mr,grumpy 

Um, hi. I'm Ken and you guys scare me. To me, all posters in the Road Forum are
a) Filthy Rich and
b) incredibly "fit"

Both categories of people scare the crap out of me. Plus you all hang out in big gangs and aren't afraid to wear spandex in public. Scary, scary SCARY!

However, you guys DO ride pretty nice, modern road bikes and that is what has led me here today. I need your advice.

Being sold locally, is a 2004 Lemond Alpe d'huez. I tried to research this bike on the internet and all I cold find were a few customer reviews, which were pretty positive but certainly not DEfinitive. Is this a good bike or is is just a marketing ploy to put LeMond's name on something that is underlingly a bike of lower quality, like French Bike Boom bikes used to do? Or, on the other hand, are these bikes just too cool to be called Treks? Is the Alpe d'huez a road bike, a cross bike a TT bike, a beginner bike designed mostly for comfort or something else all together? Are the framse of good quality? Are the odd sized the equivalent of the size up or the size down (ie: is a 57cm frame closer to a traditionally sized 58 or 56)? Any thought or experiences with these bikes?

Thank you scary people,

Ken

rfmarotti

It's a trek. . .sort of https://redkiteprayer.com/?p=1239

rfmarotti

and it retailed for 1500 and is well specd https://bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeS...Huez&Type=bike

kabex

Cyclists are among the poorest athletes, at least in the US.
Median family income of about 66,000 iirc compared to 90,000+ for scuba diving or some such. Forget the website.

Here in Mexico tho cyclists are mostly triathletes and those guys are usually stupid rich. I always ride the worst bike.

catonec 

boooogggitiy boooogity boo! lemond is a very respectable name in road biking. I have an aluminum frame w/ carbon fork tourmalet, not much different than the alpe. My bike weighed 17.5 stock, I would assume this one is probably similar. Ultegra components are the 2nd top level offering from shimano, very nice. I saw one on ebay for $400. as far as sizing the 57 is measured from center to center so maybe its alittle closer to 58 but in reality its a 57. if the price is right, go for it. you will have no problems selling it later if its not everything you dreamed it would be.

jamesdak 

Should be a good bike. I'm riding a 2000 LeMond Zurich and find it to be very nice even though it is beat up cosmetically. Set PRs on my 20 mile and 24 mile routes with this old bike so I'd say it's not a bad product at all. Trek may be able to provide you a PDF manual for that bike also if you email and ask.

NormanF

Agreed. Lemonds have long top tubes and come in odd sizes so you would ride one size larger than the even size you'd be accustomed to. I finally got my Zurich dialed in with a seatpost that allowed me to slide the saddle closer to the bars. Now it feels right.

Lemond was built to the classic Tour De France road bike geometry. Its smooth and fast over the road.

walshconor

b) incredibly "fit"

[/QUOTE]

HA

Blackdays

I'm too busy managing my hedge funds and washing clothes on my stomach to reply to your post.


(It's a good bike.)

SPlKE 

I ride a 97 Alpe D'Huez and I love it.



Ken, I hope you're not scared by the halloweenie colors. I didn't have time to pshop it into something less threatening.

mr,grumpy 

Thanks guys. I hope to go look at the bike tomorrow morning. It's a "57" and I'm usually a 58-60cm kind of guy so I'm worried that it might be a little too small but if it has a longer top tube and head tube than most other bikes it might be OK.

z-man

I have a 2006 LeMond Alpe d'huez. I have enjoyed riding it. I have upgraded a lot of parts on it as my riding has increased and it continues to serve as a great bike for me. Trek used to own them and they were an alternative to Trek's (more or less equal level-just different geometry), but they have stopped making them since severing ties with LeMond. Since the geometry is different I would suggest riding it before deciding. Below are pictures of my original and my bike now.

DSCN2332..jpgDSCN3367..jpg

The Weak Link

I used to own a full carbon LeMond Buenos Aires. One day I let it sit out in the sun a little too long and it burst into flames.

But it was a fun bike before that happened.



And don't tell me to flip it. It's melted by now anyway.

SPlKE 

You're just lucky it melted before it had a chance to explode while you were riding it.

55/Rad

I got a 57 Tete I could sell you...if I can find it...

tanguy frame

Awesome skiing on Alpe d'huez, may as well get the bike!

M_FactorX19

I love Lemonds! The Lemond Reno 105 equipped was my first road bike and it was great (still is just needs a new 105 left shifter). I say go try it out if it fits and feels good go for it if the price is right.

NormanF

In its day, it was a good brand.

Nothing wrong with the Lemonds, it was just that Trek and Greg parted company over the marketing of the bike.

Blackdays

Holy ****ing stem!

teterider

Hi Mr.Grumpy, resident Lemond expert here and you're in my neck of the woods.

The 2004 Alpe D'Huez came one year before it joined the AC/DC frame group with carbon chain/seat stays (that my wide rides). So this bike is like the Tourmalet which remained the same aluminum frame from 2004-2007 and you can also research for information. It is a multi-shaped 6066 aluminum tubset that is double butted throughout. In terms of performance aluminum, the 2004 Alpe D'Huez has a extemely nice and capable frame as good as any aluminum out there of the age. Good enough that the TIAA-Cref development race team used that frame for racing. So yes, this is a road bike good enough for racing, or well suited for a long century ride. Here is a pic:


The fork is a Bontrager Race carbon. Here is where Trek saved some money across their lineup. The fork is very sturdy and stiff, with decent vibration absorption, but is quite heavy for a carbon fork (Al steerer/crown/dropouts). Nevertheless, its a fine fork that will serve well. To respond to your question on "Is this a good bike or is is just a marketing ploy to put LeMond's name on something that is underlingly a bike of lower quality", Lemond bikes produced by Trek are exceptional fine quality bikes and not something cheap with Lemond branding. The Alpe D'Huez frame won many races with TIAA-Cref, and my Lemond frame has won the Tour de Georgia, Redlands Bicycle Classic, Solano Bicycle Classic, San Francisco Grand Prix, and the Mt. Washington Hill Climb race to name a few.

As said, the Alpe D'Huez has Shimano Ultegra 9-speed. This is a very nice smooth groupset that if it hasn't been ridden hard and long will treat you nicely. You may want to bring a ruler when you look at the bike to check for chain wear (12" pin to pin is no stretch/wear). There are many posts related to what wear items to look for in a used bike so I won't get into this. Something specific to this bike to look at is the Cane Creek C1 headset. Just check that its still smooth since its not the greatest of headsets.

For sizing, NormanF is wrong. If you want to generalize it by up/down sizing then you would ride one size down, understanding that bike sizing is all different and its not appropriate to make a blanket statement like this. However, if you ride a 58cm then generally you would ride a 57cm Lemond. You fit a bike to the top tube first, and with a 57.5cm top tube on a 57cm Lemond this is the same as many other makers 58cm frames. I don't know what you're riding now, but Trek designed these Lemond bikes in your size range with steeper head tube angles, mated with 45mm rake forks. This leads to a trail of 53-54mm. This makes the bike extremely reactive to steering input which is a personal preference thing. But they are then also less stable when riding no-handed over bumps, around corners or for extended periods, because the bike wants to steer into small direction changes of the wheel. Then again, perhaps I'm unusual in riding for a mile no-handed while I stretch, eat, play some Angry Birds, etc. This is all personal preference so ride it and decide for yourself.

Try not to listen to comments above like "I saw it on Ebay for $XXX". that doesn't mean it sold for that amount, and you can't always expect a lucky once in while price that wasn't your size anyway. If you are looking at one with a good price, low wear, in your size, then its a good buy. The same bike in a 53cm is on ebay now at $425 + shipping at the time of posting, with good interest at 6 bids already, and over a day to go. All the action happens at the end so this will go higher.

eippo1

I agree with all of the above. We'd typically fit people one size down on these bikes. This bike was usually a great fit for those with short legs and long arms.

mr,grumpy 

Thanks TT and eippo! Short legs and long arms describes me pretty well and that is more information about Lemond's than I was able to find by myself in the whole internet! Right now I'm riding a "Vintage" 60cm Raleigh Marathon most of the time but before that I rode an even older 54cm Peugeot PRN-10. I consider the Marathon to be just a tad too big for me and the PRN is definately too small but manageable. The lad in the LBS fitted me at 58cm, maybe 60cm depending on the brand/bike. I missed meeting with the seller today but am hoping to catch up with him.

jamesdak 

Out of curiosity I compared the geomotry of my three frames and saw almost no difference. The bikes are a 2000 55 cm LeMond Zurich (Reynolds 853), 1999 54 cm Schwinn Circuit (Reynolds 853) and a 2011 56 cm Trek Madone 5.9. All angles were essentially the same as was tube lengths etc. The most significant difference was that the LeMond had a chainstay length that was about 1 inch longer than the others. I ride the LeMond with 700 x 25c Conti GP 4000s and the Schwinn with the same tire sized in 700 x 23c. The LeMond seems a bit smoother on the chip seal roads I ride but don't know if it's the carbon fork or not. The LeMond weighs in just over 20 lbs with a Brooks Saddle, two bottle cages, computer, loaded frame bag, etc. so I'd say that's not too shabby for a steel frame. Oh and that's with the heavy old Ultegra pedals, I've put Look Keo Classics on now.

NormanF

I ride a 55 cm Lemond Zurich and I'd ride a 54 cm on other bike brands. Its a sweet and compliant steel frame and is about right for my long legs and average arms.

Mine is set up as a townie with 700 X 30 Schwalbe Marathon Racer tires.

Blackdays

Did no one else notice that stem on the bike above? Tell me it's a joke!