# 2008 Poprad



## Vanilla Gorilla (Mar 22, 2004)

I just saw one at my LBS and it really is lovely. White with pretty decals, a new (Trek) fork and NO more disc brakes. Is it the same frame and tubing as last season? Does anyone know it is offered as just a frame and fork? I don't need any crummy Bontrager parts ATMO. 

xxoo

Me


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## dead flag blues (Aug 26, 2004)

Hey, i've been waiting to see what this looks like! Any chance you can sneak us a pic or two??

Heard they may offer a disc version as well...

Most recent years Lemond has offered framesets for sale, hope they do this year. I'm dying to build one with Centaur.


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## eyefloater (Jul 3, 2006)

I spoke with our Lemond rep the other day, apparently last year's red disc-specific version will carry over to this year (no changes at all) and the white canti-specific version will be brought in as well. 

Also, lookie here:


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## dead flag blues (Aug 26, 2004)

that looks awesome, thanks! will look great with Centaur..


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## dyg2001 (Sep 23, 2004)

Vanilla Gorilla said:


> I don't need any crummy Bontrager parts ATMO.
> Me


That's a nice looking bike in white. Besides LeMond, Trek will also be releasing a new version of their aluminum cross bike very soon that is supposed to shave some weight off of last year's model. It should be quite a bit lighter than this Poprad. 

Take another look at Bontrager parts if you haven't recently. They are making some nice stuff. 

I would pick the Bontrager Race Lite aluminum road bar with VR bend over any other aluminum racing bar, regardless of brand or price. It is light, stiff, and the bend is comfy. I've used one on my road bike for most of the season and will be putting them on my 2 cross bikes soon.

Ditto for the XXX Lite VR bar compared to any other carbon fiber bar, if only I could afford it. 

The new Bontrager Race X Lite aluminum stem is also sweet. Four-bolt clamp, same weight as the Ritchey 4 Axis, and better looks ATMO.

I have done all my road training and racing on a Bontrager Race X Lite rear clincher wheel with a Powertap hub for the past year. It has an aero 30mm deep aluminum rim, low spoke count, and has been rock solid, never needing a true. Their carbon fiber wheels are expensive but high quality.

I have some teammates who have been testing some new Bontrager saddles, not sure if they are on the market yet, and they say they are great.

I have no experience with the new Bontrager carbon fiber cranksets, so I can't say how they stack up to the competition. For cross, forged aluminum like Dura-Ace or the new Ultegra SL just makes a lot of sense. After one season of mud and grit I bet most high zoot carbon cranks look pretty beat.

In general, much like Ritchey, I have found Bontrager components to be quite reliable and race worthy. In the last season or two they have been releasing a lot of nice new parts that are worth considering to upgrade any bike, not just to be satisfied with if they came on your Trek or LeMond. I'd argue that no other bike company in the USA, or maybe even the world, has more bike engineering experience and expertise than does Trek. Hopefully they will apply some of the features of the new Madone to a carbon fiber cyclocross bike sometime in the future.

Disclaimer: I am not employed or sponsored by Trek/Bontrager/LeMond, but I do have friends who work for the company.


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## vanjr (Sep 15, 2005)

wonder why there is nothing on the lemond website about the 2008s??


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## Vanilla Gorilla (Mar 22, 2004)

True, high end Bontrager wheels and parts are just swell. I have a Fuji built up with Centaur and Neutrons and I would like to put the parts on to a new frame, preferably steel. The new Poprad is pretty looking, and I kinda hope they sell just the frame.


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## eyefloater (Jul 3, 2006)

vanjr said:


> wonder why there is nothing on the lemond website about the 2008s??


It's just their production cycle. They'll roll out the top of the line road offering asap to get the hype machine rolling and the cross bikes for the fast-approaching season. There's no sense updating the website yet because the retailers are still trying to move '07 stock and that would undercut their business. Give it another month or two once the season is "over" and all the '08 bling will be on display.


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## slideeslide (Feb 1, 2007)

vanjr said:


> wonder why there is nothing on the lemond website about the 2008s??


Pretty simple actually. This weekend is the Trek dealer show. Educate your top 100 dealers first, then start advertising. Trek brought out the Madone early because of the Tour I suspect.

At this show, the dealers( I used to go) get the first catalogs for the 08s and such. I miss the free schwag.


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## iamandy (Jun 20, 2003)

ordering my new poprad today. good to see they came to their senses and offer canti's again.


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## alexi (May 24, 2006)

just found some cracks on my canti bosses, getting my 2006 warentied (sp?) and I'm so freaking happy that the 2008 has canti mounts. didn't want to have to go buy new wheels and brakes!


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## Nater (Feb 7, 2003)

*Pics of 2008 XO1 and XO2...*

can be found here. Scroll down a little bit...

http://mtbomaha.blogspot.com/


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## gobes (Sep 12, 2006)

Nater said:


> can be found here. Scroll down a little bit...
> 
> http://mtbomaha.blogspot.com/


It looks like the frames have changed a bit. There is more of a wishbone on the seat stays. There is no longer extra material between the down tube and head tube.
The top tube and down tube appear less round compared to the old frames.

Forks look like the same one that was on the xo2 last year.

Looks like a SRAM drive train on the xo2.


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## dyg2001 (Sep 23, 2004)

gobes said:


> It looks like the frames have changed a bit. There is more of a wishbone on the seat stays. There is no longer extra material between the down tube and head tube.
> The top tube and down tube appear less round compared to the old frames.
> 
> Forks look like the same one that was on the xo2 last year.
> ...


I heard the new XO frames will be lighter than last year and have improved tire/mud clearance at the chainstay/BB area. The XO2 looks like a great race bike as is, with the SRAM Rival drivetrain and higher-end Bontrager stem, bar, and seatpost. The bike in the photo has the new Bontrager Race X Lite aluminum stem that I mentioned in my post above, the one that is as light as the Ritchey 4 Axis, as well as the VR-bend aluminum bar which I find to be really comfy. If I got a new XO2, the only upgrades I would consider would be the brakes (for Paul), fork (Reynolds or Alpha Q), and saddle (SLR), and a tubular wheelset for race day. With those upgrades I bet the bike would be under 18 lbs and worthy of Jeremy B's gallery.
I currently have 2 steel cross bikes. I am tempted to sell one to finance a new XO2.


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## Mshue (Oct 23, 2006)

dead flag blues said:


> Hey, i've been waiting to see what this looks like! Any chance you can sneak us a pic or two??
> 
> Heard they may offer a disc version as well...
> 
> Most recent years Lemond has offered framesets for sale, hope they do this year. I'm dying to build one with Centaur.



I have '07 Centaur on my new Zanconato road bike. First Campy experience and I'm really happy so far. 

That '08 white Poprad is really sharp. Anyone know what the retail price for the frameset might be?


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## dead flag blues (Aug 26, 2004)

*Poprad*

I was fit on a new Poprad last weekend. The new bike is very nice, esp the fork and wheelset. The older fork that i have is aluminium and really chatters a ton, the new fork is expected to alleviate that.

Bad news tho, after 3 hours of messing around with the fit on this and my current Poprads, i've come to the conclusion that i am a bad fit for Lemond's geometry.

I'm going to invest in a fleet of Sevens with Campy. Stay tuned.


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## iamandy (Jun 20, 2003)

*08 Poprad with my Campy*

Just got finished building my new Poprad last night. It's a lot lighter then I thought it would be. Forgot how steel rides, so lively. I really enjoyed it on the commute to work this morning.


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## iamandy (Jun 20, 2003)

Build:
campy chorus shifters
campy centaur front/rear derailluer
bontrager race lite cranks
bontrager race lite seatpost (not in yet)
bontrager race lite stem
bontrager race bars (46) double wrapped
bontrager race x lite saddle
tektro CR720s (seem to work very nicely)

training wheels
open pros/chorus

race wheels
velocity escape/centaur


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## one_speed (Jun 30, 2003)

andy...looks great! i look forward to checking it out. steel is real, my friend.

layne


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## bgood (Jan 13, 2007)

*New 08 Lemond Propad Rides Sweet*

First serious ride on my new 08 canti Propad was a Half Century around Portland OR plus the ride to and from home = 65 miles. It had a very compliant ride on Continental Four Seasons 700 x 30 at about 105 lbs of pressure (with tire liners for city rides). I really enjoyed the bike! It just felt great. The stock seat wasn't too bad but I perfer a cut-out style so that will get changed soon.

The steering is quite slow compared to my carbon road bike and it almost feels like it has a steering damper at speed which will probably be great for trail riding. I'll soon try it on rails-to-trails and gravel roads etc. The canti brakes worked well once I adjusted toe-in properly (no squeeking or rubbing like I sometimes get with my Avid Juicy 7's on a 29er).

I'm 6 feet 2 inches and 190 lbs and got the 59 cm (largest frame size they make). The fit is good for me - just a bit more upright than my road bike. The gearing is very tall so I changed out both the cranks and rear sprocket for a very wide range of gearing to handle riding in the West Hills of Portland and off-road riding. 

I love the color and the bars are well paded and of a very comfortable shape. 

The bottom line is I think this will be a perfect bike for mixed trail, gravel,pavement, and urban rides with enough efficiency to handle longer rides with ease. For some time I've felt that my hardtail 29er was overkill for the terrain I ride. It's no problem to stand over short rough stretches and then have a light efficient bike for the vast majority of the riding. After I have several hundred miles on the bike in mixed conditions, I'll try to do a follow-up post.


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## Colombia (Sep 12, 2007)

iamandy said:


> Just got finished building my new Poprad last night. It's a lot lighter then I thought it would be. Forgot how steel rides, so lively. I really enjoyed it on the commute to work this morning.


This looks great and the build-up makes such a difference in comparison to how it is presented by Lemond itself


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## patchito (Jun 30, 2005)

dyg2001 said:


> That's a nice looking bike in white. Besides LeMond, Trek will also be releasing a new version of their aluminum cross bike very soon that is supposed to shave some weight off of last year's model. It should be quite a bit lighter than this Poprad.
> 
> Take another look at Bontrager parts if you haven't recently. They are making some nice stuff.
> 
> ...



The biggest knock on Bontrager parts is that they're simply not very sexy. Nothing particularly wrong with them. However, OTOH, when I worked at a bike shop, there were quite a few Racelite wheels that came back with spokes that pulled out of the rim.

The Bontrager seatpost clamp design is by far the best in the market. It's one of those, "why didn't they think of this before?" designs.


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## argylesocks (Aug 2, 2004)

sweet ride, andy!


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## boomer-sooner (Sep 13, 2004)

That is an awesome looking bike iamandy. Were you able to order just the frame and fork, or did you have to take off/resell the stock grouppo? If you don't mind me asking, about how much did it set you back? I've been considering a 'cross bike to replace my roadbike. I only ride for fitness and pleasure and have no ambitions to race, so I don't see the point of having a race bike anymore. Plus there are a lot of dirt roads around here. Are there any downsides to using a cross bike for road riding in the summer months that I'm not realizing?


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## iamandy (Jun 20, 2003)

Boomer-Sooner,
You can order just the frame/fork but I bought the full bike. Got it through the team deal. I think retail is around $1600 but not sure. it rides great. Only really down side is canti's kinda suck. Other then that its great.

You should try racing it is fun.

- Andy


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## Colombia (Sep 12, 2007)

*homepage update*

Does anybody know, when the new Lemond 2008 bikes will be presented on their webside?

Thanks

Jochen


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## CFBlue (Jun 28, 1999)

*That's creepy*



dyg2001 said:


> Disclaimer: I am not employed or sponsored by Trek/Bontrager/LeMond, but I do have friends who work for the company.


I second everything in your post except for part of the last bit. I had to check it wasn't me that wrote it! 

I got my 2008 Trek cross bike two days ago and it's really nice, looks super cool. I don't know personally but my friends say that it's heaps lighter than last year.

Bontrager parts are really good too. I wasn't too keen on the wheels or saddles before I had a chance to ride them but after using them I've completely changed my mind. The Race X lite and lite saddles are beautiful, the VR kicks ass, the seat post's are great and the carbon crank set is super cool.

Bontrager contracts reputable manufacturers to make high quality stuff. It's a shame that it's seen as just OEM for Trek.


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## vanjr (Sep 15, 2005)

anybody got a weight on the 2008 propads (not the disc) with a stock setup? your size?

lastly what are the stock wheels? lemond website has Bonty selects on one part and Bonty Races on another area? 

tia


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## iamandy (Jun 20, 2003)

mine came with Races.

not sure on the weight. but it's very respectable.


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

I second the support for bontrager.. I have a trek MTB... the bonty parts on it reek of quailty... love the alloy seatpost, stem and bars... The wheels are sensible straight guage 28h offset rims with some nice hubs... This is a mtb that i've launched off drops etc.... never been trued, the wheels are very, very good. Best i've had.

that said, i can understand why the OP wants just a frame and fork, go campy !!! hehe


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## kdiddy (Feb 15, 2008)

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but I'm trying to decide between the Trek X01 and a Poprad canti. Any thoughts? I've seen the Poprad disc at the LBS, and it looks nice. I haven't seen the new X0 other than on the Trek site. Has anyone weighed either bike? I'm looking at the 55 cm Poprad or the 56 cm XO1. Specs are almost identical between the bikes with the exception of the stem, bars and rear derailleur. Geometry is pretty much the same as well, especially when you consider the steeper seat tube angle on the Trek which makes the Effective Top Tube measurement seem shorter than the Lemond (assuming my seat to BB position on both bikes would be the same). Price is close enough to not be much of a factor. I guess it comes down to weight and ride. Does the steel Lemond ride that much nicer than the Trek? Are they close enough in weight where that not a factor either?


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## gobes (Sep 12, 2006)

I have a 2007 Trek XO2 (52cm). When I picked it up at the shop it weighed 18.5 lbs. without pedals. With the wheels and components on the XO1 I would suppose it would weigh around 19 lbs. without pedals.
The poprad looks to be spec'd similarly to the xo1 so I would expect it to be a bit heavier due to the frame.


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## m_s (Nov 20, 2007)

Just a guess, as I haven't ridden the newer Poprad and have never ridden n XO1, but Lemonds in general have pretty long top tubes, and I recall hearing that Poprad shave fairly low BB height, making for a swell handling bike with some potential pedal strike issues. On the othe rhand most manufaturers have been moving towards low bottom brackets on cross bikes anyways, which I'm fine with.

I love how Lemond slook, and the Poprad would be an awesome bike for me if I only had a different body type. Being all arms and legs, long top tubes don't realy cut it for me.

As to weight I lifted a Poprad in a shop and w/o pedals I'd guess it weighs around 21 pounds--about the same as my entry level aluminum/carbon rig with pedals and TIagra drivetrain. But my guesses have been known to be wildly inaccurate.


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## kdiddy (Feb 15, 2008)

Thanks for the input. I just placed an order for the Poprad Canti. FWIW, Trek replied to me and stated that the Poprad should be around 20.5 and the XO-1 about 21.7 lbs. Also, it appears that the Trek has a lower BB (Trek gives BB height, while Lemond lists drop, but a guy at the shop measured both BB height of the Lemond Poprad disc and wheel axel height with the tires inflated and I calculated the Trek BB drop to be 76 to 79 mm, assuming Trek measures BB height with the same tires, while the Lemond is listed at 74mm).


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## m_s (Nov 20, 2007)

Interesting. Guess I was wrong on both counts  20.5 punds is pretty good for a stock bike made of steel and equipped with 105.


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## MIN in PDX (Nov 29, 2007)

I weighed the 2008 Canti and Disc Poprad at the LBS (stock obviously.)

*Canti *in 56cm - 20.7 pounds

*Disc *in 56cm - 21.7 pounds

The Canti model has an Ultegra RD and marginally lighter wheels, otherwise, it is the same. 

Both the canti carbon and the disc carbon forks weigh 660 grams.


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