2003 Lemond Tete de Corse

LeMond Tete de Corse

Another mixed-material marvel, this time from LeMond.

This bike is from the early 2000’s, a time when frame builders evidently really enjoyed using glue.

Here we have the top half of a Trek OCLV carbon frame glued to the bottom half of a LeMond titanium bike.  It’s a light design that looks and rides great, but it’s hard not to make fun of the over-engineering.

Mix the materials to get better ride quality than all carbon fiber construction or save more weight than going all steel or all aluminum.  Add a bit of carbon fiber to an otherwise dull grey titanium frame to spice things up.

Throughout the ‘90’s it was pretty common to see carbon tubes glued into aluminum lugs. Sometimes it was the big main frame tubes glued into an aluminum back end.  In the late ‘90’s, the order got switched around with a lot of carbon fiber seatstays or chainstays glued into frames that were otherwise composed of steel, aluminum, or titanium.  Seven did a model that was all titanium except for a carbon seat tube.  When Cannondale started hacksawing out their iconic fat aluminum pipes and gluing carbon fiber tubes in their place, it was obvious that trouble was a’ brewin’.

Titanium headtube

Trek carbon spine

Carbon & titanium go great together!

It wasn’t long before Serotta’s top titanium model was supplanted by a carbon/titanium wonderbike called the Ottrott. Specialized crowned their lineup with the S-Works Tarmac, a mixed-material bike that featured a carbon spine glued to an aluminum undercarriage. Pinarello mixed magnesium with carbon fiber. DeRosa glued carbon and scandium together. Cannondale, Merlin, Davidson, Indy Fab, Alan, Ritchey, Mondonico, Bianchi, Guerciotti and Torelli all mixed materials together like crazy (glue). Production costs added up as materials that could be welded together were integrated with materials that would melt at high temps (Weld first THEN glue!) but they all did it (except for Moots, who were so titanium focused they wouldn’t even let you paint your titanium bike).

 It was as if the bicycle industry dropped business suit uniformity for the jeans-and-a-blazer look and instituted their own casual Fridays.