Greg Lemond recently announced that he would be getting back into bikes and that Time would be the manufacturer. What we didn’t see coming was that Lemond actually bought Time USA and will be distributing not only Lemond bikes and trainers but Time bikes and pedals as well. Having worked closely with Time now for 25 years, Lemond felt it was a great fit and knew they could build bikes Greg would be proud of. Greg decided about a year ago that he wanted his own line of bikes again and also purchased the Revolution trainer design back in December.
For now Time is offering limited edition Lemond themed bikes, but changes to the Revolution trainer are already here and more bikes on the way.
Currently, Time is offering 3 limited edition Time bikes celebrating Lemond’s career. Each bike features a Custom Lemond themed paint job but the bikes are current Time models. The first “Lemond” built by Time should be here by March – and they’re being tight lipped about what we’ll see.
Of the 3 limited eidition bikes, the Combine celebrates Designer and engineer Jean Marc Gueugneaud and the first carbon bike to win the Tour de France. It’s also a nod to Greg’s win in the Combination Jersey Competition in 1986.
The Team ADR highlights the 1989 tour and the colors of the ADR team jersey.
Finally, the Team Z of course honors the founding of Lemond Bicycles in 1986 which was the first American bicycle company to win the tour or win the tour on a carbon bike in 1990.
The other big news is changes to the Lemond Revolution trainer. The trainer is known for producing one of the most life like road feels, but has been hindered by lack of performance data without the expensive Power Pilot unit and of course the jet-about-to-take-off noise. The performance data has now been addressed with an ANT+ module that is offered on nee trainers and retrofittable to old models. As far as the noise, Lemond claims they are actively working on a solution that maintains the road feel yet quiets things down. Another plus is the trainers are now 11 speed compatible. Lemond has also hinted at two new trainers coming in the next year.
Now called the Revolution 1.1 and the original the 1.0, 1.1s will retail for $629 or with a cassette for $659-899 depending on the model, Shimano or Campy. 1.0 trainers are still being sold and can be upgraded to 11 speed or ANT+ but have a wider footprint than the new 1.1.
ANT+ watt modules (the black part at the top of the trainer that reads the integrated flywheel magnet) are offered as an upgrade for both 1.1 and 1.0 trainers for $249. The 1.0 11 speed upgrade kit runs $99.