Classic & Vintage - Finally had some good fortune this weekend...[Ti content ahead]

After reading all the great finds of great bikes here, and lamenting my chances of coming across such deals out here, I'm so glad to have good news of lightning striking for me last night on CL.
I was on a Midnight Run across metro PHX to beat another potential buyer to a circa 93-94 Lemond Titanium with full Dura Ace, 740x 8-spd STI. The seller was getting rid of his wife's bike. I had 45 minutes to hit an ATM for cash, and haul ass. Told my wife what I was up to, and she said, "go for it!" She came and played navigator and ran to the ATM for me. First one was out of cash! #%$%@$#^! :notamused:
I did a number of illegal turns to reach the next ATM, and was a burgundy Honda UFO through the East Valley of PHX. Luckily, all the speed cameras were off.
I was still 10 minutes late! :cry:
But I was still first. Woohoo! The seller was a nice guy, garage full of road bikes. The bike looks to have very little wear, and he informed me his wife stopped riding after their son was born. It had a flat and he apologized. He threw in a new tube, a Blackburn saddle bag full of flat fixing tools, 2 water bottles, and cycling computer!!
The Turbo saddle was worn, the front wheel could use truing, but that's about it.
Wife didn't have the heart to haggle. So she handed over the asking price....$150. :)
While on the way home, I was concerned about justifying the purchase, as money is tight. I thought at least it's under-valued and could possibly turn a profit if needed. She replied she'd go without food for a week if need be, it was worth it for the look on my face when the LeMond was wheeled out. God I love this woman! :love:
I've always thought about getting a Ti bike some day. Didn't know it would be yesterday!

It's a 53cm c-t-c, a bit smaller than my 55cm target, but it fits. From what I could find out, it's supposed to have Campy Omega rims, but mine has Wolber TX Profil, and a black Cinelli stem instead of 3ttt. This will be my 1st brifter bike. :eek:
If anyone has experience, knowledge, anecdotes, caveats about this bike, do chime in. This will also be my 1st Ti bike. Advice on its care and feeding is appreciated. (Unfortunately, it's not a polished finish.) It's in nice condition, but it's still going to get an overhaul and thorough cleaning. Hope I did well. ;)

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj229/WNG555/bikes/11c453eb.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj229/WNG555/bikes/cd710de8.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj229/WNG555/bikes/3f821326.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj229/WNG555/bikes/dd5c3ff3.jpg

Damn, I think I just drooled on my monitor.
Nice catch indeed!
Wait? What?! 150.00 wow a whole ti bike for the price of the Brifters. Woo.
I. Am. Jealous. :D

Wow, I'd say you did very well! I ride my Ti bike more than any of the others. I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
Sucks that it's a little small; hopefully you can get it to fit right. But if you can't then you'll at least have some trade bait or be able to sell and pick up another Ti bike.

You did very well, and your wife was right.

$150 - wow, deal of the year.

A titianium bike is on my list, and a LeMond Ti is on my short list - and I'd pay a lot more than you.

That is a damn good deal you got yourself there. I hope someday I will be so fortunate and find one of those in a 57.

I got my first Ti bike a few weeks ago and have already put about 200 miles on it. I LOVE it, I'm sure you will too. I won't clutter and hijack with a picture but it has the same finish as yours. (Warning: C&V blasphemy ahead) Rides a lot better, IMO, than my full 531 bike and my modern aluminum/CF bike and like well cared for steel bikes, the frame will still be here long after I am.

As for care, I clean it up with soap and water. Simple Green if it is really dirty (just make sure to get it off aluminum parts quickly).

Enjoy it, great catch!!

Absolutely great score! Ti bikes are wonderful, and I know of what I speak.

BTW, I have stopped surfing CL. Pics of my new CL Land Shark (the third one forced on me) to follow.

Told my wife what I was up to, and she said, "go for it!" She came and played navigator and ran to the ATM for me.

Sounds like you've made at least two great moves...marrying your wife & moving quickly on that bike at $150! :thumb:

Insane deal

Sorry to say I don't know from Ti bikes, but my guess is $150 would have been a very fine deal for the frame alone. Well done indeed.

Hey WNG

That is quite the score. I was one of those trying to get to that bike, and I was only 4 miles away, but you were faster. It is probably for the best, as I really did not need it.

The seller also had a Pinarello with Campy for 700-- did you look at that? It sure seemed like that was also a deal.

Jared

Thanks folks!
I always wanted to try a Lemond bike and experience his 'ideal' geometry. Plus the lure of Ti. I got to kill two birds with one stone with this one.

I mentioned the nice comments made about the Mrs., it made her giggle and crack up. :D

[Jared] OMG! That's just too funny. The seller mentioned someone else coming from the same area as me. I wondered if it could be another BF member. Hmmm.
If it didn't go to me, I'm glad it would have been you. It's cool that at least one of us was going for it. Yeah, the Pinarello with full Campy was a deal too.
But the Lemond was my focus. ;)

Wonder why the seller thought so little of the LeMond...

um...what size frame would your wife ride, if she rode, that is?

um...what size frame would your wife ride, if she rode, that is?

She's petite (5'3"), the Lemond is too large for her. But she did find it appealing. If it's a road bike, probably a 48-50cm frame.
She did pick out a girl's step through 10 speed w/ 26" wheels at a garage sale. I quickly refurbed it with better parts and made it a townie. She loved it.
I've set aside a small 16" Rockhopper Sport to revamp for her to go trail riding with her boys. I'm slowly converting her over. :D

Nice score. I think it will be a few years yet before I start seeing any Ti bikes for $150. Sheesh.

*thoughtful wife, too.

She's petite (5'3"), the Lemond is too large for her. But she did find it appealing. If it's a road bike, probably a 48-50cm frame.
She did pick out a girl's step through 10 speed w/ 26" wheels at a garage sale. I quickly refurbed it with better parts and made it a townie. She loved it.
I've set aside a small 16" Rockhopper Sport to revamp for her to go trail riding with her boys. I'm slowly converting her over. :D

So you need a smaller road bike. I could help with that . . . .

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt327/oldarizona/Trek%20Tri%20Series%20500/DSC_0196Large.jpg

Why can't I find those?

You stole that...I posted a thread for a Lemond Ti frame/fork/campy seatpost/campy crank I found for $600 asking price. I was looking for a Ti frame or bike for a little while and it seemed to me that decent framesets were $500-600 while complete bikes were $1k-1500. I ended up with a 2k Sampson Z7 complete bike for $630 and thought I did OK...

Nice job.

I tried to jump on this but was too late. Great catch, wish I had been a little quicker.

So you need a smaller road bike. I could help with that . . . .

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt327/oldarizona/Trek%20Tri%20Series%20500/DSC_0196Large.jpg

That's a sweet Trek. OK, now you guys are going to really get me into trouble. ;)

Awesome bike. Amazing Deal. I covet a Ti Frameset pretty hard. I was actually daydreaming about it while surfing ebay yesterday...finding even a frameset for under 5 bills is a steal.

And you got Full Dura-Ace!?! awesome.


Question about Ti frames....all the ones I've seen have what look like stamped dropouts..i've never seen forged dropouts on a Ti frame....why is that?

That's a sweet Trek. OK, now you guys are going to really get me into trouble. ;)

Yes, it is a sweet little Trek. And I think this is the second time I have tried to entice you with it. And really, if you were to chose to flip that Lemond, and buy this sweet little Trek for your wife, how much trouble would you be in?

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt327/oldarizona/Trek%20Tri%20Series%20500/DSC_0199Large.jpg

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt327/oldarizona/Trek%20Tri%20Series%20500/DSC_0197Large.jpg

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt327/oldarizona/Trek%20Tri%20Series%20500/DSC_0203Large.jpg

what a fabulous deal. your wife is a good sport to support you like this.

as for caring for a Ti bike, I am not sure how this is finished just buffed? Merlins used to (like '90) with a small peice of scothcbrite and a little can of lemon pledge. sounds odd but they did and it made the bikes look great. ifact I started to use lemon pledge on my ChroMo bikes too. has to be lemon regular does not work as well.

Extremely happy for you!!! Both for your romantic pick, a good one, and the bike, a good one.

If you really are feeling guilty (you shouldn't...you can sell it for a lot of profit should it become life and death), you could always down grade a couple of parts...for instance sell the brifters...and get your low investment back that way.

what a fabulous deal. your wife is a good sport to support you like this.

as for caring for a Ti bike, I am not sure how this is finished just buffed? Merlins used to (like '90) with a small peice of scothcbrite and a little can of lemon pledge. sounds odd but they did and it made the bikes look great. ifact I started to use lemon pledge on my ChroMo bikes too. has to be lemon regular does not work as well.

I do mine with steel wool....works perfectly...just have to avoid the decals.

what a fabulous deal. your wife is a good sport to support you like this.

as for caring for a Ti bike, I am not sure how this is finished just buffed? Merlins used to (like '90) with a small peice of scothcbrite and a little can of lemon pledge. sounds odd but they did and it made the bikes look great. ifact I started to use lemon pledge on my ChroMo bikes too. has to be lemon regular does not work as well.

Most Ti bikes are, as far as I know, just bead blasted. That's the method Eriksen uses in their shop. I wouldn't recommend Scotchbrite. I clean all my bikes with just a rag and a very diluted solution of simple green.

Whenever I clean a Ti bike, it always gets a nice pledge wax for a sparkly shine.

You stole that...I posted a thread for a Lemond Ti frame/fork/campy seatpost/campy crank I found for $600 asking price. I was looking for a Ti frame or bike for a little while and it seemed to me that decent framesets were $500-600 while complete bikes were $1k-1500. I ended up with a 2k Sampson Z7 complete bike for $630 and thought I did OK...

Nice job.

You did great...in this crap market threy typically go around 1000-1200. This guy just got a ridiculous steal. You could wait and look for 5 years and not find a deal that good.