dizzydot

I ordered it today. Needless to say im excited. hehe...

https://www.lemondbikes.com/2006_bikes/poprad.shtml

I'm planning on riding the stock rig, but im curious: what compents whould you swap out first and why? Ive heard various reviews of its aluminum fork and wheel set. Any compents that you think should be the first to be upgraded? I ride 50/50 road and rough trails, and will be (not so seriously) racing this season.

islenska

congrats on the bike. i love the new color. do you mind me asking what the 2006 goes for?

personally, the saddle would be the first to go (but thats personal preference), and i'd swap the carbon seatpost for a thomson -- just because carbon seatposts can be a pain to deal with. but since you are riding this 50% on the road, i'd keep it and just use it for your road rides.

i would also change the headset. not such a big issue if you are on the road, but you will probably eat thru that one if you spend alot of time on rough terrain.

as for the wheels...just keep them and when you are ready, get a 2nd pair. then you can just swap them out depending on what type of riding you will be doing...and if you do decide to race, a spare set of wheels is invaluable.

btw, does this bike have cross brake levers?

have fun!

jpearl

Nice!!! You gotta love the Lemond bikes, especially if you were a Greg Lemond fan (I've got a great picture of him at the 1985 Paris Roubaix). The latest issue of Time magazine has an article about the next wave of American pro cyclists looking to take Lance's place when he retires on Sunday. They refered to today's fans as "Generation Lance" and I giggled as I thought of myself as "Generation Lemond".

BTW, the only thing that new Poprad needs is a nice coating of mud and you riding it with a big smile on your face. Go enjoy it!

KeatonR

I got an '05 this year, and here's what I've done so far:

- Replaced the saddle. It's junk, and it's actually stapled together.
- Got a second wheelset. Now I have a cross wheelset and a road wheelset. Changing is easy and much less of a hassle than changing tires. Save some money by shopping ebay.
- Picked up a narrower set of handlebars. The 46cm just feels strange to me. I still have to get these installed, though.
- I considered replacing the fork with something carbon, but can't justify the expense because I like the ride so much as it is.
- I'm still thinking about a lower rise for the stem.

Anyway, congrats on the purchase, you'll love it. Mine is far and away my most favorite bike I've ever owned.

noisebeam

Leave it the way it is. Ride the seat till is rips, ride the heaseat until its shot, etc.
I have a 2005 and haven't changed a thing (except tires) with 3000mi on road and 800mi on rough single track. I've had to tighten hubs, replace broken chain, true rear wheel, and other stuff all under warantee.

Al

dizzydot

> congrats on the bike. i love the new color. do you mind me asking what the 2006 goes for?

i paid $1200 at my lbs. i was about to buy the 2005 and the guy said that they just started shipping the 2006 that day! i like the new color too.

> personally, the saddle would be the first to go (but thats personal preference), and i'd swap the carbon seatpost for a thomson -- just because carbon seatposts can be a pain to deal with. but since you are riding this 50% on the road, i'd keep it and just use it for your road rides.

why are carbon seatposts a pain to deal with?

> btw, does this bike have cross brake levers?

yes on the brake levers. Thanks for the suggestions, i think im going to ride it as is (other than the saddle) until things wear out or I find deals on ebay. MAN I CANT WAIT!!!!!

cheers,
Eric

Deej

Great color! Makes me want to upgrade my 2004 Poprad to 2006. Your gonna love it!!

Happy Riding
Deej

DRLski

lol, I can't believe you guys actually like that orange color, I think it's hideous.

dizzydot

Hogwash! its a proven fact that orange bikes are faster, mr grumpypants.

islenska

well, there is always the danger of overtightening the seatpost collar, which can cause you to crack the post. many posts come with info that specifies the max amount of force you can use when tightening it. also, even when you tighten the seatpost collar correctly, the post can tend to slip down a little bit while you are riding. this is pretty easily solved by putting a piece of electrical tape around the seatpost, just above the seatpost collar. the tape will prevent the seatpost from sliding, and it will also mark the height, so if you are changing seatposts, it will be easy to get your saddle at the right height again.

so, they are just more high maintenance than a non-carbon post...

Dahon.Steve

The organge color is retro and quite unique in my opinion. There must be a million bikes out there in black, silver and blue but only Lemond makes them in orange. The color on the website does not do justice to how it looks in real life which is very special

Phatman

we've got a few of the new '06 treks in stock, and while I know that lemonds arent specifically treks, all the models w/ carbon posts come with these really *****ty seatpost collers that have bolts that will snap long before you screw up the carbon. I've personally broken one, and so have a couple other guys in the shop. I'm not certain that the lemonds will have these crummy seatpost collars, but if they do, you dont really have to worry about cracking your post on your first seatpost coller

noisebeam

Never had a problem with the seat post. I set it once at the shop, tightened correctly. Changed the height 1mo later. Never been changed since after 3k of brutal riding - no cracks, no slipping. Whats the concern really? Who changes seatpost height frequently enought that you can't do it right?
Its a great bike overall, but I'd be more thinkng about the squealing/shuddering front brakes as the bikes biggest weakness.

Al

tozovr

I have hear of this shudder/squeel while shopping for a new rig the last few months...what gives? why?

tvphobic

Shortys are particularly sensitive to toe-in. Do we have that dialed in?

noisebeam

Yes. You are right, Shortys are known for being sensitive to set up and known to squeal & shudder. There are several threads on this forum about them, most commonly about ones that are installed on Poprads and really the only sure way to get rid or reduce the shudder is to change hardware and/or add cable support hardware.

I can dial them in so they don't squeal, but that only lasts 50mi or so. I can also dial them in not to squeal, but then the shudder very badly, or I can get rid of the shuddeer and they squeal (preferred as the shudder can nearly throw you off bike) Basically you can adjust the resonant freq. with set up.

Al

DRLski

k...you're right, I saw the Sarthe today at the shop and it's much better looking then on the web. I actually kind of like the orange they use now. who knows, maybe in a month from now I'll have an orange Lemond sitting in my room too...

G-Unit

That's a nice color, looks just like the '05 but with a better paint job!

jfmckenna

I did a cyclocross race last year where 3 of the pro A riders broke there carbon seat posts!!! I am not lying a pound. It was very rare indeed to see 3 break in one day nevermind one season but it happened. And they had to stand up for the rest of the race it was pretty amusing. Not too many racers keep an extra seat post in the pit

The saddle on my GF's 04 Poprad was like a piece of pleather stapled to a two by four. But the bike is very nice.

btw I like the orange its very retro.

Revtor

I like last years white alot.. and I like this years orange alot also!! I like my 2004's black. . some. great bike by the way. yes indeedie all around great.

anyway, the brake shudder is caused by the aluminum fork vibrating back and forth while on the brakes, and this can I guess be tweaked by dialing in the brakes differently? Mine squeal alot too. . . I kinda like it though because I can use them like a horn or to get peoples attention while on my commute. Seriously! Also used it to scare off a dog once...

as for the seat sucking.. On my 2004's Ithys amore, I clipped out the little plastic scallops under the pressure zone on mine and made it alot softer in that area. make this mod for sure.

yes I do love my poprad. even more with its rack and touring triple. uber versatile to the maximum. in a few years it will get a new paintjob. . .

~Steve

sameness

Picked mine up on Thursday.

So. Much. Fun.

I'll second whomever said that these seem to run a little on the tall side. I'm a hair under 6 feet, and with the cable routing and the 32s, I'm lucky to have an inch and very small change over the 55's top tube.

Speaking of small change, dumped the miserable stock saddle on Day 2 for a Selle Italia MAX Flite.

Also picked up a set of Crank Brothers Candy SLs. Having only ever used SPDs before, I dig 'em a lot.

Not a huge fan of the Shorty 4s thus far, but I'm gonna put some Kool-Stops on there and dial 'em in a bit before I worry about swapping 'em.

Dumped it once, and after looking at the dinged and scratched STI lever, I'm already wishing it had bar end shifters.

Ride observations: LeMonds have a reputation for running a little long on the top tube, but I find the geometry really comfortable. After only a few hours on the True Temper tubes, I don't think that I can ever ride an aluminum frame again. Surprisingly nimble, climbs great, stable on sketchy downhill.

Will quickly become my favorite bike.

Oh, and I really dig the orange.

KeatonR

My '05 is far and away my favorite bike of everything I own and have owned. Awesome, versatile bike. My mountain bike is now feeling serious neglect.

Diesel

My '02 Poprad is about to go in to the shop for Empella froglegs brake upgrade with the corresponding horizontal brake levers! I plan to race this upcomimg season and can't wait.

Mayonnaise

anyone do any research on finding orange tires to match the new paint?

deathintransit

What is this, the SingleSpeed/Fixed gear forum?! Heyo!!