LeMond Bicycles Victoire

Price Paid:  $1.00 at Penn Cycle

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
hills of st. paul

Bike Setup:
Stock except for Ultegra pedals, Specialized Toupe Saddle, and Hutchinson x-fusion tires

Summary:
2008 Lemond Victoire: 980g CF frame/fork, full DA gruppo, Bontrager x-lite wheelset

So far so good. Stock except for pedals and saddle (moved to Specialized Toupe) and tires. Overall, a great bike. Very light and a nice all day peddler. DA gruppos has shifted flawlessly. Bontrager cockpit is competent but stock bars take a bit to get used to (very wide and have odd flats). Race X lite wheels have proven to be very dependable and durable. Only complaint: it's a light bike and takes some getting used to. Compared to my Ritchey Road Logic the handling is been a bit vague and descending has taken some getting used too. I have a feeling this is largely due to the weight of the wheels and frame :) Not necessarily a bad thing but takes some getting used to!

Strengths:
Light
Lively
Stiff
Great climbing bike

Weaknesses:
Hesitant descender
Handlebar shape is a bit off (personal preference)
Stock Bonty tires don't do the bike justice
Lot's of decals (really, does every bit that doesn't say Lemond need to be labeled Bontrager?)

Similar Products Used:
Teesdale Custom Crit, Ritchey Road Logic, Specialized Allez, Various Cevelo models, Trek Madone.

Price Paid:  $4000.00 at Prairie Path Cycles

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
ABD Fall Fling RR

Bike Setup:
Stock, except for Serfas saddle.
Look pedals

Summary:
This is a 53 cm 2008 model. Very comfortable ride but suprisingly responsive. Weighs in under 16 lb. with pedals. Full Dura Ace performs quietly and efficiently. Bontrager Race X Lite wheels are stiff and true. Buy if you are a competitive cyclist or long distance rider and value speed and comfort.

Strengths:
Frame is light, stiff and yet comfortable. Riding position seem more upright even though fitting measurements are identical to previous bikes. Great responsiveness in climbs. Comfortable long distance RR bike, but is also solid in agressive cornering as well.

Weaknesses:
Bontrager saddle didn't work for me. Free hub seems noisy, but you won't feel like coasting on this bike!

Similar Products Used:
Trek 5200
Scattante

Price Paid:  $4000.00 at Penn Cycle Bloomingt

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Lemond Victoire

Bike Setup:
Stock, Dura Ace pedals, there is nothing to upgrade.

Summary:
Very light bike. Great Acceleration. Easy shifting. Gooks great. Great components.

Strengths:
Weight, built, components, ride.

Weaknesses:
I am a guy in mid 40s. Hot young ladies look at you when you are on it and get disappointed to see a mature guy. You feel your wife 10 years older. You have no potbelly. Don't buy this bike, if you do, you will be faster than me.

Similar Products Used:
Trek 1500, Lemond Versailles, Trek 7600, Trek Navigator 100

Price Paid:  $2000.00 at Pacific Bikes

Favorite Ride:
Mt. Tam/Alpine Dam

Bike Setup:
All-Ultegra group(9-speed)
Ultegra pedals
Reynolds Ouzo Pro carbon seatpost (350mm)
Bontrager RaceLite wheels
Bontrager Race XLite tires
Salsa 20-degree (up! and I've still got a 1.5-inch drop from saddle to bars)stem
Forgie 3T XL handlebar
Selle Italia SLR Gel Flow saddle

Summary:
Update to previous post: I've now got 1,400 miles on the 2004 Victoire I purchased in May. It has been a dream. I ride 40-100 miles a week, mainly up and down Mt. Tam just north of San Francisco. The ride was already fantastic, but even better when I switched out the cro-moly seatpost that was standard in 2004 with a carbon post. Big difference! (A little lighter too; it's now an under-18-pound bike even with the XL frame.) My only complaint about the bike is that my rear wheel doesn't naturally align to the center of the chainstay, and so if I'm not careful when locking in the wheel it will rub against the left chainstay bar when I'm in high torque up a steep climb. The LBS checked and nothing's sprung that they could find. Anyone else have this on any bikes? A fault with the Bontrager RaceLite rear wheel?

Strengths:
What a ride ...

Weaknesses:
Chainstay rubbing (see above)

Similar Products Used:
Jamis Ventura Comp, Giant OCR3, KHS Flite 300

Price Paid:  $2000.00 at Pacific Bikes, San F

Favorite Ride:
Mill Valley to Muir Beach

Bike Setup:
Standard:
Bontrager Race Lite wheelset
Ultegra 9-speed gruppo
Bontrager carbon fork
Selle Italia gel

Summary:
2004 Lemond Victoire

I bought this new a month ago (May 2007) from a big shop that quit carrying Treks and Lemonds some time ago, and had a couple of big-frame (61-cm) Victoires hanging around three years later. What a find! For the previous seven months and 1,200 miles I was a newbie riding an entry-level KHS with Sora/Tiagra components, gradually upping my mileage and skills. As I got stronger, the bike started to wear down and I found myself begrudgingly buying better components at the LBS knowing the frame and gruppo would start to bug me even if I sprung for an adequate wheelset. (I biked a lot 30 years ago and tricking out a Fuji with Campy parts could be done in those days for not much dough. It's not like that now.) So now I'm in the odd, enviable position of going from a Corolla to a BMW 7-series overnight. Having little to compare it to, all I can say is the titanium spline and carbon cockpit offer me a ride that is smooth, true and effortless. I live at the foot of Mt. Tam and so most of my riding is up and down, and where I was standing on my KHS pedals I'm now just as comfortable in the seat. My tires haven't changed pressure, so it must be the bike. Weekend before last I took a ride around Lake Tahoe, 72 miles with one tedious climb, and could have done it again in the afternoon. With the big frame and standard components(Bontrager Race Lite wheels, Ultegra gruppo, Selle Italia gel seat, chromoly seatpost), and mtn bike Shimano pedals it comes to 19.5 pounds.

Strengths:
Ride! Looks, too

Similar Products Used:
Marin Eldridge Grade mtn. bike