A few months ago, we were teased with the rebirth of LeMond bikes. It’s not secret that Greg LeMond has been working in Oakridge Tennessee to ‘reinvent’ carbon fiber. New carbon fiber bicycles were always a part of the big picture, and it looks like that’s very close to becoming reality.
While the initial release gave us an idea of what was coming with some very accurate product renderings, LeMond has just released first photos of an actual bike. Of note is the fact that the initial release called this bike the Daily, it has now been changed to the Prolog. The overall design hasn’t changed though – the Prolog is an incredibly sleek, 26 lb carbon fiber e-bike with optional matching fenders. Details of the new LeMond carbon production are still slim, but Gear Junkie managed to elicit a good bit of info from Greg himself on one of their latest podcasts.
Thanks to the inclusion of the Mahle X35+ Smart Ebike system, the Prolog doesn’t really look like an e-bike. A 250Wh battery is embedded in the downtube, which is good for a claimed 45 miles on average. Though there is also an external range extender available which increases that range by a claimed 70%.
The 250w motor is housed in the rear hub, just behind the integrated tail lights in the seat stays. Those rear lights match up with a 500 lumen light up front integrated into a one-piece carbon fiber bar/stem.
What’s really impressive here is that the production model shown above looks almost identical to the product renderings. That’s great news for anyone who thought those first images looked great (they did). Hopefully, the final product rides as good as it looks (it should). Prices for the Prolog start at $4500 and they’re expected to begin shipping February, 2021.
Though it’s still a rendering, LeMond has also shown the beautifully integrated and color matched rack and basket for their Dutch e-bike. No surprise – they look great, and perfectly match the bike’s design. The Dutch also starts at $4500, but these won’t be available until March.
And after these? LeMond is already teasing a road bike on their website, and if we’re to go off of Greg’s response in the podcast linked above, a gravel bike is on the way as well. Stay tuned.
