LeMond Bicycles Maillot Jaune

Price Paid:  $0.00

Favorite Ride:
Anything in Northern Colorado

Bike Setup:
Stock, except for the wheels, which I switched for Dura-ace/Open Pros

Summary:
Great ride, very little vibrations from the road, never had anything go wrong, great welds and paint (wish the graphics were paint not stickers, but still good)

Strengths:
Great road feel, stiff enough to sprint and climb effciently, but doesn't kick you in the butt

Weaknesses:
Wheels, the Race Lite wheels are flexy and cheap, Seat Post, never liked it, looks cheap, but never cared enough to switch it out.

Similar Products Used:
Specialized S-Works M4

Price Paid:  $0.00 at LBS

Bike Setup:
Stock except for Fizik Aliante seat, Thompson seatpost, Velomax Orion II wheelset, Vredestein tires

Summary:
After back sugery put a end running as my preferred method of excercise, running, I thought I would give riding a shot. I test rode a number of bikes from a number of manufacturers made of carbon, AL, TI and steel. The MJ was one of the first bikes I rode and I kept coming back to it because of fit and feel. It is a fabulous ride, stiff, comfortable, fast, with mostly great components. It also looks great. I would not hesitate to make the same purchase decision again.

Strengths:
Light, stiff, comfortable, fast and good looking

Weaknesses:
I could not get comfortable on the SSM Aspide seat and ditched it after about 500 miles. Stock seatpost is a little cheesy looking. While fine in the flats, the stock Bontrager Race Lite wheelset was a little flexy when climbing (note I am 6', 210), but would probably be fine for someone lighter. Bontrager Race X-Lite tires did not last too long (about 600 miles)

Similar Products Used:
Test rode Bianchi, Trek, Cannondale, Merlin, Klein. Still ride a 13 year old Fischer, steel Hoo-Koo-E-Koo MTB when running around with the kids.

Price Paid:  $1700.00 at Ogden

Favorite Ride:
Morgan County

Bike Setup:
Stock
Upgrade to Dura Ace Cassette and bottom bracket.

Summary:
The Reynolds 853 is very agile and smooth. The classic steel ride and the bike is beautifully painted. Dura Ace is very nice.

Strengths:
Lemond Geometery is very comfortable and very efficient. This bike is a great steel ride, not a big seller because most racers who spend 2k + look past steel.
Paint Job
Dura Ace

Weaknesses:
Seatpost is basic and cheap for this high end model. The Bontrager XL race lites or mavic Kryserium would be a better fit on this ride. Race Lite are cheap
18 Lbs

Similar Products Used:
Bianchi Veloce
Lemond Zurich
Trek

Price Paid:  $3000.00 at Richardson Bike Mart

Favorite Ride:
Whatever I have time to do...

Bike Setup:
Full Dura Ace grouppo - works flawlessly (just as good as Campy Chorus or better,never tried Record); Look 396 Laurent Jalaberts (wanted Time Equipes, but didn't want to buy new shoes); 3T Forgie XL bar and stem (switched to Deda Magic for proper fit); Cane Creek S6 headset (not as cool as a King, but looks and works great); Selle San Marco Aspide saddle (switched to Avocet O2, my personal favorite); Easton CT2 seatpost (the stock post SUCKED); Bontrager Race Lite wheels (upgraded to Dura Ace 7701 aero wheels on day of sale - you MUST try these - screw Kryseriums); Bontrager Race X-Lite tires (these are really good tires, and can be inflated to 135 psi w/ no problems); and Ciussi Elite cages (grip bottles well and look good, too).

Summary:
My Maillot Jaune is as good as any steel, race-caliber bike on the market today. The Reynolds 853 tubing is stiff, and provides a solid platform for out of the saddle efforts, yet absords road vibrations very well. The Dura Ace grouppo works extraordinarily well, and the rest of the kit is top notch.

Strengths:
Stiffness, will last forever if treated right, absorbs vibrations VERY well, PUMP PEG (every bike should have one), pretty cool paint job.

Weaknesses:
The stock seatpost. Every thing else on bike as OEM spec'd was nice, but how much more would a good seat post cost, for cryin' out loud? No stepping back and saying "ahh, how beautiful can it be" like you do with flashy painted Colnagos.

Similar Products Used:
Cannondale R600 (CAAD 4 frame), Trek 5500 w/ Campy Daytona, Eddy Merckx Strada O.S. (turned me into a steel fan), Quattro Assi Rocket (bought to race it with Team Diabetic, but never did).