# 1992 LeMond mountain bike w/ Mavic junk



## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

We finally got the LeMond bike put together. It has the 571 hubs which appear to be the road version so if anyone has a pair of 577 ATB hubs, give us a shout.

Clark-Kent built???


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Great bike!!! I loved that paint scheme - I ddint; realize that they used on the MTBs too. Very Team Z. 

Great looking seat lug too.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

it is great! please change that stem for a racier one. lower and longer.


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

Awesome. But, is it me or did you kludge the front derailler.


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## KDXdog (Mar 15, 2007)

Came out nice! 

What are you using for brake levers?


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

KDXdog said:


> Came out nice!
> 
> What are you using for brake levers?


Dia Compe SS-5 with the dipped levers.


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

bushpig said:


> Awesome. But, is it me or did you kludge the front derailler.


It's your fault! For some reason, there was a separate 28.6 clamp sitting in the display case so I took your suggestion and it worked great. The cable doesn't rub on the clamp like it did before.


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## richieb (Oct 21, 2004)

You have a PM


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Clean.


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## lml1x (Jan 13, 2004)

Roland Della Santa used to build Lemond's road frames. I bought a Della Santa a few years ago and visited Roland in his shop to get fitted up and talk to the man himself. He had a Lemond branded mtn bike in his shop. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask him about it even though we (he) spent the next few hours talking bikes. The guy loves to talk.


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

lml1x said:


> Roland Della Santa used to build Lemond's road frames. I bought a Della Santa a few years ago and visited Roland in his shop to get fitted up and talk to the man himself. He had a Lemond branded mtn bike in his shop. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask him about it even though we (he) spent the next few hours talking bikes. The guy loves to talk.


Anybody know for sure who would have built this? The serial number is pretty much filled in with paint so that doesn't help much.


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## lml1x (Jan 13, 2004)

Did you try giving Roland a call? Maybe if you describe some of the details to him he'll be able to confirm whether he built it or not. The color scheme is the same.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Della Santa build the actual Team Z frames, but the majority of the road frames sold to the public where built in Italy by Billato (so I've heard). I'm not sure if that applies to the mountain frames or not, but it might be a place to start looking.

The Italian made road frames have "handmade" cast into the seat stay bridge. The Della Santa frames do not. Too bad that this bikes does not have the same bridge.


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## wickedwheels (Jul 20, 2006)

Check out my pics of a totally different LeMond MTB here:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44856&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

I posted pics of the details of this frame and the serial number.

Mine is made by Santana for LeMond/Ten Speed Drive Imports. Apparently, Ten Speed Drive went out of business before ever paying for these, hence there were only 10 of them made. It's a VERY different frame than what Jeff is showing here.


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

lml1x said:


> Did you try giving Roland a call? Maybe if you describe some of the details to him he'll be able to confirm whether he built it or not. The color scheme is the same.


Any contact info for Roland? The web site only lists a snail mail address (no email or phone)


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## wickedwheels (Jul 20, 2006)

Can you post some more pics of your LeMond? I'd love to see the BB area, the welds, cable routing, seat stay bridge, fork and drop-outs.

It looks like a 1" head tube, right? What size post does it take?


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## themanmonkey (Nov 1, 2005)

wickedwheels said:


> Check out my pics of a totally different LeMond MTB here:
> Mine is made by Santana for LeMond/Ten Speed Drive Imports. Apparently, Ten Speed Drive went out of business before ever paying for these, hence there were only 10 of them made. It's a VERY different frame than what Jeff is showing here.


Ohhhh, an early (first-gen?) Columbus MAX tubed re-branded Santana Moda. I wanted one of those so much after building one for a customer. Santana was trying to increase sales and keep the money flowing in during the downturn of road cycling. I heard about, but never saw, re-branded frames.

Back to the OP. That LeMond is really nice, great lines added to with great kit. I always found that paint both awesome and awful even on the road bikes. Love to see these interesting actually rare bikes.


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

wickedwheels said:


> Can you post some more pics of your LeMond? I'd love to see the BB area, the welds, cable routing, seat stay bridge, fork and drop-outs.
> 
> It looks like a 1" head tube, right? What size post does it take?


1" head tube and the post is a 26.6. I tried a couple of 26.8 posts but they wouldn't go.

I looked and that was all of the decent pictures that I took.


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## KDXdog (Mar 15, 2007)

I have a thought, and seeing the LeMond has pushed it to the front of my brain. 

In frame designs. Like Ritcheys and the above, where the seat stays go to a binder bolt, does said bolt or QR become a "stressed" part of the frame? 

I know there is little problem with the design, or else Tom and all wouldn't make bikes in this manner. 

It appears that the bolt does "double duty", instead of just clamping the seat tube. For example, if your out in the woods, and the binder bolt breaks, will you be in danger of screwing up the rear of the frame if you continue to hammer on your ride? 

Or, am I just over thinking things?


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

KDXdog said:


> I have a thought, and seeing the LeMond has pushed it to the front of my brain.
> 
> In frame designs. Like Ritcheys and the above, where the seat stays go to a binder bolt, does said bolt or QR become a "stressed" part of the frame?
> 
> ...


the seat binder bolt on a frame like a Ritchey is not a structural part of the frame.


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

OK, not a Della Santa frame. Roland said he built 5 road frame for Lemond but zero mountain frames. 2 road frames were sent to Belgium and 3 sat unfinished until recently. He finished them and sold them off. He does own a Lemond mountain bike that he got through Sinclair Imports (it was cracked). It has been repaired and is still ridden (full Suntour Grease Guard kit). It sounds like his is one of the Santana MODA copies with Columbus Max tubing.

The search continues.

Any contact stuff for anybody from Clark-Kent??


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## muddybuddy (Jan 31, 2007)

You could always try to contact Greg directly. I don't know though, how involved he actually was with the frame production. But then, he might just go off on you and accuse you of using performance enhancing drugs.


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

muddybuddy said:


> You could always try to contact Greg directly. I don't know though, how involved he actually was with the frame production. But then, he might just go off on you and accuse you of using performance enhancing drugs.


Moonshine is on the UCI list of banned substances?


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

muddybuddy said:


> You could always try to contact Greg directly. I don't know though, how involved he actually was with the frame production. But then, he might just go off on you and accuse you of using performance enhancing drugs.


Roland said he would ask Greg next time he talked to him but doubted he would have any ideas. I don't have direct contact with Greg but tried to go through a couple of mutual friends.

For some reason [email protected] isn't working:skep:


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## p.doering (Aug 1, 2008)

First Flight said:


> For some reason [email protected] isn't working:skep:


Hi Jeff,

Nice looking machine. As for reaching the Greg, Trek and Lemond parted ways, & pretty heatedly, earlier this year. He's a hard one to reach, unless you're a member of the press with $ for a story. The Lance episode burned him pretty bad. Nice enough guy though, if you can get through to him. Not sure of the level of involvement in his early brand. Under Trek, it was minimal.

Got your email. Sounds good. Will respond soon.

Pete


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

p.doering said:


> Hi Jeff,
> 
> Nice looking machine. As for reaching the Greg, Trek and Lemond parted ways, & pretty heatedly, earlier this year. He's a hard one to reach, unless you're a member of the press with $ for a story. The Lance episode burned him pretty bad. Nice enough guy though, if you can get through to him. Not sure of the level of involvement in his early brand. Under Trek, it was minimal.
> 
> Pete


Believe me, as Trek dealers, we have gotten the Trek side of the split and it sounds like it is going to be ugly.

I think his dad would probably be the better person to talk to since he ran the early Lemond bike company while Greg was still racing. I also remember something about Greg "firing" his dad when Greg quit racing??


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## rjsdavis (Jun 22, 2012)

First Flight said:


> I think his dad would probably be the better person to talk to since he ran the early Lemond bike company while Greg was still racing. I also remember something about Greg "firing" his dad when Greg quit racing??


How on earth does one get hold of Greg's father???!

I've got an early (1990/91) Z Team replica frame, and am trying to locate some decals so that I can get it resprayed.... Would be magnificent if I could source the originals to make it mint....


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## schneidw (Mar 8, 2005)

damn... 4 year old thread resurrected.. and you dont even post a picture???? cmon' man! I never saw this thread.... great pictures...how the heck First Flight finds these gems is beyond my imagination... every cool bike I ever owned (Fat Chance, Grove etc) has been ridden beyond repair... the FF bikes are always MINT!! I had a loaner Lemond w Mavic (flat black) around 1990 and recall being told it was build in CA (not Italy as suggested in thread) so I wonder if the lugs can be traced back to the source.... the one I rode was true temper steel... that I do recall


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## rjsdavis (Jun 22, 2012)

*Sincere apologies....*

Here's a pic of the frame that I'm trying to restore (have owned from new).....

I've bashed off emails to Scapin, Billato (main Italian builder post Della Santa original run) and as yet, no joy on the decals....

Looks like I'm going to have to have some repro's made - otherwise I'll never be able to get the beauty repsprayed....


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

rjsdavis said:


> Looks like I'm going to have to have some repro's made - otherwise I'll never be able to get the beauty repsprayed....


why would you repaint that?


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## rjsdavis (Jun 22, 2012)

Becuase of the nasty rust damage - particularly along the top tube. It is 21 years old, and has spent too long sitting around in the garage (1995-2012) doing nothing and literatlly rusting away!

I want to bring her back to her best - the rust spots are too significant to be touched up without looking crap. See close up....


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## schneidw (Mar 8, 2005)

girlonbike said:


> why would you repaint that?


Yeah, why in the world would you want to repaint that bike...its almost perfect as is.


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## rjsdavis (Jun 22, 2012)

No way! Did you see the three major rust spots on the drive side of the top tube alone? 

She looks "ok" from a distance, but up close, is really disappointing. However, all rectifable - and a good spray from someone like Chas Roberts with some Du Pont Imron, and a new set of decals and she'll look just gorgeous again. 

Worth doing with the rarity of the frame - my difficulty remains with sourcing the decals which is why I haven't done it already. I'd rather have someone associated with Ten Speed Drive Imports let me know who made the original decals so that I can get her as close to perfect and original as possible.... But, one way or another, she really does need a new lick of paint.


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## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

I'd also come in on the side of not painting it. The colors are super vibrant and patina is a better tribute to 21 years of service than a repaint would be. Given the potential to get a back color match with those neons and the decal issue, here's another vote for leaving it be. The rarity of the frame is in the history--repaints are usually less valuable and lose the "soul" that makes it so cool to begin with.

But as the refrain always goes, it is your bike. Do what makes you happy. But if you are going to repaint, why not try a thorough clean and polish of the frame and parts first? Or even spot matching the top tube paint instead of doing the whole bit. Worst case scenario it doesn't work for you and go whole hog. But you might find a nice middle ground along the way....


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## rjsdavis (Jun 22, 2012)

There's also rust under the paint in places which don't show on the posted pics, therefore, it's more of a salvage job in effect as it will only get worse over time. If I were to just leave it - it would eventually ruin the steel and make it unusable. 

I'd far rather blast back to bare steel and have a pro painter re-do it. If it were practicle, I'd send it to CyclArt in CA who actually made some early LeMond frames - this way the paint would be tip top and decals genuine. However, as I'm in the UK, it makes more sense to give to our best frame builder - Chas Roberts here in the UK, complete with decals and Columbus sticker - ready to restore to pristine.

Once painted, I'm going to rebuild her back into the bike shepresently is and keep for another 20 years of riding... Then pass her onto one of my children probably in due course. She'll get some age related marks from use back before too long, but safe in the knowledge that there's no corrosion slowly eating her away from inside.

Having looked at pics of other LeMond frames, the blue in mine is much, much lighter than all others - I'll probably take the opportunity to go for the very dark blue of all other frames, and perhaps even chrome the Campag drop-outs - maybe even the chainstay. Would be a great finishing touch on a frame that deserves the effort.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

In any case, this was quite a hijack. By a road bike, no less. Good luck in your search.


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## rjsdavis (Jun 22, 2012)

Sorry  Was a google search for anything Z team, LeMond related....!


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## Pimpride (Nov 14, 2005)

Nice bike. Always like the 90s neon fades. Here's a good GL pic --->


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## rjsdavis (Jun 22, 2012)

Pimpride said:


> Nice bike. Always like the 90s neon fades. Here's a good GL pic --->


Quality - I love Indurain chuckling at Greg in the background!


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## rawly old (Dec 23, 2013)

I've got one of those. Doesn't look remotely like that; it was the
most beat up looking bike I've ever seen when I rescued it from a
boneyard for $15. I'm not talking about rust. Fishing, I once pulled
up a rusted bike covered in barnacles. Nope, I'm talking about sheer
physical abuse. The frame was intact, but there were more scrapes
& scratches than paint. The chain ring was in a state of complete
disintegration, cassette little more than nubs. The rear derailleur
looked like a pretzel. I don't know where they found 'em, but it had
old Philco brakes from the 30s or 40s. The twice painted steel 
wheels had rusted grooves ground into rims & missing some spokes.
This bike looked like it had been around the world at least 3 times.
I had to save it!

"We finally got the LeMond bike put together. It has the 571 hubs which appear to be the road version so if anyone has a pair of 577 ATB hubs, give us a shout. "

Clark-Kent built???












































[/QUOTE]


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## rjsdavis (Jun 22, 2012)

rawly old said:


> I've got one of those. Doesn't look remotely like that; it was the
> most beat up looking bike I've ever seen when I rescued it from a
> boneyard for $15. I'm not talking about rust. Fishing, I once pulled
> up a rusted bike covered in barnacles. Nope, I'm talking about sheer
> ...


[/QUOTE]

This bike that you've just posted these pics of, was the bike that was beat to hell and the one you salvaged???


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## rawly old (Dec 23, 2013)

No this is the bike shown at the start of this thread to which
i was making a comparison. I tried stripping the paint on that
one, but gave up. it's hanging on a barn in western Washington.
The BB was just too far gone.


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## Hurricane Jeff (Jan 1, 2006)

Thats not Greg....I can't think of the rider name though


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## chefmiguel (Dec 22, 2007)

Pensec?


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