With the weather outside truly frightful... well, starting a new bike build would be a good way to spend the afternoon. Parts have been accumulating for some time so it is a good time to begin.

Weather: about 12 degrees with wind blowing 25 to 40 mph. View from my living room is nice as long as you're inside!


Frame is orphaned LeMond 2004 "spine bike" from eBay. I have a couple of these already and I love them. Frame fork and headset weigh in at 4.7 pounds.



I have finally figured out the picture thing.... more later today. A faithful assistant is at hand to work with me.

Weather here is sunshine and 79 deg.F and my new bike build is almost finished. Rode the old Calfee on the club ride today, and it worked fine, but with only one short (30 mi.) test ride on the new build, I wasn't confident enough to subject it to a club ride yet.

The frame and fork are GURU Photon, the group is SRAM Red, but with a SRAM XX mountain bike rear derailluer and 11 x 32 ten speed cassette.

The bars, stem and a few other bits are FSA while the seat post clamp (doesn't have a removeable seatpost) is Ritchey. SRAM wheels, Hutchinson tires and Lizard Skins tape (Cane Creek headset). Like the fit a lot better than the Calfee (which will soon be for sale).

Photos do not exist as of yet, but will try to get some soon. Weighs in at a tad under 16 lbs. so the lightest bike I've owned so far.

Good luck on your LeMond billydonn, looks like a great place to start a new build!

Rick / OCRR

The view outside looks truly frightful.

Nice looking bike/frame. I see you're using SRAM brakes. What do you think of them? I haven't tried any SRAM stuff other than the cranks on my Kona Jake.

Looks like fun. What's a "spine bike"?

Twelve degrees is just fine for riding, as long as it is Celsius.

LeMond Spine Bike= chainstays, BB, downtube and headtube are True Temper OX (or a few were even TI) and rest is CF. They were made in Wisconsin from about 2004-2006 and painted, badged, as Versailles, Buenos Aires, Zurich or Maillot Jaune. TI models were Tete de Course and Victoire. I like them. I must have them all.

I have already installed Ultegra 6600 Triple FD and BB... am going to use Ultegra SL crank.


Next up will be: Seatpost, SRAM Force brakeset, 3T ARX Team stem.

Hi Ron,
I have SRAM brakes on several road bikes and would always use them over Shimano. The Force and Red are both really powerful with the Force being more affordable. The cheaper SRAM Rival are very good too. I have not tried any of the uber high end brakesets though. The Force are a darker chrome that matches Ultegra SL pretty well.

Why Ultegra over SRAM drivetrain (if that's the way you're going)?

A sub 15 pound Bike then? Aren't they about 14.2 with good wheels? The GURU that is?

Looks to be a good project. I had one of those frames for a summer. It was a pretty good ride. Alas the frame was a bit too big for me and I had to let it go. I remember when they first came out. The dealers in our area were having a had time moving them. After they stopped making them, they were very popular. Go figure.

Okay then: here's today's progress.






Next up will be cranks, bars and brifters. To answer a question asked above, I'm going with Shimano because it allows a triple. Also, I was going to use 6510 nine speed with 11-32 cassette and XT rear derailleur. But I decided to go ahead and use Shimano ten speed to have a little closer ratio on the cassette.

Billydonn, you do come up with some great looking Lemond frames. Are you going to have wheels custom-made?
Marlin

Actually Robert,

Sub 16lb. but the heavier derailluer and cassette keep it out of the super-light-weight category. The wheels are SRAM carbon, so fairly light, but I have the heavier Hutchinson "Invulnerable" tires on them, so those adds a bit of heft too.

Some folks have gotten the GURU Photon builds down to 13 lb. but I'm not that much of a weight weenie, or really, I have different priorities, i.e. being able to climb silly-steep roads with 170+ miles on my legs.

Rick / OCRR

I didn't know LeMond's were made like that. How does the combination of materials ride like?

Several years ago I ended up buying an all Ti bike. I test rode the combination of Ti and CF on bothe Seven's and Merlin and thought they felt too "soft" and flexible with Seven and Merlin and went with straight Ti.

Very nice! Parts for my new build should be here this week; another "Swiss Army knife" bike for commuting/training, maybe an organized ride or two.

Kona Sutra frame/fork
Easton XC One 29 wheelset
Shimano 105 triple drivetrain (10 speed)
Avid Road BB7 brakes

Nice Lemond -
I had a day on a steel/carbon Lemond bike (several years ago) and thought it was a great ride.

Thanks Marlin... you're a discerning judge of bicycle flesh! My "wheel reveal" is forthcoming soon... don't miss it.

I am not the most sophisticated of judges of these things (and do not produce massive wattage on my rides) but my limited experience suggests that these frames retain much of the "steeliness" (buzz and shock absorption) of good quality steel frames while gaining some of the weight advantages of CF. They also fit my body geometry extremely well... long torso and shorter legs... and I like their looks, especially the ones where the CF is left unpainted.

Just a suggestion: It's never a good idea to clamp a frame anywhere other than on the seat tube. I doubt you have done any frame damage because you don't have many components on it yet, but do yourself a favor and clamp where recommended. It looks good. I'm doing a neighbor's beautiful old Centurion currently. It's great bringing old bikes back to life.

Or clamp it on the seatpost, with or without a rag to prevent scuffing.

Good advice and duly noted on the clamping procedure... thanks. Here are next parts up: Ultegra SL crank with 28-tooth TA inner ring from Harris Cyclery, 3T Ergonova Pro compact bars and Ultegra 6603 10-speed brifters.



Have been busy the last couple days and should make progress on assembly tomorrow.

Judging from the pictures, the thing I like best about this project is that it takes place in the living room.
A bike with such a pedigree deserves such respect.

Exactly my thought + I love the front porch!

Great bike colors . . goes with black, white or red shoes : )

Losing weight and now building a new bike, it sounds like your ready to kick some butt when the snow melts. Great looking bike Don, have fun.

Today's progress: bars and cranks installed.


Oh yes, new WTB Vigo saddle has arrived. WTBs have been pretty good for me but I have not used this model yet.
Hermes... please note whiteness.



Sorry for the dark and cluttered background... will shoot some pics in better conditions tomorrow.