Road Cycling - Lemond Chambery

I'm looking at purchasing a Lemond Chambery. I haven't done a lot of road biking but plan on changing that. I want a good solid performance bike that will challenge me to perform. Does anyone have any thoughts, opinions, experience with this bike?

Hey Tom I have looked into this bike myself and it seems to be a decent bike. When it comes dn alum. frames, most people say Klein has the best design. That is not my opinion, I have never owned a Klein nor an alum. bike. I'm looking into last yrs Colnago Dream Plus, I might be able to get a good deal on it. Some of my other choices are the Master X Light and a Ltespeed Classic. I'm leaning towards the Classic because it is tit. Light wt and rides light steel. They all seem to be in the same price range 2300-2500. Good luck!
Barry

since Lemond is made by Trek, you might save some money by getting the Trek equivilent. If you really want Lemond, I know some people that swear by the Zurich, steel is a much nicer ride. I had an OCLV Lemond, the bike I ride now I built myself. Thanks for the custom frames response.

I have used '98 Chambery OCLV repainted by Trek-bike had small scratch on paint so Treck agreed to repaint under warrenty- to a Maillot Jaune -looks great.
Will sell for $1600.00 Was new list $4000.00
Kevin M. Smith

I have the 1998 Chambery myself. It is full OCLV with Shimano 600 (ultegra equivlant)

Beautiful bike and comfortable on long rides. And the carbon just plain sounds good on the road!!

Get your bike and go ride...



[Edited by sax on 10-31-2000 at 10:39 AM]

As for the Chambery, I do not have personal experience, However I do ride a Lemond Tourmalet, which is a faily low end (price wise) Lemond and I love it. In response to the Lemond being the same as a Trek, I do not think this is true. While they may be owned by the same parent company. They are definately not the same bikes, at least in the steel frame versions. However what all this boils down to Ride, if you like the feel of the bike and are comfortable with the components and price then you made the right choice. It is important to ride several bikes of different frame materials and different Groupos so that you can make an educated decision. Most of all Ride them.

If you do buy, buy new at a dealer with a warranty. Make sure the shop can cover warranties fast and not sit on them as many shops do.

Why? I have known of many of these carbon frames to break. Normally the lugs will show after a while meaning they are slowly splitting. A friend of mine has that now and he is really worried. Especially since he bought used w/o warranty. However not all of them suffer from this. Just cover yourself.

:thumbsup:
I have owned two Chambreys in the last 4 years, the first was the OCLV version circa 1998, and the second was the 2000 version in Aero-aluminum. Both bikes have served my well with no major problems. The OCLV bike is the best riding bike I have ever owned, I have logged aproximately 25,000 miles on it, many of them race miles. The bike has been through many crashes and has never broken. Someone early mentioned they have heard of these bikes breaking and all I can say is that this clown has never owned or ridden one of these bikes before. I have numerous(7) friends who own this same bike and only one broke at the rear chainstay, after about 3 years of hard racing and everday training. I weigh anywhere from 175 to 200lbs depending on the time of year and I race about 50 times a year, if these bikes were prone to breaking I would have broken mine years ago.
The Aluminum chambrey is another great bike, not as supple or comfortable as the Oclv but very responsive. This bike flys when you jump on it and corners like a grand prix car. Again I raced extensively on this bike too, and even crashed on it, with no problems. Again like I said earlier I am hard on bikes, with my winter weight gains and all but this bike is probably my second favorite after the original Chambrey. And this bike is better than the comparable Trek version as It comes with a slightly better component group, better bars, stem and saddle.

Any thoughts on the 2006 Sarthe? My LBS mechanic swears by his Sarthe. What are the thoughts on steel?

Steel is (in general) a very nice ride. Only downsides I've heard for steel are a) it's heavy, and b) it's not as stiff as the other popular frame materials. I don't see either of these as much of a problem if you're not racing, though. For just putting in miles for fun though, steel is great: smooth and comfortable.

Have a good one,
Nick

Edit: and with regard to the OP's questions about the Chambery, I test rode one when I was shopping for bikes. It's a nice bike, it would definitely be enough bike for you if you're just getting into road cycling, and it would allow you to grow as a cyclist. After riding the Chambery, though, I ended up liking the ride of the Lemond spine designs (steel-carbon) a bit better, but that gets into personal preference. Ride the Chambery, ride a few others, buy what feels good. After that, get out there and ride! (something I wish I were doing at this moment...) :)

Have a good one,
Nick

Edit: and with regard to the OP's questions about the Chambery, I test rode one when I was shopping for bikes. It's a nice bike, it would definitely be enough bike for you if you're just getting into road cycling, and it would allow you to grow as a cyclist. After riding the Chambery, though, I ended up liking the ride of the Lemond spine designs (steel-carbon) a bit better, but that gets into personal preference. Ride the Chambery, ride a few others, buy what feels good. After that, get out there and ride! (something I wish I were doing at this moment...) :)


Of course your reply was to a post from February of 2000 :D

Of course your reply was to a post from February of 2000 :D

Oh, wow, it was. Holy old thread Batman! Heh, need to look at dates before I reply, eh? Oh well, if he's still looking at a Chambery 6 years later, my opinion is still the same :)

Nick

Oh, wow, it was. Holy old thread Batman! Heh, need to look at dates before I reply, eh? Oh well, if he's still looking at a Chambery 6 years later, my opinion is still the same :)

Nick

LOL!! No worries mate! I almost did the same thing ;) :D

Does anyone have the geometry info (top tube length, fork rake) for a 1997 Lemond Chambery (White with yellow decals)? Thanks in advance.