dunrobin

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Yellows the new red..18.5lbs speedy banana bike. One of my favourite riders, I rarely take out my old sworks.

Andy_K 

My daughter dubbed mine the Lemon D.

Andy_K 

I really want one of the red disc Poprads, but apparently so does everyone else. Every time I see one on CL the price looks outrageous to me, but it disappears within a week.

McBTC

Have had 2 reds... it's the orange Proprad that was talking to me...

aeshultz

I've got one of the "Gomango" orange Poprads, Platnium OX, 2006. I'd second the recommendation to look at the Tru Temper bikes, very nice riding bike. I'm actually considering doing a 'cross race or two (gasp). The bike just needs a better motor.

GrainBrain

What area of Iowa? I'm in Ames. I picked up what I believe is a '96 Zurich this spring, sweet, sweet ride! My groupset (6400) is fricking mint looking, but the paint has a few nicks but other then that looks good.
Unfortunately the frame is somewhat twisted? I didn't notice until the guys at the bike shop pointed it out lol. Also I had to swap the original 12-23 cassette to a 12-26 because wind+hills

You got a great deal for $200, I paid a little more for mine.

Iowa10Speed

Go Cyclones!!! Cheers to my alma mater.

I'm in Urbandale (Des Moines for out of stater's).

I haven't had a chance to completely inspect the "new" Zurich but it's looking promising. A slight scratch across the rear der. and very tiny scraping on the brifters. Light scratches on the cranks only visible with your nose up almost to the chainrings. The paint is in the 8-9 range. The seller seemed to be fairly knowledgeable about bikes so I don't feel like I ripped him off at $200. He said he needed space in his garage so he was selling off some bikes.

It has Ultegra 9 speed (6500?). Probably the first year for 9 speed because the 97 Zurich was 8 speed. The tires are what was spec'ed in the catalog. They are aged gumwalls with no wear. I suspect they are the original tires.

I've been on the lookout for Lemonds for 2-3 years but kinda figured it would never pan out. I've only seen 2 or 3 853's on Craigslist in all that time. Some pop up in Omaha and Minneapolis but Iowa is a Lemond desert. How did you find yours?

I'm with you on the 26T cassette. I see no shame in a larger cog! I'm sure even Greg had rides where he wished for a bigger cog

Warren128

I picked up a used 2001 Zurich frameset last year for a great price. I was always curious about the legendary ride qualities of the Zurich with its 853 Pro tubeset, so I was now able to experience it for myself.

I'm glad I got it because it is a very sweet riding bike, all the acclaim is justified, IMO.

Wildwood 

I'll contribute to the comment on carbon forks from this era, '99, '00, '01.
I took delivery of my Calfee in 2000 with a CF fork from TrueTemper. A little over 1 year later it developed a tiny crack (only a few mm) in the paint at the top of the fork near the steel steerer. I thought it was a paint issue, but took it back to Calfee for inspection.

Craig Calfee inspected and replaced it (tho' not painted to match the frame). It was explained to me that the manufacturing process was flawed and a lot of them were showing signs of failing when used in rough conditions. My rough use was due to the earthquaked mountain backroads in Santa Cruz county and descending at speed.

Never saw any recall notices. True Temper stopped selling CF forks early in the game, if i'm not mistaken. It was never 'noodly' as far as I could tell; in fact, I would never have seen the crack except for the fact that the bike&fork were painted yellow.

Andy_K 

Interesting. The forks on the LeMonds are Icon branded. I wouldn't be surprised if that was a Trek house brand, but they could just as well have been rebranded from some other manufacturer.

The only LeMond fork I've seen fail was on a friend's bike. He was transporting some rebar pieces, holding them in one hand as he rode, as one does. Naturally, one slipped out of his hand and went into the front wheel. Surprisingly, he came out of it with all of his teeth intact. I guess there are some times when a flimsy carbon fork is nice to have.

GrainBrain

Cool I was just in Ur-banda-le doing a job. I researched vintage steel road bikes over this winter and saw mine pop up in February I think, about 8pm at night and just outside Ames!!! I texted and picked it up the next morning, right before a big snow lol. The thing was bought in Omaha, used on ragbrai by the guy then just put away in his machine shop. I picked it up for $250.

The guys at the LBS griefed me a bit because I snagged it faster They had thought it might have been a fake but the 6400 group, forged drops, carbon fork, mavic wheels and 20.5lb weight seemed legit

I loooove my 6400 group but I sacrificed my 14t to get the 26t, which after riding all season I think I can do without and might swap back in the 12-23. Also though the rear brifter is becoming flaky so I may just go with a 10 speed rear.

I'm a little jealous that yours is red though, would look amazing with new yellow cable housings and bar tape!

Iowa10Speed

I like your thinking! I have yellow cables and red tape on my Trek 620. Looks like a hot dog stand but I ride proudly! It's a fun rider on the High Trestle Bridge trail.


Well executed swoop and snag!

Was '96 the first year for Zurichs? Yours sounds awesome.

fishboat

I'm just working on expanding the original data-spreadsheet that Iowa10Speed created and posted.

For the data source I'm using Lemond(Trek Archive) annual tech-manual data and the annual brochure.

I'm into 1997 and see conflicting data. Example: The 1997 spec manual says the Buenos Aires has True Temper Cro-Moly tubes and stays. The 1997 brochure says the Buenos Aires has an 853 "frame" (nothing stated specifically to stays).

So, my question..when conflicting data exists, does anyone know which data to believe as actual-true?

If the answer is "..sometimes the spec manual and sometimes the brochure.." then how do folks want to address conflicting data? (assuming anyone cares..it would be nice to have the spreadsheet accurate) Do I post conflicts here and you guys can determine which is correct? I'd guess, collectively, people know which is correct from experience or bikes they own(example..if someone has a 1997 BA and it has the 853 decal..then 853 is the answer).

Lazyass

Out of curiosity, does anyone know the difference between the Icon Air Rail and Icon Classic forks?

nlerner

I have a '97 BA, and it has an 853 tubing decal.

Colnago Mixte

Well, if it's any consolation to you, used ones in good shape are going for about 20 cents on the dollar on CL, often less. I see a lot of them for sale these days, it's definitely a buyer's market.

I agree with the other poster on the awful color combos though. About half of the Lemonds I see for sale, I would probably refuse to ride unless repainted, or at least Plastidipped. The other half look excellent.

fishboat

ok..cool..do you know (for sure) if the stays are 853, 725, true temper?

McBTC

... probably a 525 rear triangle

nlerner

I'm afraid I don't know for sure. No indication on the tubing decal itself other than that they're not 853 (main tubes only). Apologies for the lousy basement photo:

miamijim

Somewhere on the literature is a date code. Newer literature prevails.

That being said.... running changes were commmon.

Andy_K 

I do think they are usually pretty good bargains, but it's not uncommon around here to see someone asking $1000+ for a Zurich or a Poprad. Aside from those oddities, it seems to me that the value of these LeMonds is deflated by the fact that they are still in the old-but-not-vintage category. This is particularly true with the components. Like, who wants 5500-series 105 components? They may be functional, but they aren't sexy. And as discussed earlier, those skinny carbon forks can be less than confidence inspiring.

People also seem to not like the association with Trek. For whatever reason I feel like Trek-built LeMonds get looked down upon more than Trek-branded Treks. I suppose it's because of the more desirable pre-Trek LeMonds. And of course people who like Greg LeMond have a pretty legitimate reason not to like Trek.

IMO, the lower end LeMonds are just screaming deals if you want an old frame to build up with new components. For instance, there's a 2001 Nevada City in Seattle right now with an asking price of $350. If you look at this as a 16-year old bike with 16-year old Sora components $350 is nothing to get excited about, but if you look at it as a Reynolds 853 main triangle frame with decent wheels and a set of components you can strip and re-sell for $100 or so it becomes pretty attractive. I also happen to really like the 2001 Nevada City colors.

nlerner

As frame sets at least, I think the Lemonds tend to be very good deals. Most I've paid is $150 for a Zurich on eBay (which included headset and stem and few other bits and bobs). My Buenos Aires was $100 on CL with stuck stem and seat post, both of which I removed and sold off for about $40 total, so I'm only in on that one for $60 net.

Iowa10Speed

Thanks for continuing the research!

I suggest adding 2 columns to my original spreadsheet - one for 'Conflicts Found' and another for 'Confirmation' for logging actual tubesets reported by BF members.

I found several conflicts too. In retrospect I wish I had noted them. I don't remember how I resolved conflicts but I probably gave more credibility to the Spec Sheet.

johnscottfoster

I'm kind of giddy having picked up a Lemond Tourmalet Reynolds 853 today for $40. I've just started road cycling a year ago and have been riding a Lemond Triomphe Carbon, which I am very happy with, but have been keeping my eye out for other Lemond bikes.