# Lemond vs Trek - Advice welcome



## ilmaestro (May 3, 2008)

I'm a newb to road bikes (mtn biker) and i'm looking to get something reasonably comfortable to commute with and ride around town and such. I have no plans to race, but I still want to go fast in comfort.

I've been trying lots of stuff and so far the Trek 2 series and the Lemonds seem to stand out. I wanted to throw out some options and get some input from anyone who cares to comment. Right now some options are:

08 Trek 2.3 for $1500ish
07 Lemond Versailles for $1400ish
07 Lemond Alp De Huez for $1200ish
06 Lemond Alp De Huez for $850ish

All of these bikes component wise are good enough for me for now, I'm mostly wondering which to choose in terms of potential comfort/value. I'd like to say I could judge this for myself, but being a newb I'm really having a hard time deciding when test riding. 

The 07 LeMonds feel pretty similar to me so I figure I might as well go full carbon and get the Versailles if I get an 07. The 06 Alp De Huez I haven't actually ridden (it's on sale at Jenson in Socal), so if I decide to go for that one I'd have my brother pick it up for me and bring it to me (I live in Norcal) just based on liking the 07. Is this a bad idea? It seems a really good value, half off, and to be honest, I *LOVE *the old school look of the 06  Downside with that is I wouldn't have purchased it from my LBS and I've have to get it assembled, thought it seems a killer price.

Any comments appreciated.


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## daver42 (Apr 21, 2006)

I think the frame changed from the 06 to the 07 Alp d' Huez. The 06 has carbon stays only while the 07 is the spline bike (carbon stays, seat tube and down tube), plus a taller head tube which is much better looking IMO. I'd get either the 07 Lemonds or the 08 Trek.


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## ilmaestro (May 3, 2008)

daver42 said:


> I think the frame changed from the 06 to the 07 Alp d' Huez. The 06 has carbon stays only while the 07 is the spline bike (carbon stays, seat tube and down tube), plus a taller head tube which is much better looking IMO. I'd get either the 07 Lemonds or the 08 Trek.


Ah, I wasn't sure what the difference was between the 06 and 07. Thanks for clarifying. The trek only has carbon on the seatstay and fork though, so as far as carbon goes, it's not even on par with the 06 Lemond.

I really liked the way the Lemond's "felt" on the road, but I'm still not sure about the overall fit of them. They set me a bit more bent over (slacker seat tube angle?) than the Trek, but they still felt pretty good. I happen to have a large inseam though, 32-33", for my height, 5'9.5".


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## daver42 (Apr 21, 2006)

If you look at the geometries on the Trek and Lemond sites, you'll see that Lemonds have longer top tubes which could explain why you feel more bent over on them. A shorter stem could help. 



ilmaestro said:


> Ah, I wasn't sure what the difference was between the 06 and 07. Thanks for clarifying. The trek only has carbon on the seatstay and fork though, so as far as carbon goes, it's not even on par with the 06 Lemond.
> 
> I really liked the way the Lemond's "felt" on the road, but I'm still not sure about the overall fit of them. They set me a bit more bent over (slacker seat tube angle?) than the Trek, but they still felt pretty good. I happen to have a large inseam though, 32-33", for my height, 5'9.5".


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## kneejerk (Feb 2, 2007)

The Lemond geometry has a more slack seat tube angle which puts you further back on the bike, which results in the longer top tube. Being that getting over the pedals is an important bike fit consideration, it may be necessary to use a further forward seat on the Lemond geometry, which will shorten the top tube. 

The Lemond bikes I have ridden seem to ride well. I am not a fan of the slack seat geometry, but I think the Lemond bikes ride very stable. Although I haven't ridden them far. With my creaky knees I don't like being far behind the pedals with the slack seat angle, seems to aggrivate pains in my knee. 

If the bike fits you, ride it!


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

kneejerk said:


> The Lemond geometry has a more slack seat tube angle which puts you further back on the bike, which results in the longer top tube. Being that getting over the pedals is an important bike fit consideration, it may be necessary to use a further forward seat on the Lemond geometry, which will shorten the top tube.
> !


 This will be relative to your femur length. For some it is important to get behind the cranks/bottom bracket. One is not better than the other, it is up to your body type. Go to a shop with a reputation for being good with bike fit. They will steer you in the right direction.


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## ilmaestro (May 3, 2008)

Thanks for the input guys. So with the slack seat tube angle, would moving the saddle forward cancel that out, essentially making the geometry similar to most other bikes?


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## lookrider (Dec 3, 2006)

ilmaestro said:


> Thanks for the input guys. So with the slack seat tube angle, would moving the saddle forward cancel that out, essentially making the geometry similar to most other bikes?


As davidka pointed out it's relative to femur length. Assuming you're going to have knee over pedal spindle a slack seat tube angle with shorten the effective top tube, compared to a steeper angle.


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## ilmaestro (May 3, 2008)

I did some more riding on the Trek and the lemonds at Lunch and ruled the trek out. The full carbon of the Lemond Versailles is just night and day better than the Trek aluminum when riding on rough pavement. Fit wise, a 56 Trek 2.3 felt a bit compact and a bit less stable than the 55 Lemond, which might have a longer wheelbase? and tended to stretch me out a bit more. The Lemond also somehow put less weight on my hands than the Trek did, which was nice. I'm not sure why, perhaps because I'm stretched more or perhaps just because of the saddle height relative to bars?

So far, it's looking like the Lemond wins. I'm going to try a few other bikes though to make sure...


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## MarvinK (Feb 12, 2002)

The Versailles is head & shoulders above any of the other bikes you listed. Get it or shop elsewhere.


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## ilmaestro (May 3, 2008)

MarvinK said:


> The Versailles is head & shoulders above any of the other bikes you listed. Get it or shop elsewhere.


I ended up taking a closer look at the Specialized Roubaix (elite) as well, but I just got the Versailles, so it's obvious which I liked better 

I actually got an 08 Versailles for almost the same price  The only thing I want to change immediately is the brakes (some Taiwan brakes).

I'm stoked. Time to go ride!


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