What does it cost?
£4350 for the base model. Additions including electronic gears and carbon wheels can take it over the £7000 mark.
What is it?
The LeMond Prolog is designed to be an ‘everyday’ e-bike – ideal for cities, commuting, and leisure rides alike. It’s the return to bike manufacturing from the former Tour de France winner that many fans have waited for since 2008 after his relationship with Trek – who sold bikes with his name on – soured. But even if you’re unfamiliar with Greg’s palmarès in the cycling world, you can appreciate what a fine looking bike this is, and why it is so important that his return to manufacturing has been in the e-bike market.
For Greg LeMond, this isn’t a case of a celebrity slapping their name on a downtube and calling it a day. Since 2008 he has been developing bikes through his companies LeMond bikes and LeMond carbon. In fact, he collaborated with the German engineering company Munich Composites to develop the ‘revolutionary’ carbonfibre used to create the frames on his new bikes. I don’t have enough words to go into detail about this but essentially, it’s high-tech stuff.
But why is any of that important? Because LeMond's entire e-bike ethos is about making e-mobility more accessible. And in his eyes, that's primarily through weight saving. As someone who has pulled muscles lugging 27kg bikes up and downstairs, I can get on board with this, as the Prolog is a minuscule 11.8kg.
Where he might struggle with encouraging 'accessibility' is with the price, however. £4350 is a lot of money. You could buy a decent second-hand car for that – but, there is a market for high-end city e-bikes, and you do get a lot of tech for the money. As with anything, it's about how much you think it’s worth.
