I have both.

DT is ok but I vote for brifters.

Ok, so I've cured myself of the idiocy of going with downtube shifters and have been scoring eBay and Craigslist looking for 105 or Ultegra 9-speed brifters. I see the 105 shifters from Taiwan for about $150, but for some reason I can't seem to pull the trigger on them. There are Ultegra shifters for about $300, but before I drop that much coin I decided to take a look at the Forte 9-speed brifters.

Does anyone have any experience with the Forte brifters? They are lighter than Ultegra (one of my new goals is to drop weight below 20lbs), but reviews seem to be a bit mixed regarding there performance. As for longevity... :dunno

Any advice?

I've ridden them on a friends bike. I thought they shifted well and I liked the grip. But they do have unique lever system. Some low end Felt bike have them so if you know of a dealer you could check them out.

I know some of the guys here love the vintage bikes. If you really love your bike and truly dont want to get a new bike, replace the groupo and stick with your love. If you like the thought of having a new bike then by all means, get what you can for that bike and get a new bike all together. I agree with a couple posts here though, I would aim a little higher of bike brand. not saying fuji or scantante wont be something you wouldn't like, but there are some nice bikes for $1500 range. I would even look into the possibility of going off the main road of overly mass produced "Name brand". someone just posted getting a "Spooky" skeletor frame maybe check something like that out. possibly a parlee?

my vote goes towards getting a new bike.

So, it's done. Decided to upgrade rather than replace. Clearance sales and eBay provided with some good deals on components and ultimately spent much much less than the cost of a 105 groupset. Forte brifters and rear derailleur, SRAM Force compact crankset with SRAM GXP bottom bracket, and an Origin8 Ultim8 stem and Origin8 headset (had a Ritchey headset but it was damaged from the factory).

I still got 22lbs though, which doesn't make sense unless I weighed it wrong the first time. I pulled off a 12+ year old 105 triple and 105 long cage rear derailleur to be replace by the Force and Forte. The crankset swap out alone should have dropped some noticeable weight. And the Forte brifters are lighter than current 105. Oh well.

So, I now have a ridable bike again.

Thanks for all the input. BF provided a lot of good info.

Sounds neat. Post a pic and give us your ride impressions of your gear.

Your Lemond right now, weighs less than some aluminum road bikes. Besides, unless you race professionally, it shouldn't really matter that much, if you're in top physical condition. I've seen strong cyclists on hybrids beat top end CF road bikes! Instead of being worried about your bike weighing less, just remember, when the bike is moving, you're on it! Perhaps, you could lose three or four pounds to make up the weight difference.

That Lemond Buenos Aires is a beautiful bike. It may even become a collectors item one day. You've made an excellent choice!

Good Luck!

- Slim