ageless

[EDIT: I'm not promising that I won't remove the decals, but I really love this bike the way it is, & I will almost certainly leave it as it is (or if I need to make any component changes, I will store the original components so that it can easily be restored). And if I end up feeling the urge to mutilate it, I will seriously consider arranging a trade with someone for a similar frame which has already been repainted or something.]

Photos of my new used LeMond: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ageless/tags/lemond/

Anyone know which model / year this is? The components look a lot like the Campy stuff on the https://www.bikepro.com/ website, which was last updated in 1997, although most of the pictures are from 1996 (note: very similar, but not completely identical).

Currently, the cranks are 172.5, which is a bit long for me -- I wish Campagnolo made 165s (or even shorter), because I'd like to keep the bike all-Campy. No biggie though. I'm riding 155s on my Italvega, they seem to be easier on my knees (I haul heavy trailers up hills on a fairly regular basis).

I'd love to remove most or all of the decals on the bike -- I think it would look much nicer, and it might also be slightly less attractive to thieves. I've read up a little on decal removal, and it seems like the only hitch would be if they have a layer of clearcoat over them -- and it looks like they are roughly half clearcoated! As in, many of the decals seem to have clearcoat only on the bottom half. Weird. Maybe just the way it settled due to gravity? Compare this photo of the top edge of one of the decals to this photo of the bottom edge.

I will probably need to have someone that paints bikes take a look at it, but I thought I'd ask here first, since I want to ID the bike anyway.

Bike11man

I couldn't say the exact year, but I would guess early 90's maybe a 91. That would be a pre Trek LeMond I believe. The last thing I would do If I were you is alter the frame. There are not many of those Lemonds around. That is one bike I woudn't mind getting a hold of some day. There was also a titanium frame and a carbon fiber frame available.

pathdoc

Please don't alter this frame. If you aren't happy with it just sell it to someone who would love it as is.

ageless

Whoops, I meant to say that I was seriously thinking about removing some decals, but as I just got the bike, I'm not going to rush into anything.

And part of the reason that I wanted to post here was to ask if I could remove the decals in such a way that they could be reapplied if I decided to sell the bike someday, or if it would be possible to find the original decals so that the bike could be restored if someone was so inclined.

Also, my initial impression was that the bike wasn't that old or unusual.

Oh yeah: when I first saw it, I wasn't too crazy about the look, but I'm liking the way it looks more and more -- it's a beautiful bike.

pshaw

I got an 04 MJ Classic and the decal on the seat-tube started to peel off so I removed it and contacted the dealer for a repleacement to find Lemond only sell the kit for the entire frame! couple of hundered dollars.

I'd leave it as is.

cyclartist

This looks like an early nineties Italian-made Lemond. I had a similar frame in '93 that they called the Maillot Jaune--lugged steel Columbus SL tubing, the liveliest frame I've ever ridden. Those were imported by Ten Speed Drive Imports in Florida and painted in the U.S.with DuPont Imron paint. Clark-Kent was a Colorado frame builder that made some of the first steel bikes with the Lemond name on them, before the Italian ones, before Trek. He raced one year for the Coors Light team after his hunting accident and rode the team issue Clark-Kent steel frame and had them make his first ones. After I sold the Maillot-Jaune (what was I thinking?), I had Clark-Kent build a Ti frame for me using the same geometry. Still have it and it is my #1 ride. Last year I bought a used Lemond Zurich with the 853 Reynolds tubing and had it repainted. It's nice but doesn't compare to that old SL frame with the Italian mojo.

pdxtex

hey man, its your bike but you would be nuts if you painted it. its a classic and looks like its in sweet shape. sell it me before you paint it.

ageless

(I'm posting my respond to a PM asking me to reconsider removing the decals)

My initial reaction was "It's a bit flashy for me, but I think it would look a lot nicer if I just took the decals off, I'm not crazy about the bold black letters on the yellow paint.", but every time I look at it, I like it more and more. It's an awesome bike & I almost certainly won't alter it in a permanent fashion. I'm not quite willing to go so far as to say that I promise I won't alter it, but I will really think long and hard about it, and I would certainly look into trading it for a similar frame which had already been repainted before messing with it.

And if I am willing to part with it someday (like, years from now), I'll make sure it goes to a good home.

I'm not really a roadie per say, but I do messenger/delivery work & love riding, so the bike is going to get to spend a lot of time out on the road, which is what good bikes are made for.

formulaben

I have a feeling he's right.