Lemond victoire questions
 

I have a lemond victoire that I bought used with I assume are mostly stock parts (bontrager race lite wheels, forgie 3t stem and hadelbar, ultegra components, lemond 2014 aluminum seat post with aluminum mounting hardware, Reynolds 3/2.5 seamless butted Titanium frame and some carbon fiber fork with lemond on it) my questions are as follows.

Is this fork going to last me? it has thousands of miles put on it with a small defect in the resin, no fibers damaged yet. also is it OLCV or older technology.

What year is this bike, it has the bare titanium frame with blue lemond stickers and the components listed above.

Where can I get the lemond logo for the front of the bike, mine is chipped up and is the worst looking part of the bike.

Also, a forum question, I tried to list some aero bars for sale and the forum wouldn't let me, why not?

Not sure about the lemond, but in order to post for sale items you have to be a paying member of the forum and have a little red star next to your name.

anyone, I know there are plenty of lemond owners on this page

I have a newer Victoire (carbon-Ti frame with carbon fork). The full Ti frame suggests you have a first generation (2000-2003) bike. Yes, Ultegra and Bontrager Race Lite wheels are the stock componentry.

My LBS mechanic says that carbon forks have a graceful failure mode where they start making a heck of a lot of noise before they outright fail, so I would keep riding it until you start to notice issues.

BTW, you have one of the sweetest bikes ever made. I regularly beat Cat III and some Cat II racers on downhills because the frame is so freakin' stiff. Enjoy!

thanks, I know it's either an 02 or 03, was kinda looking for a specific year as I'm trying to figure out if my fork is OLCV or not. Also, are there any parts not to change to carbon (presently only the seat and the fork are). Also, I'm getting no responses on my other thread so any help on it would also be appreciated.

my other post

Hey, relatively new to road biking and high-end components and I have some questions. First off, I've had a problem with cheap saddles ($15-$50) and buckling the rails, now I have a decent saddle, a bontragger race X lite with carbon fiber structure and titanium rails and it looks like it's doing the same thing, I do have it set so the saddle is as far back as possible (within the limits of the guage) but I only weigh 180. Also, are there any parts of a road bike to stay away form converting to carbon (the bike is ti with a carbon fork) and also, I ride on bumpy roads a lot.

If it's a "bare titanium frame with blue Lemond stickers", then it could be a '05 or '06. White and blue then it's a 2002. Go here: http://www.lemondbikes.com/bike_archive/ or post a pic of your bike or go to a Lemond dealer. Go to a Lemond dealer or scavenge ebay for the stickers.

If you're really worried about the "small defect" on the fork, then have a reputable bike shop inspect it. Again, posting pics here MAY help as well, but nobody can tell you anything about it without being able to see it.

Not sure why you're having problems w/ saddles buckling at the rails --- again, pics would help here. But I'd go w/ something reputable (Fizik Arione or Aliante come to mind) and stay away from carbon rails. All of your aluminum bits (ie, bars and seatpost) are fine, so don't worry about converting them to carbon.

Also (I believe), you can't post anything for sale, unless you have a paid membership ($25 for life).

alright, here are my pics


http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1218555348

here's the defect in the resin
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1218555348

here's the bent seat rail accented by a digital straight edge
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1218555348

Here's the straight side proven by another straight edge
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1218555348

Looks like a small portion of the clearcoated fork has been chipped off & shouldn't effect safety at all. I've got a biggger, yet similiar chip on my rear seatstay and still ride it as is. I however did get a 2nd opinion before deciding to leave it as is, you should probably get one too.

After seeing the pics I'm not sure what year it is but definitely looks pre-2002. On both sides of your bottom bracket there should be some letters/numbers punched in and on the underside of the downtube (near the bottom bracket) there may be a serial # plate as well. If you really want to know the year, email the info to Lemond.

As far as the bent seat rails -- if your bending them no matter what saddle you use, then maybe you need a new seat clamp. Then again, I'm not really seeing that much of a bend in your pics.

Nice bike -- it looks pretty solid and the Ti frame should treat you well for years to come. Go ride it!

*edit -- what the heck is that black stuff (almost looks like electrical tape) on the middle of the top tube?

thanks, the stuff on the top tube is wrap to keep me from scratching my bike up when I lean it up against poles and such.

oh.

any other comments?