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Vintage Greg Lemond Le Vanquer Track Bike - What can you tell me? (Picture heavy.)

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Vintage Greg Lemond Le Vanquer Track Bike - What can you tell me? (Picture heavy.)

Old 02-13-08, 09:07 PM
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Vintage Greg Lemond Le Vanquer Track Bike - What can you tell me? (Picture heavy.)

Over the weekend, I picked up a Greg Lemond Le Vanquer track bike. It's lugged steel, definitely hand-made, but I'm not sure of the country of origin. It's definitely from 1989, because the steerer tube is dated. I've been searching all over the internet, and literally the only reference I can find to the Le Vanquer model at all is an old thread on the Road forum. Here are a lot (I stupidly did not photograph the logo in any detail, but you get the idea).






(this one reads "Frame Paint" and "Ten Speed Drive Imports." I suck at photography and my camera sucks.)





So what is the deal with this frame? A one-off, or something mass-produced and sold by Lemond? I'd love to know more.

Last edited by bonechiller; 02-13-08 at 09:56 PM.
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Old 02-13-08, 09:16 PM
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Greg Lemond made his first bikes under his name by himself. This looks like one of the first. I think you have a really nice, maybe one of a kind Lemond. Right down to that run in the clear on the lug connecting the HT to DT.
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Old 02-13-08, 10:02 PM
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Originally Posted by CrimsonKarter21
Greg Lemond made his first bikes under his name by himself. This looks like one of the first. I think you have a really nice, maybe one of a kind Lemond. Right down to that run in the clear on the lug connecting the HT to DT.
Yeah, I'm wondering if this is a one-of-a-kind frame, since there's absolutely no reference to it anywhere on the internet. It seems like, with all the interest in track bikes recently, that more than one would have bubbled to the surface.

I now read that the frames may have been made in Italy by Roberto Bilatto, and painted by Ten Speed Drive Imports, but I don't know of any way to verify this. Sounds perfectly legit, though.

Last edited by bonechiller; 02-13-08 at 11:20 PM.
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Old 02-14-08, 06:11 AM
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Billato sounds right to me. Repost in Classic and vintage or get one of the mods to move this thread. One of the dudes in C&V will know for sure.
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Old 02-16-08, 11:36 AM
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Billato also did Giordana frames, I think. So you might compare it against those... it's a beauty though...
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Old 02-16-08, 07:27 PM
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according the the sticker on the seat tube it's columbus aelle tubing which was used mostly for mid level bikes. the top of the line bikes used columbus sl or slx tubing.
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Old 02-18-08, 09:55 AM
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Thanks for your help guys. I figured out what I need to know, now! I'll post completed photos in the photo thread, eventually.
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