can think of, except I'm glad I didn't purchase as a built up bike (hate the wheels) due to the high cost.Bottom Line: Frame was purchased as a warrenty replacement from Trek for a Klein with a broken seat tube. I built it up with a mix of older stuff off the Klein and newer, such as a Cane Creek IS headset, stem, etc.. I've also ridden/owned Klein Quantums (2 versions dating back to '91) a steel Heron Road, 2 Miyata Tourers and a vintage Fuji Roubaix. The Lemond is probably the best road bike among the lot (150 miles on it in 4 rides), more forgiving then the Kleins (even with a carbon fork), with better handling then the Heron. It's stiffer then the Heron, especially when accelerating and climbing, yet not as harsh a ride as the Klein, which wasn't considered harsh for aluminum. I'm also a heavy rider and don't find titanium wimpy as I have read.
In short, it's a perfect all-round road racer in the finest Euro road racing tradition, only with a top of the line titanium frame.
Price Paid:
$476.00
Purchased At: Bike Junkie
Similar Products Used: 2 Klein Quantums (+25,000 miles), 2 Miyata City Liner tourers, Heron Road
Bike Setup: 9 spd. Ultegra STI, 13-23 cogset, 38/54 rings, Open Pro wheels/Ultegra hubs, Coda stem, Cane Creek IS6 headset, XTR b-bracket - UN91 ? (older Ultegra square taper crank), 515 pedals, Ritchey seat post, B17 saddle, Vintage 600 single pivot brakes (they look terrific), bar height is 1.5 in. below seat.
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Submitted by
Brad Smith
a Recreational Rider
from Columbia, South CarolinaDate Reviewed: January 6, 2003
Strengths: This frame is a work of art. The first thing a friend who makes high-end jewelry for a living said about the bike was that the welds were gorgeous. The component selection was great. Despite the comments in other reviews, this is my favorite saddle yet.Weaknesses: The high price, but over time the frame may be be worth it.Bottom Line: I highly recommend the butted ti LeMond frames and the Outspokin' bike shop. I was going to get the 2003 Victory, but got a good deal on the 2002 Tete de Couse which is basically the 2003 Victory with Dura Ace components (hence my comments are in the 2003 Victory section). The butted ti LeMond is a superior frame suited to all around riding, but probably works best for long, fast rides. I am upgrading from a 1997 Buenos Aires, which was a good bike with 105 components and 853 steel tubes. The butted ti LeMond has the same excellent road feel as the old 853 steel, with four main exceptions. It is a lot more stable, which shows up in turns and hands off riding. It is a lot stiffer laterally, which pays off in climbing and sprinting. It is a lot lighter (18 lbs 6 oz with pedals and bottle cages). It will last a long, long time (my old bike was getting rusty depite lots of nailpolish). If you like the LeMond geometry, this bike is the way to go. With Dura Ace, this was a no-compromise bike, including the new Shimano 7750 pedals, which are sweet. My first and only upgrade might be a carbon seatpost. With the Ultegra specs, this should still be an excellent bike and you can upgrade the compenents as they wear out. The frame could outlast many riders.
Favorite Ride: Fort Jackson
Price Paid:
$3400.00
Purchased At: Outspokin' Bicycles
Similar Products Used: LeMond Beunos Aires (since 1997)
LeMond Zurich (the best value LeMond)
Dean (Ionic) Zona Frame (nice test ride)
Trek OCLV (test ride, ti had a better feel)
Klein (test ride, too jittery)
Bike Setup: Dura-Ace (see Tete de Course specs on web-site)
Shimano 7750 pedals
Bontrager Race X-Lite Wheels
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