Retro TT Vs Modern Superbike 2: Is Greg LeMond's Old Bike Faster?!

Recently we tested a retro time trial bike against a modern superbike, and rather unsurprisingly the superbike easily won. But what about a bike just a few years newer, a TT bike with the latest innovation, the tri bar? We borrowed one of Greg LeMond's retro TT bike to find out whether that bike can finally beat a modern superbike!

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What did you think the result would be? Let us know in the comments!👇

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[gcn]

Which of these bikes would you choose to ride?

[darinbusse]

The 7-Eleven team were experimenting with aero bars made by Profile for Speed. They were going to pull them out at the Tour de France in 1989 as their secret weapon. They ended up using them in the Tour de Trump that May because Dag Otto Lauritzen held a narrow lead going into the final time trial, and the 7-Eleven team were trying to take top team honors. Greg took notice of how fast the 7-Eleven team was in that TT. He practiced with them before the Tour. Look at photos of his TT bike in the prologue of 1989. The finish on the Cow horn bars is worn off a bit from the clamps of the TT bars. Greg used the TT bars in the 3 TT's in the tour (minus the prologue). They experimented with the length, and angle and armrests at each TT. Still, an amazing decision to go with the bars. The rest, as they say, is history.

[ukaszzyka]

In Polish aero bars are even called "lemondka", which translates roughly to "Lemond's" :D

[simondavis]

Proud to say that I was there on the final day of the 89 TdF and witnessed history in the making!

[ayleyleynes]

Greg lemond's bike... what a timeless beauty

[johanmp]

I'd love to see a Modern TT bike vs Retro TT bike. Or maybe even a Classic Cinelli track racer versus the Lotus/Argon18 "Rocketships" of today. Could even add something like the Lotii of the 90's
Just to see just how much faster bike tech has gotten, and how much slower riders would be

[RichardMigneron]

In '89, I was on the Champs Élysées watching Lemond win the Tour !

And I did have a pair of those Scott bars on my old road bike.

[chrisridesbicycles]

What a treat to start off the weekend! Watching LeMond win the TT in '89 was one of the pivotal moments in my cycling life. I remember how the chat about this was all over school the next day. Everybody wanted to stick LeMondies on their bikes.

[colinricketts]

that Lemond rear wheel sounds amazing, thats got to be worth 20watts just for sounding fast?

[fsharp_com]

I had a pair of the Scott clip ons on my road bike back in the late 80s. Loved them!

[RAWnikon]

The friction between Si and Ollie in this video is the same as trying to ride a 32c tyre in a 90s road frame 😳

[JTrillo]

Glad you did another one of these, I mentioned in your other video I recently picked up a early 2000's Quintana Roo for $120 so I'm really interested in where the crossover point is. It's crazy to think that I could potentially go faster on a $120 20 year old TT bike than a top end modern road bike.

I think with shifting at the bars and a more modern geometry should do the tick.

Looking forwards to future iterations of these!

[pittapittae]

Oooooh, I can't wait for the Lotus!!!! Brilliant series, guys, hat off!!

[redrocker]

Greg Lemond is criminally overlooked as one of the greatest ever. The man has the greatest comeback story in the history of the sport and if not for that freak accident and him being used and lied to by his team he'd easy have the most Tour de France victories. The man was an absolute animal.

[glennpettersson]

I have some Lamondies in my shed, I had no idea of the history. Perhaps a challenge for GCN Tech is to make the fastest time trial bike they can using 90's tech with modern thinking.

[helolumpy]

Hey @GCN, I have a request for a video. How about you take an older (late 90’s-early 2000’s) frame and check the aero. Then start swapping out modern parts.
What do deep section carbon wheels get you? Going to electronic shifting and hiding cables? Etc. Let’s see how much you can improve an older frame with some more modern components.
Comparing a new aero frame to an older bike is obvious. But how much will upgrading components on an older frame get you?
For those who can’t afford a new bike want to upgrade their beloved frame, how much can you improve it?
Turn Ollie loose on this one!!

[ronm]

The first pros to use tri-bars (aero TT bars) in a TT were the 7-Eleven pros in the _second_ and final TT of the 1989 Tour de Trump.

Lemond took note and along with the 7-Eleven team used them two months later in the Tour de France.

And I don't think it's true that Lemond was convinced to use the bars mid TDF. At the time, I remember watching an interview with him where he said he noticed the amateur
racers -- while the 7-Eleven riders were the first _pros_ to use them, the amateurs in the TDT used them in the first TT of the TDT -- use them in the '89 Tour de Trump and saw the advantage they provided.

He no doubt had been using the bars well before he used them in TDF two months later.

[derekhicks]

His average speed for that tt was 54.4kph, which would be a very fast tt today! He also used the Aero bars in the first 2 tt's of the tour that year. The coke can shimming was done after stage 5 when they had slipped, so by the final stage they were dialed in.

[Keifsanderson]

I understand the purity of pedal-powered shootouts, but seeing clearly how it can be difficult to remove power output as a variable, I would love to see a comparison in a wind tunnel, or with electric motors to lay down consistent and identical power.

[secretagent]

well done gents. to me this is the best video GCN has done. I was a junior TT racer in the 1970s. Aero was "bend down" lol. the history tidbits about the last minute fitting and never used before was mind blowing!!! one thing i would LOVE to learn more about is ... Lemond had the fastest TT in the TDF until Ganna beat it on a short TT. More recently Wout Van Aert...Van Aert crossed the finish line with a blistering average speed of 50.9 kph. The 41.7-kilometer stage from Lacapelle-Marival to Rocamadour was the longest individual time trial since 2014.

but lemond...LeMond finished with a time of 26:57 minutes, the fastest-ever time trial in the history of the Tour, at 54.545 km/h (33.893 mph). As LeMond collapsed on the floor from exhaustion, Fignon made his way to the finish.

a detailed analysis of the difference, estimated power outputs. how is it possible that Lemond's TT has stood the test of time??? I understand his VO2 max was 92.5 (super high but not an athletic record).

no i DO NOT think LeMond was a drug cheater. just an amazing rider.

but throw in a mix of LeMond, Merckx, Armstrong (yes yes I know, but still amazing athlete...but i do NOT respect his lies), and now Dan Bingham.... now that would be incredibly interesting.

49.431 km
In 1972, Eddy Merckx set a new hour record at 49.431 km (30.715 mi) in Mexico City at an altitude of 2, 300 m (7, 500 ft) where he proclaimed it to have been "the hardest ride I have ever done".

will LOVE seeing the Lotus superbike.

HUGE THANK YOU TO THE BIKE OWNER