But check out the woman who just rode her bike to 184 mph. Big balls!

http://www.roadbikereview.com/reviews/cyclist-reaches-184mph-breaking-world-record

He's older now and actually went riding with lil' old me.

Seems to me that all the big names have some attitude, temper tantrum or else they aren't made for winning?

I met Davis Phinney and his wife Connie. Connie and Shaun Wallace coached me on the track. All three were world class cyclists and class acts. That's actually sort of the norm. The best (not including one multiple tour winner) are usually the nicest.

Oh boy, I remember Phinney winning the USA championship race back at the east coast back in around 83 or so? That's the first I hear of him. Saw it live on TV for all of 5 min. Some of the those guys have to be normal folks, or else the world wouldn't turn, but I have never really met any hot shot champions. Rode a few training rides with Thurlow Rogers and a bunch of nut jobs freakishly strong socal riders. I met CArpenter way back when I started riding when she was sponsored by Puch. She came out here for a local race. It was a big thing then.

One of my good friends raced for Pepsi fannini when his teammate - Roberto gagiolli wone the big race in philly. Roberto was a character and the party at my friends house after the race was awesome. TV stations, other pros, hot girls, etc.

The mt bike pros were even cooler. Specialized flew me out to Tahoe for a big company event with Ned Overend and crew. Somehow the sponsoring hotel mixed up and put me in a penthouse suite. It became party central for the long weekend. Good times!

Any pix of the Paramount??

Found some water bottles at a bike swap meet Sunday. 1990s Fausto Coppi Team Polti, Batavus, and Cofidis. Also, 2003 TdF and 2011 TdF.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1537803031.jpg

Cool chrome Litespeed for sale.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1537803519.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1537803519.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1537803519.jpg

It's polished Ti. It used to be an extra cost option. We sold litespeed bikes.

Thanks. I was wondering if it was in fact chrome (can Ti even be chromed?) or polished Ti.

I missed the Ti craze back in the mid 90s due to lack of funds. Plus, I raced on a Cannondale with the team discount it was 400 bucks. Ti frames were 1700-2000. One crash means packing it in and wait it out until I get pay again. to chase that dream, I bought an Merlin Extra Light last summer. Nice riding bikes, but they don't ride anything like a modern carbon ones which I like. They have the snappy feel about them. I take it on my training rides a few times.

Same here - didn't have the cash during the Ti craze. I did buy a very early LeMond Ti frame a few years ago but not sure I'll ever build it now (time & money to do it right!). There is a lot of controversy over who built these with many assuming it was Litespeed or Merlin. But on one forum, an ex-employee of Clark Kent stated that he personally prepared 100s of Ti frames for shipment to LeMond in the early days.

This may be some sort of Team frame but I haven't yet spent the time to measure it and see if it has non-production dimensions.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1537816957.jpg

That's a nice frame. I think they also supplied the Mercury team with their Ti frames. I really thing there were a hand full of guys that were capable of welding them back in those days. Are you thinking about doing a period correct build? I would be afraid that Gitane with that much effort put into it.

I also wonder if your LeMond isn't a Litespeed? They usually have none round tubes to aide ride quality. I know most of the Merlins are straight tubes. There are smaller builders like Holland, Serotta, and Seven (later to the game) and Independent. Remember those Independent steel frames from the 90s? They were pretty.

There's so much conflicting info out there regarding the Ti frames that I'm really not sure who built it. If I build it up, it would be 100% period - so after building the Gitane I know exactly what that entails :eek: Probably 1-2 years just to find all the parts. And the Delta brakes right off the bat would do a good job of draining the budget ... might wind up as a wall-hanger.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1537821270.jpg

Something really odd on these bikes is the frame pump mount on the back of the head tube. They were on both the Team bikes and the production bikes. This pic is of a verified LeMond-ridden team bike. Why would a team bike need a pump mount?



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1537821557.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1537821557.jpg

I question that being a "Real" team bike due to the pump peg. Who knows, they may be the real deal? Ian not sure bout' the Delta brakes? I never like them, side pulls are easy to service, and can be had all day long. I like Dura Ace 9 speed. if its a wall hanger, then Campy with those funky Deltas should be used. I have my Stuper Record group on my old Castai I raced on. I was able to source them over the years. Due to being dirt poor as a kid, I am only able to afford Suntour. Club discount, so I raced on that. Durable as heck too.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1537823173.jpg

Another pic but not very sharp. its looks to be polished Ti with LeMond stickers (I assume)

After a more detail look, they sure look like Litespeeds due to what looks likes larger diameter near the bottom of the downtube