I love bikes. If you read this regularly the fact if fairly apparent; if you know me personally it is blatantly obvious. I will be going over my fleet in the next few weeks.
Road Bike: 2001 Lemond Buenos Aires Triple
2001 Lemond Buenos Aires Road Bike
Ah, steel. I used to get a lot of fun looks when I told people that I had a steel bike; these days more and more are saying they wish they had one. The ride, especially when coupled with the carbon fork, is extremely compliant. The bike was definitely designed for a more casual rider who wanted an excellent mix of performance and comfort. My number one complaint is that when I do a hard acceleration I frequently pull the rear wheel free of the horizontal dropouts. Unsurprisingly the handling is a bit slow and the bike cannot climb as well as present day replacements (though I am sure most of that is me, the bikes I have demoed show that the bike is playing a part). All of which is fine – I don’t race. Overall the bike has been really good to me (I put a complete new Shimano 105 groupset on the bike last year – the cable adjuster on the front tube is helpful given the touchy new 10 speed rear derailleur ) and a wonderful introduction to cycling. The more relaxed position and smooth ride surely played a major part in my present obsession with cycling. While I cannot promise to buy another steel bike, I will certainly give a custom steel frame strong consideration.
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My first “real” bike in years; my father was on a huge bike kick at the time and was more excited about his new bike and the prospect of me getting a road bike. Lance was winning the tour, Trek was getting awesome coverage in Wisconsin, and I was not overly sold on bicycles. My dad bought me the bike anyways. It was one of the best things to ever happen to me.
Now an avid rider, I cannot thank my father enough for giving me the push into cycling. I have taken the bike everywhere I have lived and have many memories from each state. While some are better than others, I have really enjoyed my bike. I have ridden all over the Madison area – the western hills are particularly enjoyable. The bike traveled with me to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania where I enjoyed countless scenic rides in farm county. When I did an internship in Colorado Springs I learned that Pennsylvania does not really have mountains and that I am not a very good climber. My first job out of school took me to Salem, OR with its challenging rolling hills, coastal range mountains, and occasional vineyards. While I rode in college, it was not until I graduated and moved to Salem that I started riding consistently. Occasionally I would even venture up to Portland and see lots of other cyclists.
I was transferred for work to Memphis, TN where I discovered that whereas some parts of the country do not have many cyclists this part was downright hostile to them; guys in pickups threw half empty beer cans at me on almost every ride. Continuing the trend of fear, I had two individuals, on separate occasions, follow me for a distance until a large open area appeared (I thought an unpleasant altercation was about to occur) but said they were inspired to see someone riding (again, no one rides in Memphis). My favorite quote from my time in the south was when I asked the HR manager if there was shower so I could ride my 17 mile commute into work. His response: “There’s a hose out back”.
I was again transferred, this time to Albert Lea, MN headed into winter. Similar to Memphis, I never saw another rider. Unlike the heat of Memphis, I froze my butt off on almost every ride. My rides always concluded with a cup of tea at the Starbucks where the high school aged baristas all thought I was on crack; perhaps if they took up cycling it would decrease the horrendously high teenage pregnancy rates in the town. Or not.
Finally I quit that job and moved to Boulder, a town that truly loves cyclists. The only time I have not seen anyone else on the road was the day I accidentally commuted in with the temperature at negative 15 F (I missed the negative sign on the temperature when I checked in the morning; I know, I am an idiot). I still am not much of a climber, but I put in plenty of rides in a place where my Buenos Aires and I are fully accepted.
Dan: I read your adventures on the Buenos Aries with interest. I am a 69 year old rider. I got back into riding after retiring at 65 mainly for fitness. I live in suburbia Atlanta (Marietta). There are many “roadies” in this area, and lots of hills. I basically stay with the flat stuff. There are several paved bike paths and I enjoy the year round riding weather. On to the Lemond. After starting out on a comfort bike, I realized that I was enjoying riding again. I hadn’t put my rear end on a bike seat since my teenage years. I soon yearned for a more road worthy bike and eventually ended up in 09 with a new TREK 7.5 FX Hybrid. It has served my purpose just fine, but I still longed for a true road bike. I piddle with old bikes. Just to get a feel, if you can call it that, a friend gave me a well used Motobecane Mirage circa 1973. OMG what a tank, but still after some aggressive tuning it road okay, given my limited current experience. Still, really old school. Long story short. I have been surfing the web and looking locally for a road bike that would fit my retirement budget. I have come across a 01 Lemond B/A on eBay (risky)which has had some upgrades and appears to be in really good condition. I decided to go for it. It currently is on a UPS truck somewhere in between Massachusetts (sp?) and Marietta, GA. I paid the good man $599 with the optimistic hope that it is a gem and I will love it. My bride of 40 years thinks I have absolutely transitioned into dementia. I have done a lot of research on this bike and it gets rave reviews even though it is now just shy of 10 years old. I’m reasonably physically fit for my age and can do, oh say 30 mile runs on my hybrid with no stress short of a little bit of sore butt. Anyway, your article inspired me and I am excited, watching out the front window for the big brown truck coming up the street. In the corner of my mind I hear this voice saying “are you out of your mind thinking that a 10 year old steely will make you happy”? But I am an optimist. On a limited budget, I think this bike will get me some respect. These local guys and all their carbon fiber stuff won’t even give me a wave as I pass by on my hybrid. Anyway, just a note to you in thanks for the positive and honest views on the Lemond B/A. Happy New year. Jim
I to own an ’01 Buenos Aires and love to see other people still riding theirs. I’ve been off my bike for a couple years but just signed up for my first ride of the season, a century in the hills of Appalachia; only three months to prepare… Yikes! I was considering purchasing a new bike, eyeing the very sexy Bianchi Infinito, but after reading other peoples comments I’ve decided to stick with my trusty Lemond. I hope Jim will return to let us know how he likes his new steel stead…
Enjoy!
I’m back. Weather recently in Atlanta sucked. I also am in the middle of a 1500 square foot redo of my flooring, old carpet out and Laminate in. Back to the LeMond. I received the bike from the Connecticut seller. Put it together (shipped by a local bike shop) and road it briefly. I wanted my good bike mech to speck it out. While watching his expert hands put the bike through a physical exam, he was quite pleased till he got to those wretched Bontrager wheels I was reading about. “I have some bad news” he said. Oh Oh….the rear wheel had about a dozen hairline cracks at the spoke nipples. He feared the wheel would collapse ultimately. So what was I to do. I had already paid for the bike in good faith. My mech..said he would fix me up with a good set of nice Ritchey wheels at a fair price and I went ahead and replaced them. I wrote back to the seller and he stated he honestly was not aware of the cracks as they were hardly seen by the naked eye. But, he agreed to pay me half the cost back on the wheels. I’m okay with that. Now that the weather has moderated and it looks like an early spring has sprung ( I hope ) and my flooring job is nearing completion, I will be getting the Lemond out and stretching her and my legs more. Back later on that. I’m old (69) and stiff from getting up and down, carrying old rolls of carpet to the trailer and all that labor stuff. I look forward to pedaling away on the bike and getting back in shape. At my age if you don’t use it you lose it….fast. Talk to ya later.
Hi Jim,
Sounds like you worked with a good seller! My Lemond has been confused by temperatures in the 70s and then -15; it has been hard to be anything close to consistent here in Colorado. Hope you enjoy your first ride!
-Dan
I’ve had some time now with the old Lemond BA. What a great ride. Who needs all the new stuff? This old gal is just short of perfect. The 853 Reynolds is lightweight and the 105 components work great too. This bike gives me a lot of pleasure and fitness. I probably will be hanging on to her for a long time. I’d like to see the Lemond back in production. Aside from all the personal bru ha ha that has been going on, the Lemond is a really cool bike. I’m heading out early in the morning for a ride before the 90 degree Atlanta heat kicks in. A quick 15/20 mile ride is no big deal for this 70 year old on the BA. Keep ridin while you got the stuff to work with.
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