LeMond Bicycles Tete de Course

Price Paid:  $1800.00 at ebay

Model Year:
2005

Favorite Ride:
champlain islands vermont

Bike Setup:
All Dura Ace setup, Zipp stem, Mavic Open Pros with Dura hubs.

Summary:
God, what a bike. Bought slightly used for less than half the price. Changed out lousy bontrager wheels for mavic Open Pro's with Dura and changed stem to a carbon Zipp one. This bike rides like no other I have owned. the Ti/ Carbon Mix works incredibly well and is gorgeous as an add on. Frame welds are perfect as can be and Lemond geometry is fantastic. Just such a great bike and such a better ride than any Carbon I have tried. better than steel, alu, carbon or any mixes....Ti/Carbon seems the way to go as far as I can feel...wonder why not many more are making.

Strengths:
I have always loved Lemond geometry with the slightly longer frame...this is even better than my old Zurich i had been riding for the last 5 years and much better than the old Pinarello I had ridden for the previous 12...

Weaknesses:
Lemond, alas, has gone out of business...so any warranty issues are finitio. Keep making bikes Greg...they are fantastic.

Similar Products Used:
1999 Lemond steel Zurich with Ultegra and mavic open pros (wonderful bike);1984 Pinarello Asolo with campy chorus and Mavics.

Price Paid:  $4400.00 at Trek Chula Vista

Favorite Ride:
National City to Coronado Ferry Landing

Bike Setup:
Lemond Tete de Course with full SRAM Force group. Carbon fiber frame, fork, stem, handle bar, seat post. (Carbon fiber brake levers). Wheels are Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 that are carbon fiber clincher rim and with carbon "fairing".

Summary:
This is a 2008. (Have owned for 2 months and 1K miles) This bike is both fast and comfortable. The handling proven by falling out of the mountains on curvy roads is a dream. The comfort, caused by everything on this bike being carbon fiber(smooth/shock absorbing) creates more speed by allowing me to spend more time in the drops.
The group is SRAM force that has carbon fiber levers and crank arms. Shifting is excellent and much better than the Shimano Ultegra on my old bike. Although I have heard complaints about the brakes, I feel the brakes work extremely well.
Lemonds measure smaller than some other same size bikes, this one is 49cm and weighs just under 16 pounds.
I paid $4400.00(includes tax) although MSRP was $7700.00 + tax. Got it on closeout due to problems between Lemond and Trek. (Wheels alone $2700.00 +tax, frame alone apx $1500.00 +tax)

Strengths:
Excellent all day comfort, great handling and speed. I do not know about other high end bikes. This bike begs to be ridden fast all of the time.

Weaknesses:
The bike itself has no weaknesses. The wheels provided on mine, Aeolus 5.0 carbon clinchers, which I love, are both the bikes strength and weakness. These are fast wheels, although not that light. The wheels are fast in the climb and really fast on flats and down hill. The problem is the "fairing" on the wheels creates a lot of profile for crosswinds. High speed with a strong crosswind can be a little scarry. I think I might buy a really light set of weels for even faster climbing and for windy days.

Similar Products Used:
2003 Cannondale R2000 with Shimano Ultegra group, Dura Ace rear derailer. Aluminum frame with carbon fiber fork, stem, handle bar and seat post. Wheels, the excellent Ksyrium SL wheels. Weight 17.5 pounds. (52 cm) Ridden 11.5K miles.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Model Year:
2006

Bike Setup:
Campy record carbon gruppo , including the bottle holders, topolino wheels, reynolds stem and bar, garmin 305 computer

Summary:
Bought the tete de course after 17 years not ridin due to career decisions. I love the bike. It flexes over rough roadr, but feels good and stiff in sprints.

Strengths:
It delivers max thrust over all road conditions

Weaknesses:
all the carbon is subject to buffs and scratches.

Similar Products Used:
I was riding a gios steel frame with campy super record when I last raced

Price Paid:  $0.00

Bike Setup:
Campy Record, FSA Carbon Pro Compact, Mavic SSC brakes, Ritchey WCS controls, XERO wheels.

Summary:
This is for a 2006 Tete De Course frame with Race XXX Lite fork. I think the best impression of a new bike is in the beginning, because after that you get complacent. I've been riding aluminum Cannondales since 1988, having only ridden everything else for brief test rides. I always liked Cannondales, but this bike has exceeded all my expectations. It is beautiful, light, fits like a glove, and the ride is amazing. Lets go through those: Light - no, its not one of the new sub-one Kg carbon frames, but at around 1300 grams in 55cm sans bolts, seatpost clamp etc. like all other makers exclude with weights, then its not far off. Beautiful - hey we all like bike eye candy and this one delivers. Titanium always looks good, and then there's the nice black carbon weave. To put them together theres a great shaped diamond cut into the Ti on the top tube. Of course color could be nice and they used to offer a custom color option, but then again the frame has been discontinued in favor of all carbon. Fit - I have long femurs and shorter torso, requiring a smallish frame for my 6'1" height (55cm). But this frame fits like a glove over the Cannondale. Where I needed my stem rising up on the C-dale, I can have it flipped down on the Lemond and still have the bars 3mm higher for added comfort. I know my measurements very well and the Lemond had no trouble being setup to this. Fit is always personnal though so this will differ between everyone. Ride - first I hit the tar&gravel roads which exist in a particular town not far away. I instantly noticed the buzz was muted over the C-Dale. An inherent trait that almost every carbon frame will give. Ah, but in New England we have lots of pot holes and railroad tracks. Ti is popular here because while carbon doesn't take the huge smacks well, Ti does. I wasn't thinking about this until I crossed my first railroad track. Normally on the C-Dale I would bunny hop them or it was a major rattling and jarring cross. I let the Lemond run over and all I heard was a muted -thup-de-thump-thump. My jaw dropped. I could not believe I just went over really bumpy tracks with huge gaps and all I felt was a quiet ripple. Brilliant. For climbing, I think the Lemond actually is stiffer than my C-Dale. Either way it is certainly not flexier. The bike has great vertical compliance for comfort and excellent lateral stiffness for hammering. Remember when this came out Team Saturn used it to win almost every major race in the US, including the Tour de Georgia. Here's what Tom Danielson said in an interview about bikes he's ridden:
TD: I think the ... Geez ... [Much hesitation] Uhhh, To be honest with you, I really liked my LeMond that I was on. But, if you were to look at the Euro-cool factor, the Pinarello would be higher. But I would say that possibly I liked my LeMond a little better.
BR: Were you on a titanium frame that year?
TD: Titanium and carbon.
BR: Ah, cool. Yeah, it's a nice bike.
TD: Yeah. I thought it was good.

Tommy D also used this frame pared down to 14 pounds to win the Mt. Washington hill climb and was on pace to break the course record (that he owns) until brutal winds above the tree line left him with the win, but not the record. Ok, so the bike is all day comfortable and has a great racing heritage. Enough said.

Strengths:
Comfort, stiffness, looks

Weaknesses:
Not a superlight if you are a super weight weenie, but can still be built up easily with standard parts to the mid 15 to low 16 lb range.

Similar Products Used:
Cannondale 80's R600, 3.0, CAAD4, CAAD5

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Price Paid:  $2500.00 at E-Bay

Model Year:
2004

Favorite Ride:
New England Back Roads

Bike Setup:
DA 10 gruppo, Bontrager Race X-lite wheels

Summary:
I've ridden this bike for a year now, and it still brings a grin to my face. I'm a big rider (6'1", 225), and the Ti/Carb has provided a great combination of stiffness and power transfer, while absorbing some of the smaller bumbs and vibes. DA groupset is flawless as well.

Strengths:
Frame geometry and layour, road feel, power transfer

Weaknesses:
Freehub seems very loud when coasting - is it the Ti?