1997 Lemond chambery...any good ?

[dancinkozmo]

found a 1997 Lemond chambery (white with yellow decals) with a full shimano tricolor group for sale locally, Ive never owned a carbon bike before, just wondering if these frames are any good wrt build quality and durability.
seller is asking 650 cdn or about 525 USD

thanks

[deluz]

I believe it is the same as a Trek 5200.
I had a Trek 5200 and then a 5500 over period of about 17 years.
Put a lot of miles on those and enjoyed them.
Probably not as stiff or light as current carbon frames but won't slow you down either. Remember the ride being a nice balance of stiffness and comfort.
Bought a used 5200 frame for my daughter for $300 she still has it.

[tellyho]

I think it should be a fine ride. The price is a little steep for a 25 year old carbon frame, to my mind. I'd consider $400 the ceiling of what I'd be willing to pay for it.

[robt57]

They are excellent, if not dead feeling should you prefer a lively feeling ride.

It seems high priced, but if minty... STi Tricolor groupo if VG condition bring 275.00 pretty easily IME. Unless I am thinking STi was next Ultegra iteration and Tri Color was still DT shifters.

[fourflys]

not sure where the OP is, but that price doesn't seem out of the norm for something like that here in the Bay Area.. at what folks are asking anyway.. $500ish for a nice bike is not bad.. probably a 10th of what a comparable new bike would cost..

[deluz]

One thing to keep in mind is that Shimano STI shifters wear out and cannot be repaired. I went through several pair of those. So those STI could be toast and need replacing which might mean a whole upgrade to 11 speed.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by deluz

One thing to keep in mind is that Shimano STI shifters wear out and cannot be repaired. I went through several pair of those. So those STI could be toast and need replacing which might mean a whole upgrade to 11 speed.

Something I've never encountered myself nor worry about when I look at an older bike. I've come across plenty of STI shifters that didn't seem to work. A little soaking in PB Blaster or the like and then the relube has brougt a lot of STI shifters back for me.

And still easy enough to find them on the used market if it really does turn into a problem.

It is a shame though that they aren't as easily repaired as the Campagnolo ones.

Anyone just thought I'd throw my experience out there on these too.

[oliver1850]

Also not hard to find 8 speed DT shifters if you want to keep it running on the cheap.

Local ex pro, state time trial champion, and now Trek dealer told me that he loved his OCLV frames. I bought a minty 1993 7400 equipped Trek 5500 with Rolf wheels locally for $500 about 12 years ago. I thought it was a great deal at the time and recent auction results would tend to confirm that it still would be.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12533852567...p2047675.l2557

[jds108]

Originally Posted by deluz

One thing to keep in mind is that Shimano STI shifters wear out and cannot be repaired. I went through several pair of those. So those STI could be toast and need replacing which might mean a whole upgrade to 11 speed.

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Something I've never encountered myself nor worry about when I look at an older bike. I've come across plenty of STI shifters that didn't seem to work. A little soaking in PB Blaster or the like and then the relube has brougt a lot of STI shifters back for me.

And still easy enough to find them on the used market if it really does turn into a problem.

It is a shame though that they aren't as easily repaired as the Campagnolo ones.

Anyone just thought I'd throw my experience out there on these too.

I too have never had STI shifters wear out. My original DA 8spd STIs stopped working well and cleaning them out and re-lubing did the trick. Obviously anything mechanical can wear out, but I put a lot of miles on that particular bike.

[deluz]

Interesting about the STI shifters. I did try blasting mine with lube and it helped for awhile but not long. Maybe I just wasn’t doing it right. I do remember the DA where much nicer than Ultegras when I switched over. now I am strictly SRAM.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by deluz

Interesting about the STI shifters. I did try blasting mine with lube and it helped for awhile but not long. Maybe I just wasn’t doing it right. I do remember the DA where much nicer than Ultegras when I switched over. now I am strictly SRAM.

By lube, do you mean WD40? I have replaced many an STi that worked great after WD40, for a brief period and then became unrecoverable. Because: once wd40 which is not lube flashes off the shifter destruct from zero lube.

Me, I have never used up an STi. After the flush and flash off with WD40, some Tri Flo or other 'lube' and you're good for a few more seasons. I rinse and repeated this with ST-7700 for 13 years and sold them working when I upgraded to 7800.

[deluz]

long time ago don't remember

[oliver1850]

I tried the flush with WD40 (or similar) on a dead STI with no luck. Flushing with very hot water made it work like a new one. Can't remember which model or whether front or rear but it was surely in the 8/9 era.

[zero85ZEN]

As mentioned above, it’s a LeMond badged Trek OCLV frame from that era. Same as the 5500/5200.
Sold in ‘96 and ‘97. The earlier model had a thinner bladded Icon fork compared to the beefier Icon Air Rail they used in 97.
I have a bunch of 8 speed Ultegra shifters on hand at them moment should you need to replace one. But as other posters mentioned, they can almost always be brought back to life with a good dousing of silicone and patience working the levers repeatedly until all the old dried up grease is softened up.