puckett129

So I recently finished my '83 Trek and found a good deal on Craigslist for this '89 Lemond Ventoux. It came with Sora STI's, an 8-speed drivetrain, and a Mavic Helium wheelset.

I haven't found much info on the frame. It has the original paint scheme which is, um... flamboyant. I have not yet decided weather or not I will paint over it and re-decal it or not. I have not found a place to pick up Lemond decals so if anybody has any ideas I'd love to hear them. I would just do paint, but for $100 they'll blast it and powder coat it. It's almost worth that just to not have to clear the paint off the frame. I know I could also keep the paint as is and touch up the bad spots. As far as that goes -- I'm not really concerned with the value of the bike. It's not all original componentry and I'll be updating it anyway with a modern Ultegra drivetrain and threadless stem. Of course then I'll be left with this 8 speed drivetrain and will be forced to build up another bike. It's now a full on hobby... I just have to start selling them or I'll be the divorced guy with 1000 bikes!

My goal is to have a nice raceworthy steel lugged road bike and it's a bonus that it bears the name of my childhood hero.

thenomad

Sweet, I'd ride the heck out of that

Chris_in_Miami

+1, I wouldn't do anything more radical than touching up the original paint. The torch-smoked finish is hot!

oldskoolwrench

Pre Trek LeMond's are not too common in steel these days, so I'd definitely refit and ride the tires off her!

Puget Pounder

It'd be a disservice to paint that bike when it looks to be in such good condition.

However, it is your bike. I just think the paint is bad ass.

thenomad

Wait a minute, you are thinking of stripping and painting it!!!??

Don't make me fly all the way to NY to slap your face! You must be CRAZY!
That smoke paint job, the fade, the signature, the pre trek Lemond logos, the TDF map showing only one win!!? Are you kidding me?

You want a steel frame to paint and race on I'll trade you my Ironman right now!

That bike will get you chicks. And by "chicks" I mean old guys who ride bikes in beer jerseys but whatever, you get my point.

puckett129

Today I independently reached the same conclusion. I'm not sure what I was thinking??? I began to swap the parts. I still need to get bar tape and make the adjustments, but here it is so far. The helium wheelset went on my Soma roadbike and I put the Bontrager wheels on this one just to tone down the red effect of this bike. The stem may end up being too long, but the quill adapters I have in parts were too big. I used hot pink and white nail polish to touch up some of the paint and installed a new drivetrain and brakes.

Pedals and bartape tomorrow. When it's done I'll find a white garage door and put up a pic in the Retro w/STI forum.

puckett129

I got a stem adapter on there, swapped out the quill stem and bars and wrapped it up, but there was a chainline issue. It turns out that the spindle on my BB is too long for the new cranks. The BB that I have is English and frame is Italian. I would just stick with the current crank but I live in the mountains and I'd like to have something smaller than a 42 up front. Rode down to the LBS and got a new Italian threaded ordered after he measured mine. So, sometime next week this thing will be done.

I've only ridden it 6 or so miles to the shop and back, but so far I like it. It's not my lightest bike, but it's light enough, and it rides well. I found it to be a tad twitchy on my brief test ride, but not so today. Since then I have changed everything but the headset and saddle, so maybe the answer is somewhere in there. Next week sometime I will post pics and get some real miles on it.

3speedslow

You've done well to save an early Lemond.

ThermionicScott 

Good choice! That's a sweet-looking frame with some real character and history.

If nothing else, you could throw a 39T inner ring on your old crank and do your best TdF racer impressions when climbing hills.

Haha, can I use this in my sig?

puckett129

I still am waiting on the new BB so the cranks will change, but it's a nice ride as is. I'm going to ride it today and to work tomorrow. There's one steep climb on the way to work which may be tough with the 42 ring, but I'm sure I'll manage. I waiting on new pedals and clips which will improve the look. I'll also probably swap out the saddle for a leather one. I'm starting to get a feeling that this may end up being my go to road bike.

puckett129

Sorry, no garage door...

I'm done with this thing... posted in the Classic Roadies thread too. I ended up throwing Campy Ergos (new on e-bay for $125) on it after being less than thrilled with the performance and feel of the new Shimano stuff. I also think it looks a little better (or more original least) with the Campy stuff. I used a J-Tek shiftmate so the Shimano drivetrain would jive with the Ergos. I rode it to work this morning and it all worked beautifully. I did learn that if you're going to do this it's a good idea to get the "ultra-shift" stuff instead of the some of the other incarnations of Campy levers. I got a few comments on the paint job from co-workers with one asking me to please tell him it was my wife's bike. I don't particularly like my co-workers (who obviously don't appreciate classic 80's paint like the people here) anyway.

Ride safe.