which of the Greg Lemond frames were the one to buy

[cnighbor1]

On new years day I rode up Mt diablo to the junction I was passed slowly by a cyclist on a Greg LeMond bicycle I asked some questions when I caught up seems he has 70,000 miles on the steel frame Reynolds 853 CF Fork He stated built by trek in early 90's in Wisconsin where they were built only for a short time He had just added all new DA Wheels and components Looked great
His was the Provence model
Is this the LeMond frame to own or is an even better frame with his name on it excluding CF or Ti and aluminum frames
here are a few on eBay now
1. Yes CF but nice https://www.ebay.com/itm/Greg-LeMond...QAAOSwuLRZ1QL6
2. the Z frames built by della santa would be up there this is a Z built in Italy https://www.ebay.com/itm/1990-GREG-L...IAAOSwXPNaKKqW
3. ti Z https://www.ebay.com/itm/greg-lemond...kAAOSwGUBaMFfi
4. A Z lugged https://www.ebay.com/itm/Greg-Lemond...0AAOSwAC1aRCd3
5. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Greg-Lemond...EAAOSwa3BaCybV

[dbnm]

This one

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=211311

[John H.]

I think the nicest ones were the Pre-Trek 10 speed drive frames.
They made a few different tubing levels, the ones made with Columbus TSX were top on the line. Nice paint too.

[FlashUNC]

Had a Della Santa-built LeMond for a built. Really nice bike.

[bigbill]

The welded 853 with a Trek carbon fork is a great bike. At the time, it was the bang for the buck steel frame as long as the LeMond geometry fit you. He liked relaxed seat tubes (72.5) and a 74 head tube. Worked well with people with long femurs like me. If I was picking one from the list you provided, I'd go with #5 just because it comes with Scott LeMond Clip-on aero bars.

[bikinchris]

You should know that LeMond frames had HUGE long top tubes.

[Peter P.]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

You should know that LeMond frames had HUGE long top tubes.

I didn't find that was the case. I found the top tube lengths pretty much average. I just don't want to dissuade the OP.

My first choice would be one of the lugged, Ten Speed Drive frames. Second would be the Trek-built steel TIG'd frames (I'm a steel fan.) Last would be the carbon frame.

Regardless, the big must-haves for me would be the graphics on the bikes the OP linked to, as well as the Z-Team color scheme, which is iconic.

As an alternative, getting Roland Della Santa to build a frame with "LeMond geometry" with Della Santa graphics but the Z-Team color scheme would be a cool compromise.

[bart998]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Had a Della Santa-built LeMond for a built. Really nice bike.

This is the one... Della Santa built.

[Ken Robb]

I had a LeMond Zurich that came with 853 tubes and a carbon fork with 1" quill stem and 9 speed Ultegra. It was much better than the Trek 1000 aluminum bike that preceded it. Then I replaced it with a Litespeed that fit me better.

[Mike V]

#1 is a 1 of 300 limited made by Greg and Tomosso (Ten Speed Drive) is has some incorrect parts.

#2 is a first generartion Bilotto SL tubing. Not the top model but ride very nice.

#3 is a late model titanium. Not many of those made at all.

#4 is a second generation Bilotto that has been resprayed

#5 is a third generation Bilotto also SL

Out of these I would be all over the titanium one if it was my size.

I own a #1 already. I have really been thinking about having Rolland build me a Della Santa painted rainbow LeMond with Della Santa logos.

[rccardr]

Charles, didn't I send you some photos of my NOS 3rd gen Team Z frame and fork at one point?
Maybe when you were looking for a frame for your friend...

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

You should know that LeMond frames had HUGE long top tubes.

They were race bikes but hardly out of the norm in terms of top tube length. They were appropriate and fit nicely as race bikes.

I liked this Sarthe though it wasn't a very stiff bike. I've occasionally looked for them online or the 853 model.

[lhuerta]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

You should know that LeMond frames had HUGE long top tubes.

Not really....especially when u consider that his frames (at least the early Trek/LeMond frames) used a laid back geo with shallow seat tube angle similar to Merckx Century geo. It’s all about stack and reach....

[ultraman6970]

The original lemond dela santa were white, and only a handfull of those were made.

As for the billato frames, there's no concistency in lugs, chrome even paint jobs making them hard to even put a date to them because u never know.

There is a TVT lemond aswell, IMO those are the ones that harder to get than steel ones. So IMO that's the one you have to get.

[FreiburgDe]

Originally Posted by saab2000

They were race bikes but hardly out of the norm in terms of top tube length. They were appropriate and fit nicely as race bikes.

I liked this Sarthe though it wasn't a very stiff bike. I've occasionally looked for them online or the 853 model.

I ride an 853 bike and built and test rode Lemond 853s in 2001-2002. I ride a size 55/56 and am pretty thin, but I felt like the Lemonds I tried were under-engineered in the BB/rear triangle stiffness. It looks like you're looking at a larger size, so maybe steer more to the TSX version or a non-steel model.