Additional to yesterday’s publish, because the official Previous Crap Check Pilot for Basic Cycle, the most recent bike in my cost is a 50/50 crabon/tatinium 2003 LeMond Tete de Course:
It’s flashy, it’s constituted of unique supplies, and it has trendy options corresponding to that fancy form of shifting the place it’s combined in with the brake levers, but at 21 years of age it’s formally sufficiently old to drink. Additionally, it has rim brakes. Subsequently, it’s technically a traditional.
Individuals are typically merchandise of their time, and the identical factor is true of bicycles. Given this, to be able to actually perceive the decadently overwrought hunk of critanium that’s the Tete de Course, you could perceive what was occurring in biking in 2003. For those who’re older than, I dunno, let’s say 40-ish…?, then 2003 may not look like it was all that way back–I imply I’m [XX] and to me 2003 nonetheless appears like yesterday. Nevertheless, should you’re like 30 or youthful (although I’d be shocked if anybody that younger is studying this, should you’re that age you’re in all probability too busy with the Tick Tocks to learn old style blogs) chances are you’ll not recognize how completely different the industrial biking panorama was again then–principally due to this man:
It might appear borderline sacrilegious to speak a few LeMond bicycle within the context of Lance Armstrong, however the reality is that it’s unimaginable not to take action. In 2003, when this bike was on sale, Lance Armstrong was some of the well-known folks on the earth. He gained his fifth Tour de France that yr, becoming a member of Jaques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain within the 5-Timers Membership. After all he was dogged by severe doping allegations and he had loads of critics within the biking phrase (Greg LeMond being one among them), however to the common particular person in America that didn’t imply something and he was merely the most cancers survivor who had gone from the brink of loss of life to finish domination of the world’s most troublesome sporting occasion. He additionally began relationship Cheryl Crow that yr, who was an enormous pop star on the time. In 2003 Armstrong was simply as well-known as athletes like LeBron James and Travis Kelce are right this moment–and in a sport that no person in America gave a fuck about as well. And the bike firm whose emblem everyone noticed beneath that one nut? Trek:
If Armstrong was probably the most outsized bike owner the game had ever seen, Trek was probably the most outsized bike firm. After all there was Trek itself, which was an entire line of street bikes, and mountain bikes, and hybrid bikes, and all the pieces else:
[From here.]
However along with that, they’d a complete different line of mountain bikes with Gary Fisher:
[From here.]
And one other full line of street and mountain bikes with Klein:
[From here.]
And…and…if that wasn’t sufficient, additionally they had one other full line of street bikes with LeMond!
[From here.]
Now that’s a shitload of bikes.
As for Greg LeMond, he was in fact a legend–a three-time Tour de France champion who had been (and is now as soon as once more) the one American to have gained it. However LeMond had been essential of Armstrong from his very first Tour win:
So right here was Trek, a motorbike firm so massive they’d two squabbling Tour de France winners below one roof, every advertising a very completely different line of bikes. After all Trek finally dropped LeMond, after which in a closing little bit of irony dropped Armstrong simply 4 years later. However in 2003, Armstrong was nonetheless cranking out wins, Trek was nonetheless cranking out bikes below no less than 4 distinct model names, LeMond was nonetheless cranking out accusations, America was lapping all of it up, and it appeared like the great instances would by no means finish.
As for the LeMond model, whereas Greg LeMond had been well-known throughout his racing profession for utilizing innovative supplies and ushering within the aero period (say “ushering within the aero period” ten instances quick), it was Trek’s most conventional marque and provided metal bikes with classic-looking decals, which was extremely uncommon at a time. Nevertheless, even the LeMond model was not immune from the excesses of the time, and in 2003 the Tete de Course was their top-of-the-line providing:
I’ve completely no thought what was occurring behind the scenes at Trek. It could possibly be that the Tete de Course was merely a handy option to do away with unhealthy OCLV frames (“Hey, the highest half’s nonetheless good!”), however I think about the considering was that the LeMond buyer was older and extra subtle and didn’t wish to journey the identical bike as Lance Armstrong. However he did desire a considerably unique bike that might impress at group rides, might afford one thing particular, and was in all probability deliberating between carbon and titanium for his subsequent buy. So why not make a motorbike out of each? Trek weren’t the one ones to do this both. I don’t keep in mind which got here out first, however across the similar time Serotta began providing its personal critanium dentist dream bike, the Ottrott:
However the Tete de Course wasn’t only a bike for monied masters. It was additionally the Group Saturn race bike:
And sure, street biking was so flush within the Armstrong period that automotive firms have been sponsoring home professional groups and Trek might throw bikes from its numerous strains in all places:
And on prime of all this, I’m fairly certain the Tete de Course was made in-house at Trek, as a result of they’d a complete titanium body manufacturing facility on prime of all the pieces else. So that they have been making the carbon Treks, and the aluminum Kleins, and the titanium LeMonds and who is aware of what else all in Waterloo. It’s laborious to think about there’s high-end bike manufacturing wherever near this scale occurring in America right this moment.
Anyway, again to the bike:
So how does it journey?
Effectively, it’s acquired a titanium backside half:
And a carbon fiber prime half:
In combining the 2, the engineers clearly introduced out the very best qualities of each, and you’ll distinctly really feel the vibration-damping properties of the carbon working in live performance with the springy resilience of the titanium chassis:
Simply kidding. I imply sure, the bike actually does really feel nice and I really like the match. However the one high quality I can attribute particularly to the entire “backbone” factor with any certainty is that it’s actually mild.
As for extra sensible issues, the bike got here to me with a 25mm tire on the entrance:
And a 28mm tire on the rear:
So how’s the clearance? No issues up entrance:
However (and that is going to sound soiled) the rear is tight:
Actually tight:
Although retaining in thoughts that the late ’90s and early aughts in all probability signify the nadir in the case of street bikes and tire clearance, I used to be impressed {that a} 28mm tire slot in there in any respect:
As for the wheels, Rolf was additionally a Trek model for awhile, although these are Rolf Prima which is now a separate firm:
Rolf began pushing the entire paired spoke factor within the late ’90s, and you’ll think about what Jobst Brandt needed to say about that:
Shifting is 9-speed Dura Ace, which works nice as you’d count on:
At the moment there’s digital shifting and GPS computer systems, however again you then had Flight Deck:
Although should you didn’t wish to spring for the Flight Deck you can at all times simply use this:
That’s an optical gear indicator, not an onboard EPO supply system.
As one reader famous within the feedback yesterday, street handlebars have been a hell of rather a lot wider again then than they’re now:
They’re so huge I wanted a drone to get an aerial view:
I favor a standard bar, however while you’re driving a ticrabium dream machine you may as nicely simply go along with it. Identical goes for the Zipp crank:
And as one other reader famous, Trek was certain to incorporate a pump peg, little question as a nod to the LeMond model’s ostensibly conventional sensibilities:
Simply consider how way more weight they might have saved by deleting it!
In any case, it’s known as the Tete de Course…
…however they might even have known as it the Mullet, as a result of it’s titanium up entrance:
And carbon within the again:
I stay up for spending extra time with it:
On the very least it ought to preserve me away from gluing tubulars for awhile.
