Tour de Georgia sponsor LeMond Cycles has emerged from the shadow of its parent company Trek’s OCLV lineup with the introduction of a new 950g all-carbon frame. The new offering promises to reign as the top “professional-quality” road offering from the Wisconsin firm. James Huang takes the new design for a couple of test rides on the roads of the Tour of Georgia, including the brutal finish up to the top of Brasstown Bald Mountain.
LeMond Cycles’ new carbon Triomphe line of frames marks its most ambitious high performance road offerings to date as well as its first all-carbon frame developed fully in-house. Lead engineer Aaron Mock and the rest of his crew brought into play a “Min/Max” design philosophy to produce a frame with “minimum weight but maximum output”. According to Mock, simply hitting the weight targets for a carbon frame is a fairly straightforward task, but yielding the desired strength and comfortable ride characteristics that LeMond himself values so highly is a much more difficult challenge. With this in mind, LeMond frame designers are confident that they’ve hit both marks with a frame weighing just 950g in a fully painted 55cm version.
Careful use of finite element analysis in LeMond’s new design methodology resulted in some interesting tube shaping. The front ends of the top and down tubes are both highly ovalized in the vertical plane to increase front end strength. In contrast, the rear ends of the tubes are highly ovalized in the opposite direction as well as extremely wide and flat which is said to not only increase the lateral rigidity of the front triangle but also enhance the frame’s vertical compliance. The rear end received similar attention: for example, LeMond engineers found that increasing the height of the driveside chainstay, but the width of the non-drive stay, is the best approach to resist rear end twist under high torque.
Tube shape and size specifications, as well as overall frame geometry, are also tailored for each of the Triomphe’s ten available frame sizes (seven men’s, three women’s) in order to maintain similar ride and handling characteristics across the range.
Just as Greg would want it
Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond himself was on hand here in Georgia to help launch the new line. For the new frames, LeMond wanted to produce something “more like what the pros really used that will get you the day with the least amount of fatigue”. In LeMond’s eyes, that translates into a light and efficient package that also has a predictable and stable personality, as opposed to the quicker handling that has proven to be more pervasive in today’s high-end market.
LeMond has always described himself as a “big believer in carbon fiber” and, in the prime of his career, was one of the earliest top pros to adopt the new material for his race machines. Although even those very early carbon machines were already very light (often around 17lb at a time when many were pushing 23lb rigs), the stability and stiffness of the frames left much to be desired. LeMond's Spine line of titanium/carbon and steel/carbon frames come close to his vision, but he really saw carbon fiber as the ultimate material to achieve his goal and new Triomphe frame is the product of that.
Ow ow ow ow ow
Test rides of the new Triomphe frame included a several hour stint from Helen, GA up to the top of Brasstown Bald Mountain along the route of stage five of the Tour de Georgia which would pass the following day. Upon the first pedal stroke, the bike was noticeably snappier in terms of drivetrain response than the steel/carbon LeMond Spine bike that I currently ride, yet yielded a significantly smoother ride that still conveyed a healthy amount of road feel.
The ride out of Helen rises gradually for the first eight miles before leading to the base of the stage’s penultimate climb, a relatively mild 4 mile long pitch where the bike’s sub-16lb total weight was a welcome attribute. On the following moderately twisting descent, the bike tracked accurately and predictably, and held a line with confidence.
Unfortunately, there was likely no technological advantage on the LeMond that could propel me up Brasstown Bald Mountain’s 18% maximum grade, but the drivetrain stiffness of the new frame certainly didn’t hurt as pedaling inputs were nicely translated into what little forward motion I could muster. Thankfully, LeMond fitted my test rig with a compact crankset and a 27T rear cog!
LeMond may be a bit tardy in joining the carbon-tubed fray, but they’ve obviously learned quite a bit in the 13 years that they and their parent corporation have been laying up carbon. Time will tell how things hold up in the long-term, but based on my limited saddle time thus far, things are certainly looking promising, particularly as they are also planning on releasing an even lighter Triomphe Ultimate frame later in the season that will shed another 100g for the final weight of just 850g.
Publication-Pezcycling.com
Date-September 25, 2007
Title-The New carbon Triomphe line of Frames
Findings
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Besides the cool tube shaping and frame appearance, the other big news was weight – the frame comes in around 950 grams (depending on size) – and they’ve even got an 850 gram version coming soon. That’s pretty much as light as anyone with rider safety in mind would want, and the weight was noticeable – both holding it and riding.
We only had two rides for a total of about 5 hours on the bikes, but long enough to make some strong first impressions. Our first day was about 65 km to the summit of Brasstown Bald – the furiously steep 3 mile climb made famous at Tour de Georgia., via Unicoi gap, and back again.
The roads were in good shape – not what I’d call rough by any stretch – but the three things I took away about the ride were: Comfortable, stable, and plenty stiff. Given LeMond bike’s close physical association with Trek (they’re stationed in the same facility), I was interested in how similar the bike would feel to a Madone. We were assured that the LeMond design team works completely independently of the Trek guys, and I was pleased that the bike felt noticeably different. Score one for LeMond.
Greg puts in his attack over the top of Unicoi Gap.
Going Up!
Climbing over Unicoi and Brasstown were two great tests – Unicoi is a 6 mile climb with pretty nice 5-6% grades – the kind where you can roll along and feel like you could actually go faster if you weren’t being sociable. The LeMond rolled nicely over this climb and felt like it had as much left to give as I did.
The Brasstown experience, apart from being one of absolute suffering, was not what I’d recommend as a great climbing test for any bike. The problem is that it’s so steep that every single pedal stroke is a super-human effort – and the physical suffering is so great that you really have no idea even what you’re riding, let alone trying to evaluate.
On the other hand, it’s a great test of frame stiffness – considering the forces driving the pedals are as extreme as the grades. I’d love to do this climb on a few different bikes to compare frame flex, but even on 20% grades, the LeMond felt as stiff as anything I know. It’s not what I’d consider a pure ‘climber’s’ bike, but I got the feeling I could pedal this over Galibier- and Tourmalet-sized climbs all day with … actual enjoyment.
The Full Descending Monty
The ‘classic’ European geometry (53cm bike = 73 head tube, 73 seat tube) suited me well, and I really noticed it when chasing Greg LeMond on the descent of Unicoi Gap on our way back. He attacked our group over the top of the climb and took off, so I jumped on for some fun following one of the best descenders of the modern era. The descent was about 6 miles long, loaded with twists, turns and wide switchbacks – toss in a couple of slow moving vehicles and you’ve got a few minutes of 99-44/100% pure exhilaration (Play Station can’t touch this!) Greg was hot on the tails of said ‘vehicles’, riding a few feet off their bumpers at around 50-60kph, and dodging in and out looking for openings to pass. I sat back about 20 yards and watched the fun, but was still dodging and diving through the turns to keep up.
This bike is light – 1 finger light! Actually, at 950 grams for the standard version, and 850 for the ‘Ultimate’ model, it’s plenty light by current standards.
Don’t Tell Mrs. Pez
Here’s where I really noticed the stability of the bike, largely influenced by the lower bb height and fame geometry. This was a fast descent with constant turns – you’re always setting up for a direction change – always changing positions, angles, weighting and braking – the Full Descending Monty. The Triomphe did exactly what I wanted, went exactly where I pointed, and inspired me to take risks I didn’t tell Mrs. Pez about. It tracked through turns with confidence, smoothly banked up and over to switch directions. I didn’t have to think about what the bike was doing, which allowed me to enjoy the idiotic grin on my face, crazy look in my eyes, and yelps of glee from my mouth as I chased Greg.
The last few miles of the ride ran along the bottom of a valley, gently descending back to Helen, and when we regrouped, the fun started again as everyone started attacking everyone else. Here’s where I noticed the stability of the bike carried through to hard efforts and sprinting. The bike accelerated fast every time – at least I never felt like the bike was holding me back - .
I really enjoyed riding this bike, and hope I can spend a lot more time with it. I’m pleased to see LeMond produce a bike both modern and classic – an American bike with a decidedly European feel. Expect to pay around $5000-$6000 for the top line, but several models are planned to deliver the geometry and frame specs to different price points, so most of us can afford a 950gram framed bike.
The bikes should arrive at dealers in early July, and the LeMondBikes.com will have current info any day now.
Colors and spec will be slightly different than seen here.
Pricing starts around US$1979.00 for the Triomphe Series Versailles model with a 1050g frame/fork and different spec, the 950 gram frame that I rode will be offered in 3 spec levels: Buenos Arires (US$2419), Zurich (US$2639), and Victoire (US$4289) and the 850 gram Tete de Course with full Dura-Ace will be a bit more.
Irvine, CA
I am:
Avid Cyclist
Reviewed at Cycle Werks: "LeMond Versailles"
Price: $1,979.99
happy cyclist
September 11, 2007
Pros:Good Geometry, Handles Well, Pretty good components, Comfortable, Fairly light weight, Absorbs Shock Well
Cons:Does not come in red
Best Uses:Commuting, Climbing, Sprinting, Serious Racing or Training, Casual Riding
Bottom Line:Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
I rode a lot when I was a kid in high school and now after a divorce a 2 kids, I decided to take up bicycling again. I didn't even know there are carbon bikes around and after a test ride between a aluminum Canondale and a carbon bike, I knew the carbon was it. I was not really sure the LeMond Versaille was the bike but the price was great compared to the others so I decided to take the plunge. And what a great plunge it was! This bike is FAST! Faster then my my friend's bike costing $1000 more. The LeMond is very stable when the road gets bumpy. It is a great bike for sprinting uphill and it even "cruises" uphill (you'll know what I mean when you get one). I ride my new bike everyday and it makes me feel wonderful. I do wish it comes in different color and I also do know there are better bikes but as of now, this bike is way better than me and I am more than satisfied with the LeMond Versaille.
I am:
Avid Cyclist
Reviewed at Trek Bicycle Store - Columbus
Price: $1,979.99
"The LeMond Versailles"
Smooth as silk and very fast!
July 23, 2007
Pros:Lightweight, Comfortable, Durable
Best Uses:Serious Racing or Training
Bottom Line:Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Coming from an older Trek steel frame, this bike is incredible. It is light, smooth, handles the rough roads with finesse and accelerates with ease. I am very impressed with the all carbon design for strength yet comfort. You can pay more for a carbon bike but for my money this bike does all I need it to.
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