New Steel Bike from LeMond!

[ptourkin]

Handmade, hand painted and professionally assembled in the USA, Washoe is named after the county on the East slope of the Sierra mountains in which LeMond grew up and began riding. LeMond points out further relevance to the name, “The Washoe tribe were native to that area. The name Washoe means ‘People from here’. That’s where I became a cyclist, and this company has a lot of roots, there.” Each frame is handmade in the USA from Reynolds 853 steel and yields a dedicated butting process per size ensuring that even the smallest and largest frames have the same incredibly smooth, yet laterally stiff, ride qualities that we demand. Once welded, the frame goes through a stringent quality control process before Greg LeMond's logo is added. Instead of the normal process of using decals, each part of this frame and fork is hand painted in the USA. The only decal you will see will be the proud Reynolds 853 logo attached near the bottom of the frame. The attention to detail, pride in manufacturing and passion for creating a beautifully crafted frame that provides a smooth ride that begs to push it harder is the essence that were after with the Washoe.

The Washoe has been carefully engineered employing the frame geometry philosophy that LeMond made famous. “LeMond Geometry” is what Greg arrived at after riding so many custom frames over the years and going back to the drawing board over and over. Fork choice on a bike is paramount. The handling and ride characteristics of a bicycle are greatly altered by it’s fork. LeMond chose the top-of-the-line Enve Carbon Tapered fork. “It completes a bike that our customers will be happy to ride on their most epic rides, regardless of terrain.” LeMond adds, “The Enve fork enhances the way the bike climbs and responds out of the saddle. You quickly realize ‘I can ride this bike anywhere’, and it rewards you for doing exactly that.”

Much of the LeMond philosophy of bicycle design centers around “integrity” and “feel”. That probably comes from years of riding some of the most historic - and sound - steel bikes ever crafted. LeMond tested a lot of equipment, which gave him more of an appreciation for well made bicycles. “I learned early on that integrity, ride characteristics and feel.” Turning pro for the world #1 team Renault-Elf brought that lesson home further.

Steel remains a great choice for high end bicycle production, its production and characteristics have continued to evolve but retain the fabled ride quality no other material can quite match.

The Washoe is available as frame and fork or as a complete bike. LeMond delivers the bike professionally assembled and ready to ride to your home or favorite bike shop in four different build kits: Shimano 105, Ultegra, Ultegra Di2, or Dura Ace Di2.




https://greglemond.com/#!/washoe

[ptourkin]

Can handle 28s.

[eBAUMANN]

pretty cool, I wonder who's makin em!

[macaroon]

it looks strange, the forks look too long.

[thirdgenbird]

The front end does look a touch off, but I still like it. Odd that this has all shimano build options and the carbon bikes are campy heavy.

[mtechnica]

I'm a huge fan of lemond's geometry, the 55 should have a 56.5 top tube if it's like his old frames. Legit. I wonder if it feels much different than my 853 maillot jaune with an ouzo pro fork, probably not.

[marciero]

Originally Posted by ptourkin

Can handle 28s.

That was my first question.

Wondering if "Lemond geometry" means slack head tube angle, which I read that he preferred.

[mtechnica]

Originally Posted by marciero

That was my first question.

Wondering if "Lemond geometry" means slack head tube angle, which I read that he preferred.

Whatever he's doing I can say my lemond is the 2nd most responsive feeling frame I've ridden (next to a cannondale criterium) and it makes my colnago and caad10 feel like a cyclocross bike. It still manages to be stable while responsive. If the new ones are this good I think people will be happy with them although the price is arguably a little high IMO, but having said that I think the older steel ones cost even more iirc.

[ceolwulf]

$2599 with 105 is not a bad deal whatsoever.

[marciero]

Originally Posted by ptourkin

“I learned early on that integrity, ride characteristics and feel.”

Well..??? I wonder if the sentence was completed at some point. Or maybe its a typo and he actually learned early on ABOUT integrity, ride characteristics and feel. I am still curious about exactly what he learned and how he applied it to bike design.

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by ptourkin

Can handle 28s.

The description reads "The frame and fork accommodate up to 28c tires." For anyone familiar with an Enve 2.0 that's "up to, not including" 28s.

[wallymann]

just like any one of a zillion other TIG'd sloping steel frames. the paint doesnt help...and i love orange...generally it's OK...but there's gotta be more.

heck, i'd rather ride an old poprad or zurich than this new lemond.

[thirdgenbird]

It is amarican made, appears to have a decent build kit, its actual paint work (not decals), and it accommodate both electronic and mechanical systems. I don't know a zillion other steel frames with all of those qualities.

[zennmotion]

Looks great... but wait, what's that down there? There! PF30? NOOOOOOO!!!!!!

[mtechnica]

Originally Posted by wallymann

heck, i'd rather ride an old poprad or zurich than this new lemond.

Meh, I can only assume this new one is better than the old 853 frames besides arguably the sloping top tube, and it's not like the older ones were known for being stylish.