Greg LeMond officially returned to bike production this week with the unveiling of three limited edition machines at the LeMond stand at Interbike.
The triple Tour de France winner’s successes in that event are commemorated by the bikes, with the three models being named after the 1986, 1989 and 1990 victories he took during his career.
In addition to commemorating those triumphs, the launch of the limited edition range is to mark his re-entry into the bicycle market and to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tour de France.
They have been made in conjunction with the French company Time and its chief carbon engineer and frame designer Jean Marc Gueugneaud.
LeMond first met Gueugneaud almost three decades ago; while with Look, the Frenchman built a carbon fiber bicycle for LeMond and his La Vie Claire teammate Bernard Hinault in 1985. He then left the company and launched TVT, a custom carbon fiber manufacturer, which provided soles for Time shoes and also made bikes for LeMond, Pedro Delgado and Miguel Indurain.
In all LeMond won three Tours and one world championship on TVT framesets.
The new bikes are all kitted out with Campagnolo, the deal marking LeMond’s long association with that company, and also come with Time pedals.
One hundred bikes of each edition will be made, thus totalling three hundred machines in all. They will be sold consumer direct and through select dealers, and the envisaged delivery date in November of this year.
At a glance the three frames look similar, with black colouring dominating and a bright yellow stripe across the top tube.
However upon closer inspection differences can be seen; the 1986 model, for example, includes red, white and green highlights, as well as a polka-dot pattern on the inside of the left fork. The colour scheme is designed to evoke the combination jersey that LeMond wore for part of the race.
The 1989 includes streaks of the bright yellow which featured on LeMond’s bike from that year, as well as subtle purple colouring which refers back to his ADR jersey. As for the 1990 bike, the inside of the front fork and rear stay include the fluo yellow and red colour scheme that was used on his TVT/LeMond bike that year. The bike also includes a small Z team logo on the top of the forks.
One other difference is that the 1986 model has an integrated seatpost.
All three frames feature a Time NSX front triangle and a rear triangle designed by LeMond.
The three time Tour winner and double world champion has indicated that the limited edition bikes are the beginning of a much bigger production. Drawing on a team of industrial designers and engineers, further new bikes will be for sale in spring of next year, with a full range set to be available by August 2014.
Pricing and sizing:
The frame, fork, headset and carbon bottle cage will retail for $4,449. As for the complete bikes, the Campagnolo Chorus-equipped model starts at $7,499 while the Campagnolo EPS bike will retail for US$11,999.
In addition to that, bikes equipped with Campagnolo’s 80th anniversary Record groupset will be $10,999, one thousand dollars more than the Super Record gruppo bike.
LeMond carbon stems and handlebars, also made by TIME, will be available for $435 and $379, respectively.
In terms of sizing, the bikes will be measured centre to centre and available in the following sizes:
XXS (49cm), XS (51cm), S (53cm), M (55cm), L (57cm), XL (59cm)
See photos here