Lazyass

I thought LeMond Cycles was founded in 1990.

jamesdak 

That's what Wikipedia says....

But there's a slew of Greg Lemond bikes on the internet being listed as earlier than that. The decals on them vary. Some just say Tour De France on the banner and some show the 1986 and 1989 wins. Which leads one to believe that that he was making bikes (or someone was) previous to 1990. You really have to dig to find info on these early years and I don't remember what all I've read over the years.

I'd love to get the real answer on this from the man himself.

Spaghetti Legs 

That is a cable adjuster found on the 8 speed Record DT shifters (there were no Chorus/Athena shifters in 8 speed DT - kind of like now with bar end 10 speed). The dual pivot brakes don't show up until the '94 catalog. My copies of the 95 and 96 catalogs have the model names printed on the brakes. So I would guess the brakes are '94 Chorus. Catalogs from earlier have the Delta brakes in the Record range and monoplaner in the Chorus/Athena

I'm not sure how to tell the difference between Record and Chorus in this early '90's era. Athena RD from '89-90 has the stop adjusters on the top of the body and the upper jockey cage does not have a cutout. Is there a model name on the seat post or headset? I'm not sure when they started that.

jamesdak 

Read this for more info on when he started making bikes. Page 2 is stating 1986 based on the lawsuit info link that doesn't seem to work anymore.

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...history-2.html

jamesdak 

Hey, thanks for the info. No name on the seat post or headset unfortunately.

Been sitting here going over it as I watch football. I don't see any date codes on the components but I don't know if Campagnolo does that. The hubs are Campagnolo too but not marked as to which group. They are the older oil port style. The cassette in a 12-28 the two largest cogs appear to be a different kind of metal than the others and are dimpled all over.

machinist42

I recently acquired a 1990 Lemond "Le Vanquer" (sp; in French "The Victor" is "Le Vainqueur". "Le Vanquer" means nothing, and is not a word in any language; likely a misspelling?).

Size is stamped on the bottom bracket and on the fork steerer tube. Mine is labeled "56 C" which indicates 56 cm and Cromor. remember this is Italian measure, which is c-c bb-tt, while English is c-t bb-tt. Thus, though mine is labeled a 56 it is closer to a 58 by my reckoning.

Attached find a page from Lemond's '92 "catalog" I found in my researches which specifies the geometry for pre-Trek Lemonds. It is consistent with my "Le Vanquer" at least.


Do either of your pre-Trek Lemonds have serial numbers stamped on the bottom bracket? All I've encountered so far are stamped, though granted it's a (very) small universe. Mine is not. No serial number anywhere, save on the Ten Speed decal. Could you please post a photo of the bottom of your BB?

"Silva" manufactured the bridges and lugs.

There doesn't appear to have been any standardization of components among models of pre-Trek Lemonds. Mine has 1st Gen Chorus everything except headset, (Stronglight), DT shifters, (Victory), and a DuraAce 7 speed Uniglide rear hub, 12-21. Front wheel, laced to the same rim (and same as yours), has a Record hub. Serendipitously, these are precisely the components I would have chosen in 1990. Chorus had a slant parallelogram derailleur, the first ever for Campagnolo, while the more expensive Record still used the old approach of brute force. Campagnolo dt shifters were mediocre at every level and in every aspect, so why not choose Victory? And Shimano's DA Uniglide shifted better than anything else on the market, so why choose Campagnolo? The Chorus Aero seatpost makes me ever so much more sleek, and I could only go faster if the bike was red...

My Ten Speed decal reads 04185, so mine was probably painted before yours?

Congratulations on your score! Lovely bike and I hope you'll enjoy the ride!

machinist42

Brooks looked rather wrong with the Chorus Aero seatpost on mine, and I've mounted a flat racing saddle. Beauty's in the eye, (or butt in some cases), of the beholder?

I haven't tried 28's yet, but 25's, Conti GP4SII's, fit easily, and there is much room to spare. front and rear. Please let me know how it goes? My Le Vanquer came with 26 year old Conti SuperSport Ultra 20's, and they held for a minute, and then their integrity was exhausted...

jamesdak 

Both of my Greg Lemonds have stamped serial numbers on the bottom bracket. The Ventoux has a 54 C stamped also for it's 54 cm Cromor frame. The Maillot Jaune had a 56 TX for it's 56 cm TSX frame. The Geometry matches the chart you've posted. I forgot I had that saved to my computer too. Used it last night to match up the frame on the lastest one.

jamesdak 

Yeah, I just tried the wheel/tire setup off the front of the Ventoux on the Maillot Jaune and it was a no go. The limiting factor is the Campagnolo brake though not the fork itself. Now my 28s are GP 4000SII's fitted on a set of November wheels so they measure over 30mm inflated. I guess I'll stick to the 25s on this one too. I was so surprised at how heavy the front wheel on the Maillot Juane was compared to the November wheel. Then out of curiosity I weighed the front wheel with the 700 x 23 Rubino tire and QR. Came in at 2 lbs 14 ozs. Then I weighed the Fulcrum 3 wheel I have mounted it up with a GP4000sII size 700 x 25 with the QR. It was 10 oz lighter.

I'm trying to see if I Campagnolo 8 speed freehub can be mounted to a modern Fulcrum Racing 3 or Campagnolo Zonda wheel so that I can get a light wheelset on this bike. I just don't know if it's possible or what would be a better idea. I'm not a weight weenie but I love lighter wheels for how they feel during the ride.

machinist42

Thanks. I was hoping to see where your serial number is positioned, but I suspect it is where every other one I've seen resides, on the other end of the shell from the tube length and type stamping, parallel to the threading, precisely where mine is not?

Your cable guides are consistent with other examples I've seen, while the ones on my Vanquer are different.

And my Lemond is not blue as such; seems to be dark green sometimes, and black unless in direct light... I still have yet to figure out what colour it is...

jamesdak 

Sorry, some how I missed this.

You are correct on where the serial numbers are on both of mine.

I don't know if it means anything but my Cromor tubed Giordana Antares built by Billato has the 56 C stamp on the BB and no serial number also.

machinist42

I've read unsubstantiated and unattributed assertions that absence of a serial number (on Billato bikes) is an indication it was a custom build. I have seen nothing suggesting mine is in any way shape or form customized as compared to other pre-Trek Lemonds, but then again I've seen less than five fingers worth of Le Vanquers, so what do I know? (Nothing of substance on a good day it seems...)

jamesdak 

Well, my non serialized Giordana was sold as a frame only. I bought it from the original owner who had it built up. But the frame itself wasn't a custom build. You know if you email Billato about your bike they'll probably answer you. They've been responsive to me and other forum members in the past.

RobbieTunes

Back when bikes were bikes, men were men, and pro cyclists were mere gunshot victims.

jamesdak 

That is so wrong! Yet so funny!!!!!!!!!!

jamesdak 

Just an update, the bike is all sorted out now and no issues found. It's now down to 22 lbs and 3 ozs from swapping saddles, pedals, cable housings, tires and tubes and then adding on a couple of bottle cages. Looks good with the swap to white.

jamesdak 

Well, the roads aren't too bad right now so I took this out for it's maiden run. Very responsive and seems to carry speed well. Felt great at speed in the sharp turns. It's not the smoothest on the local cracked up chipseal roads but it will really move out! The DT shifters seem to work well. The rear RD is a tad off still but I'll get in adjusted in. Have to tilt up the bars a little too, felt off while in the drops. But even though I felt like I was reaching too much in the drops the speed would climb easily. I've got the brakes set close to the rims but didn't feel any rub when out of the saddle sprinting. You know there's just something right about the feel of a Lemond with a steel fork, so sweet. Oh, and the hoods are comfortable too. No doubt, this is a nice bike.

jamesdak 

Final update and then this thread can die a natural death. I've had this out now for 3 rides on the same 23.31 mile course I've been riding daily. I've used 7 bikes on this route the past two weeks. The three fastest times belong to this bike. Today's ride was the fastest even though there was a lot of wind and I bonked a bit with two miles left. This is one sweet ride.

Still some mild rear shifting issue. It's like sometime the DT shifter isn't clicking fully into the detent so under power the RD jumps a gear. It's only happened like 4 times total in the 3 rides but that 4 times more than I'm used too, LOL!

I did tilt the back of the bars up a bit and now it feels perfect when I'm in the drops. And I'm not noticing any appreciable flex, brake rub, etc when I'm out of the saddle hammering it. That's a good thing since it was a bad winter and I'm ready real heavy right now.

I am very happy with this bike. It's just the kind of setup that fits my riding style and roads perfectly.

Sir_Name 

Well, not much more to ask for than that, enjoy! Beautiful bike.

dunrobin

A good bike can really inspire a ride. That's a really nice one. I've got an old beaten up cromor I built as a commuter but it really does ride nice as well.

jamesdak 

So true, this bike's "little brother" is a cromor Ventoux and it rides just fine too!

Spaghetti Legs 

That is a gorgeous bike. She even looks fast!

Took my similarly equipped Eddy Merckx Century out today and it shifts as quickly and crisply as anything else in my stable.

jamesdak 

Well, I'm still trying to decide what to do with this one. It's always a fast ride no matter what the conditions are but the RD loves to ghost shift a bit under load. I've researched and just keep finding posts about the early Campy indexing stuff being problematic. Any solutions to the current setup I'm missing or should I maybe just upgrade the whole beast to a modern groupset? I sorta hate to do that just because of how mint this one is. Still, they are all riders for me and I want the best out of them. It's jsut frustrating to be hammering hard during a ride and having RD issues...

I've also been searching for a lighter wheelset to really wake this one up. If only it was 9 speed it'd be easy. The hunt continues...

jamesdak 

So, one little update to consolidate all the info on this bike. I was able to get my hands on some spacers which allowed me to take a Veloce 9 Speed Cassette, drop the largest cog, and then replace the spacers to make an 8-speed cassette that works on a modern wheelset. I paired them up with a new set of Fulcrum Racing 3 wheels. The bike now weighs 20 lbs, 13 ozs without the bottles, computer, bag, and pump.

scrptdr

I have one too, but I read somewhere that Silva is the signature of one of the Billato boys, the one that built it.