LeMond Bicycles Victoire

Price Paid:  $5000.00 at fat cat cycles lake

Summary:
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.

Weaknesses:
Graphics are cool but may not be put on the bike well.

Price Paid:  $2000.00 at Hudson Trail Outfitt

Favorite Ride:
any without much traffic

Bike Setup:
Ultegra components and Race lite wheels

Summary:
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.

Strengths:
Ultegra components and Ti frame with classic geometry

Weaknesses:
None so far especially with the price being right

Similar Products Used:
Tuscany Litespeed (stolen)
Bianchi Brava
Trek 5200 (test rode)

Price Paid:  $476.00 at Bike Junkie

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.

Summary:
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.

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.

Similar Products Used:
2 Klein Quantums (+25,000 miles), 2 Miyata City Liner tourers, Heron Road

Price Paid:  $3400.00 at Outspokin' Bicycles

Favorite Ride:
Fort Jackson

Bike Setup:
Dura-Ace (see Tete de Course specs on web-site)
Shimano 7750 pedals
Bontrager Race X-Lite Wheels

Summary:
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.

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.

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)

Price Paid:  $3300.00 at Pine Mountain Sports

Favorite Ride:
smooth

Bike Setup:
stock except for Deda newton stem and added a flight deck computer.

Summary:
Just got back from a ride on the new 2003 Ti. this bike replaced my steel Zurich, same geometry, love the ride. The Ti is a little lighter and really absorbs the vibrations but is stiff when you punch it or run up a hill. This is a great setup with good wheelset and componet package.

Strengths:
Ti ride, good geometry, great ride and craftsmanship. Love the Lemond lineup.

Weaknesses:
price, it is expensive thats about it.

Similar Products Used:
Lemond Zurich