baj32161

How'd it go?

gui4life

It was great. I tried out the Trek 1000 but they didnt really have it in my size and the guy said it feels more like a Lemond in size 57.

The Lemond Etape feels like the perfect fit. I road it around for a good 10-15 minutes.

However: The Etape felt like it was shifting gears rather rough compared to the Trek 1000, even though they have the same components.

I told the guy and he took it in the back room and he said that he did some "minor adjustments but it looked pretty good" I test drove it again and it seemed a litte worse - not better.

They only way I can discribe it is when I shift there is more of a "clunk" and isnt very smooth.
What could be causing this? Could it be because of being abused while on the show floor? I asked how long it has been on display and he said "Ill have to check but Id have to say around 2 months"

The fact that is impossible to downshift in the drops and the roughness of shifting is the only real complant I have. The stock seat seemed pretty good, wasnt hurting.

My back didnt feel like it hurt at all when done riding, which is a good thing (but my legs sure did! I am so out of shape lol.)

I didnt really check out the condition on the bike that closley for wear and tear. I did notice some scracthes on the carbon fiber seat post from being raised and lowered - no biggy.

I just sorta hate the feeling of buying a slightly used bike at a "new" price.

When do the 2008 bikes come out? The guy in the shop said august... If it comes out in august I could wait a couple of weeks and maybe get the 2008 verison or the 2007 version for cheap.

baj32161

Cool. I would think that the drivetrain could have used some better adjusting than what it was given. I have heard many Sora equipped bikes (including mine) shift without "clunking," YMMV however. I was thinking that the LeMond would be a bit more confotrable for you at your height. I cannot imagine why the Trek shifted better, perhaps someone more learned than myself can enlighten you there.

Also if the 2008's come out in August, and price is an issue, then perhaps you may want to wait and see what you can get the '07 for. If it is a slightly used bike (ie: for test rides and such) you should be able to get a killer deal for it if the shop is any good. No matter what I think you will be happy with either bike if the fit is good for you.

As far as the saddle goes, 15 minutes is not enough time to judge a saddle, it may take a couple hundred miles. I changed out my stock saddle last year but I still haven't find the one that I really like yet.

Continued good luck in your quest and have fun...shopping for a new road bike is the next best thing to riding one.

Cheers,

Brian

gui4life

Thanks for the help!

Do they usally come out at the start or end of august?

gui4life

If its the start of August I could probably wait but If its near the end of august forget it.

Has Lemond released any info on whats going to be different?

bbtm

I was gonna buy a Trek 1000 - it even came in the color I wanted - blue.

However, I never had the greatest luck at my local Trek dealer, so I went to the Specialized dealer. Got better service, got fit, etc.

Give both a try - both are good bikes, just make sure you get fit correctly.

bailcash09

oops....

oh well same thing

mrog71

That's nothing. I'm 6'2" and 275. And in response to the OP question #2, if I can ride at this weight, I think you can ride at 220. I'm starting to ride serious again hoping to lose some serious weight.

gui4life

At 275 you do some pretty good back flips

mrog71

I think I was only 250 at that point....

gui4life

Any idea when the 2008's coming out?

Ostuni

cycling can change your life. best thing ever for your physical and mental health.

regarding the stretching, yoga is awesome imo...

go to the library and check out a dvd named 'yoga for weight loss for dummies' or something like that... the yoga instructor is le belle femme skunk, the exercises are great, and if you start your day with 15-minutes of that you will feel the difference (physically, mentally, energy-wise) almost immediately...

and yes, lots of folks your size and in your condition have gotten great results through cycling...

gui4life

Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement!

I have a game called "yourself fitness" and i belive they have yoga on it. Ill give that a try.

straightballin

you can find 105 equipped road bikes at bikesdirect in your price range if you wanna go that route. You're gonna need to know you're size though, and you'll miss out on the LBS support.

JNorm

Hey Qui, I just thought I'd throw my two cents in.

I'm a new rider too, and I was in the same situation you're in now last year. I was looking between the same two bikes. (At least I think it was the Trek 1000 I was looking at. White and red? The guy at the shop said it was a good entry level bike)
Anyway, while the Trek appealed more to me by ways of looks and shifters (it had the up and down shifters on the brake levers, instead of like the Lemond where the down shift was the brake lever and the up shift was a little switch near your thumb)
I ended up going for the Lemond Etape because it was nearly 200 dollars cheaper than the Trek.

I have had absolutely no complaints with it so far. You actually do get used to downshifting when you're gripping the lower part of the bars. You just kinda need to cock your elbow out and shift with your pointer and middle fingers. Not the easiest way to shift but absolutely do-able. Like I said, it takes a little getting used to but then again so does any bike for a beginner.

As for your back not hurting, I remember reading in the Etape manual, after I bought the bike, that Lemond designs their bikes so you are sitting up slightly more than you would in most other racing bikes. I'm no doctor but I bet that may have something to do with your back feeling better.

But again, I love my Etape and I'm going to be buying some upgrades soon (saddle, better pedals maybe?)

And if you haven't yet, make sure you buy clipless pedals. I'd ride around with the stock pair for a week or so until you got a feel of how it rides, then make the switch. The guys at the store are going to try to sell you the most expensive ones, and those are probably great clips but I wouldnt break the bank first. I ended up going with a pair of Shimano PD-M520 because they were pretty cheap. Now, these are mountain bike clips but they work just fine for me and I think they'll do fine for you, until you feel you're ready for an upgrade.

I hope you enjoy your choice and get hooked to cycling like I did

JohnKScott

I'm just sayin'...

6'4" at 220 doesn't sound fat

6'4" at 180 almost sounds unhealthy

I'll bet if you get active and add muscle mass that 200 lbs at your height wouldn't be too bad. Unless you have a smallish frame or something.

Anyway. I'm 5'10" and 212 lbs. If I get down to 175 - 180 I'd be happy. But I have a fairly large frame, so...

I found that when I started cycling (and swimming) about 3 months ago I wasn't losing a ton of weight. A couple pounds here, a couple there, but pant size went down and my shirts fit better. I suspect I was adding lean muscle mass in place of fat. Plus I felt great.

Good luck with your bike purchase. I am too much of a newbie myself to be much help. Just get something you like to ride and ride it!!

JNorm

John- The same sort of thing happened with me: I've been between 160-180 for the past 4 years, now i'm 18 now so I've been growing during that time. But I started rowing freshman year and got in pretty good shape. I used to be pretty chunky before I started but I bet I'd weight a lot more if I never started.

intence

Take your time before buying the bike and shop around. I believe that the Lemond is made by Trek, so that's something else to consider. You might also want to try riding entry level offerings from Specialized (Allez), Felt, Giant, and Cannondale just to name a few. As others have mentioned, fit is the most important aspect here, if it doesn't fit really well, you're not going to like riding it.

Depending on your age, and flexibility, you may also want to try a few bikes that have you sitting in a more upright position. Off the top of my head, the Giant OCR series and Cannondale Synapse Alloys are probably in the same price range as the Trek 1000, and have more upright positioning. Trek also has the Pilot series which has a more upright riding position.

As far as shifting, I think most Sora bikes will shift similarly (or they should after being tuned properly), generally the most expensive part of the shifting system to replace are the shifters themselves. If you find a bike that fits well, and has Tiagra shifters instead of Sora, it might be worth considering.

Some have said that Trek's entry level frames are very stiff, you may want to try another brand for comparison and see if you like a stiffer ride or something more muted. The Trek's are great bikes, but i'd ride just about everything out there and see which one you like best

gui4life

Thanks for the additonal information guys.

I don't have much muscle mass at all so most of my body weight amounts to fat. I felt great when I was 180. I hope to get down to that again.

I have been looking through classifeds and Ebay auctions of Lemond bikes. I found a couple.

I found one on ebay but it is a size 61cm. I never test drove a size 61 but the guy who has it up for auction says he is the same height as me. Do you think I will notice much of a difference between 59cm and 61?

Here is the geometry chart...

https://www.lemondbikes.com/bikes/roa...tape.php?tab=2

If you are around the 6 foot 4 range what size bike do you use? (And brand)

gui4life

I called my LBS and they said that Lemond said that the 2008's Etape wont be out until september.

I guess I will look around to buy a used one and if I dont find one for a decent deal I will buy one from my LBS.

KNow of any other bike classified? My local craigslist doesnt have any.

JNorm

Qui, I'd say the difference between the 59cm and the 61 cm is probably about 2cms.

From what I understand...

gui4life

Well yes... .7 of an inch.

Will a 61cm be to big for me? What do most 6 foot 4 people use?

JNorm

I'm not an expert but that may be a good size for you. Just guessing from your height. If the guy selling it is the same size then I'd trust him. Otherwise, come up to New Hampshire and test out the Lemond 61cm that I just saw at my LBS

gui4life

I called around to all three of my Lemond dealers and three of them are clean out of 61cm road bikes. One of them even called Lemond, and Lemond said they are out of that size until the 2008s come out (due to come out in september/october.)
GRRR!!!!

Now what?

The guy was real nice and he said that one of his friends has a 61cm and he will put me up on it and do measurements and stuff and see if the 61 is my size.

JNorm

Yeah I guess that's probably your best bet. I hope that works out for you