Road Cycling - Sweet Lemond, help with steel bikes and headset design

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Ok I'm a newbie. I got an 80's C'dale from a LBS and have been riding it for the last 4 months. I'm digging the road bike way, but I'm not digging the rough ride. From what I've read, my problem is my bike itself, being one of the finest examples of a harsh riding aluminum road bike. Now I'm going to upgrade to something better soon, but I want to go steel, because I cant afford titanium or carbon fiber. I'm thinking of possibly something like a Bianchi Eros or maybe a Lemond Zurick. What do you think the pros and cons are of these two brands, as far as their more low-entry level bikes?

Also I read this article and numerous others about integrated headsets being far from superior and worse design than the old threaded/threadless conventional style headsets. How much validity is their to these claims?
one of the sites i found:
http://www.chrisking.com/pdfs/Int%20Headsets%20Explained.pdf

I can't speak of the Bianchi but I can speak on Lemond. First off, let me be clear that I am a huge fan of the geometry and the frame, but not the man. I own 3 Lemonds - an 853 Select steel Poprad, and 853 Pro steel Maillot Jaune and an '04 Ti/Carbon Tete de Course that's getting a face lift so people won't see it's a Lemond.

The Lemond you mention - the Zurich - is far from an entry level bike. Prior to '04, it was the identical frame as the Maillot Jaune with a different color scheme and badges. The big difference was the groupset - the Zurich came with Ultegra. It is a fantastic steel bike. The one pictured is a Buenos Aires, which is also a fine bike and certainly not considered entry level. It is however, a notch below the Zurich in that the main tubes of the frame (steel, pre '04) are 853 and the rear is all 531 - a bit heavier but still very good.

All 3 of my Lemonds were bought used as frames and built up - even the way-too-expensive in-progress '04 TdC. I saved a ton. You can usually find a good selection of complete bikes and frames on Ebay and the roadbikereview.com classifieds. Right now, I would say the new 105 equipped Poprad is Lemond's best bang-for-the-buck deal on a NEW steel bike. I see deals for these all the time.

Finally, I know they are more money, but if you can swing an '04 carbon/steel "spine design" frame like the new Zurich or BA, then get out and take a test ride. These things are sweet.

55/Rad

I can't speak of the Bianchi but I can speak on Lemond. First off, let me be clear that I am a huge fan of the geometry and the frame, but not the man. I own 3 Lemonds - an 853 Select steel Poprad, and 853 Pro steel Maillot Jaune and an '04 Ti/Carbon Tete de Course that's getting a face lift so people won't see it's a Lemond.

The Lemond you mention - the Zurich - is far from an entry level bike. Prior to '04, it was the identical frame as the Maillot Jaune with a different color scheme and badges. The big difference was the groupset - the Zurich came with Ultegra. It is a fantastic steel bike. The one pictured is a Buenos Aires, which is also a fine bike and certainly not considered entry level. It is however, a notch below the Zurich in that the main tubes of the frame (steel, pre '04) are 853 and the rear is all 531 - a bit heavier but still very good.

All 3 of my Lemonds were bought used as frames and built up - even the way-too-expensive in-progress '04 TdC. I saved a ton. You can usually find a good selection of complete bikes and frames on Ebay and the roadbikereview.com classifieds. Right now, I would say the new 105 equipped Poprad is Lemond's best bang-for-the-buck deal on a NEW steel bike. I see deals for these all the time.

Finally, I know they are more money, but if you can swing an '04 carbon/steel "spine design" frame like the new Zurich or BA, then get out and take a test ride. These things are sweet.

55/Rad




thanks for the info. so you really hate the name...you gonna repaint it!