Having been associated closely with Trek during his racing career, Lance Armstrong has tweeted that he now has a new Parlee Z-Zero road bike.
Lance said, “Down @mellowjohnnys building up my new @parlee_z1. What a beauty!! Right at 15 lbs.”
Mellow Johnny’s is a bike store in Austin, Texas, owned by Armstrong. The name comes from maillot jaune – French for ‘yellow jersey’.
Mellow Johnny's is a Trek dealership. Whereas usually Trek might not be too pleased with an ex-pro and current dealer showing off a bike other than a Trek, in this case they're probably fairly relaxed about the situation.
The Parlee race bike brand was established by Bob Parlee in Massachusetts about a decade ago.
The Z-Zero is custom-made to order in 16 semi-custom sizes, or in a full-custom geometry. Parlee say that they can tune the ride characteristics to each rider's exact requirements.
Armstrong has gone for a Shimano Dura-Ace 9070 groupset here. Previously, he had a contract with SRAM but the US component brand terminated it last year in the light of revelations about Armstrong’s doping during his race career – you might have heard about that!
74 thoughts on “Lance Armstrong tweets about his new bike… and it’s not a Trek”
I hope he paid for all that
I hope he paid for all that gear!!!
He did. He gave Dr Ferrari a
He did. He gave Dr Ferrari a fortune. By all accounts.
now is Parlee happy with the
now is Parlee happy with the exposure or unhappy to have the brand associated with Armstrong??
Wonder what Parlee make of
Wonder what Parlee make of that.
Utter bafflement here about
Utter bafflement here about why this rider is even being given the oxygen of publicity?
rswift wrote:Utter bafflement
Like it or not, he is the most famous cyclist going.
This is a cycling website.
In reply to farrell:
In reply to farrell: Cycling’s most famous cheater perhaps certainly not its most famous cyclist even when his cheating wasn’t general knowledge. Maybe road.cc would like to tell us and their sponsors what it thinks its doing by giving this piece of filth publicity?
PaulVWatts wrote:In reply to
Don’t be so silly.
When you’ve unbunched your knickers name me one other cyclist that could possibly be more famous than the worldwide/global phenomenon Lance Armstrong and his brand?
farrell wrote:PaulVWatts
Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Greg Lemond are four for starters.
PaulVWatts wrote:farrell
Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Greg Lemond are four for starters.— PaulVWatts
Do you genuinely believe that or are you just talking with your sausage out?
There is not a chance in hell that those riders are more famous than Armstrong. You can debate the rights and wrongs of that fame all you like, but that doesn’t make Armstrong less famous.
farrell wrote:PaulVWatts
Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Greg Lemond are four for starters.— farrell
Do you genuinely believe that or are you just talking with your sausage out?
There is not a chance in hell that those riders are more famous than Armstrong. You can debate the rights and wrongs of that fame all you like, but that doesn’t make Armstrong less famous.— PaulVWatts
Absolutely, you really think if you asked everyone on the planet to name a “cyclist” more people would say Hinault or Indurain than Armstrong ? Just because you want something to be true doesn’t make it so, just ask Lance !
PaulVWatts wrote:Maybe
We don’t only write about people we like or whose actions we approve of, you know. You’ve read a daily newspaper, right?
Simon stuck up a story on Jeremy Clarkson yesterday.
Mat Brett wrote:PaulVWatts
The Clarkson story had a positive message. Most newspapers don’t report on criminals as if they’re heroes. What’s the message behind this story? It seems to be that spending 10 years lying, cheating, wrecking peoples lives and ruining the reputation of the sport you make a living from is OK. We will still give you free advertising. Anything to produce copy is it?
PaulVWatts wrote:Mat Brett
The Clarkson story had a positive message. Most newspapers don’t report on criminals as if they’re heroes. What’s the message behind this story? It seems to be that spending 10 years lying, cheating, wrecking peoples lives and ruining the reputation of the sport you make a living from is OK. We will still give you free advertising. Anything to produce copy is it?— PaulVWatts
Jeez, get over yourself Paul. Where is he treated like a hero in the article ? Says he been dumped by his sponsors. The fact is that lots of people will be interested to see what he’s bought now that he’s been ditched by Trek, it’s a bit of gear based gossip, nothing more.
PaulVWatts wrote:Mat Brett
The Clarkson story had a positive message. Most newspapers don’t report on criminals as if they’re heroes. What’s the message behind this story? It seems to be that spending 10 years lying, cheating, wrecking peoples lives and ruining the reputation of the sport you make a living from is OK. We will still give you free advertising. Anything to produce copy is it?— PaulVWatts
Is it free advertising? What’s Armstrong selling? And exactly how does this portray him as a hero? You’re reading way too much into it. There’s no deep and meaningful moral message here, it’s just a bit of factual reporting.
Seems to me it’s a story of interest to a lot of people (in a good or bad way – but it’s certainly generated some traffic). If you hate Armstrong so much that the sight of his name offends you, you could always skip to the next article…
PaulVWatts wrote:In reply to
Just a small point. if he/it is so unimportant why are you reading/commenting on here?
It’s a bit overkill for
It’s a bit overkill for Sportives isn’t it? Or is he banned from them as well?
Mind you I’ve seen a Parlee
:))
Mind you I’ve seen a Parlee at a sportive – plus the owner could ride for toffee
Let’s see I also had a bike
Let’s see I also had a bike build, will I get the same media impact? Please note that I did never transfer any money into any of Ferrari’s accounts – if that matters. 😕
http://innercitymobility.blogspot.de/2013/05/italia-superbikes.html 😀
Yes, I had to pay for the frame and parts. 😉
Lance who ?
Lance who ?
badback wrote:Lance who
Armstrong, it says it in the headline and everything.
badback wrote:Lance who ?
©
© LANCE PHARMSTRONG
love him or hate him, the guy
love him or hate him, the guy is still box office
Nice bike.
Whatever you think
Nice bike.
Whatever you think of him he still made cycling famous then infamous, but it got back to being famous again! :O
would it not be more
would it not be more beneficial for the sport if journalists simply ignored any of the twatter this cretin continues to dole out in order to maintain the illusion of being a star?
We’ll all be better off as soon as his name fails to appear in ‘the news’
I suppose now that he’s not
I suppose now that he’s not contractually obliged to ride anything in particular (come to think of it he has no contracts now to be obliged by) he’s gone for whatever he wants. Dare say Bob Parlee doesn’t overly mind provided the cheating, lying, mother-fixated, psychopathic scumbag paid for it.
j4m1eb – I’ve ridden my Parlee at a sportive but I’d rather eat toffee (with coffee on the side, natch) than ride for it. B-)
dullard wrote: (with coffee
was that 1,2 or 3 you meant?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=natch
j4m1eb wrote:dullard wrote:
1 and 2! I hadn’t heard of 3’s usage, though given it looks like Americanish not sure it’s common parlance in England?
To people who are wondering
To people who are wondering what Parlee make of Lance riding one of their bikes, who do you think alerted us to it?
😉
And road.cc duly obliged
And road.cc duly obliged them.
Hope this backfires on Parlee
Interesting that he is riding
Interesting that he is riding Dura Ace. So much for him being a stake holder in SRAM, I guess the Red 22 isn’t so great after all…
Also, custom made but still with all those headset spacers? For shame!
mmm sweet ride.
As for what
mmm sweet ride.
As for what Parlee thinks of him riding their frameset you pay your money and take your goods regardless of who you are.
The guy can still ride a bike if he wants to.
gazzaputt wrote:The guy can
But not in many places! I think he is off any sactionated race.
LA has almost 4M twitter
LA has almost 4M twitter followers around the world. One tweet by LA and Parlee have exceeded the level of publicity required to cover the cost of a few bikes. Clever business strategy? I think so.
Celeste08 wrote:LA has almost
This helps me highlight my point:
Mark Cavendish – 667,964
Alberto Contador – 700,139
Chris Hoy – 499,094
Jens Voight – 116,868
Victoria Pendleton – 241,662
UCI Cycling – 66,618
British Cycling – 36,796
Lance Armstrong – 3,996,347
But go on, hit me with the name of this other cyclist that was or is so famous that it managed to get one of the worlds biggest brands to create a sub brand for cycling based purely on their fame.
Greg Lemond (Trek again).
Do
Greg Lemond (Trek again).
Do I get a prize? 😐
Only 116K for Jens? I’d
Only 116K for Jens? I’d think it would be so much higher… i’m not doubting the numbers… but Jens is awesome!
So that will be $16K for the
So that will be $16K for the full bike and he’ll fit a 20 year old San Marco ‘Concor’ saddle (the only saddle he uses I believe)to spoil the build. Are they Bontrager Wheels?
Enve, I believe…
Enve, I believe…
does posting on twatter make
does posting on twatter make you a famous cyclist? Does it not prove there are nearly 4m twatters who like a cheat. :&
Eddy Merckx much more famous and a better cyclist and human. factoid that. 🙂
timothy wrote:does posting on
Reading the Maglia Rosa book – Merckx was tested positive – any different or better than anyone else who’s been found cheating?
timothy wrote:does posting on
I do believe eddy was known to dabble ……..
Just go away and shut up
Just go away and shut up Lance. Nobody wants to hear from you. I doubt Parlee is thrilled with being associated with you in any way.
snooks wrote:Just go away and
Really ? I’m pretty sure they’re delighted. Tweeted to 4 million followers, discussed on countless cycling websites, rode Trek for years but now that he can ride anything he wants he chose a Parlee. It’s publicity that is worth absolutely millions to Parlee
I feel so sorry for Lance
I feel so sorry for Lance that all he can afford these days is a Parlee… Oh, wait! Grrrr.
Does twitter make you a
Does twitter make you a famous cyclist? Of course not, there are 4 million people interested in hearing his views on Twitter.
4 million who have definitely heard of Lance Armstrong.
You mention Merckx or Lemond to the average person on the street and you’ll probably get a blank look but they will know Armstrong.
If Lemond was on Oprah next week, would he attract more viewers than Lance’s appearance? Not a chance, people all round the world tuned in to see Armstrong.
Don’t confuse who you prefer with who is more famous.
I am annoyed with myself for
I am annoyed with myself for reading this
and I’m really annoyed for
and I’m really annoyed for making it this far down in the comments…it’s like watching a car wreck, can’t look away.
No kidding…
No kidding…
fbhidy wrote:and I’m really
I was going to agree, but i’m actually finding it quite entertaining!
I’m no Lance fan but some of you guys really need to unwind a little before you do yourselves an injury!
Actually, Tom Rodi of Parlee
Actually, Tom Rodi of Parlee has just issued a tweet with a link to this very article:
https://twitter.com/parlee_z1/status/339403554534072322
I think he’s pretty happy with the publicity.
(PS – Hi Tom and all at Parlee – Nice bikes!)
I don’t think we’ve said he’s
I don’t think we’ve said he’s a hero Paul, we’ve just said he’s been tweeting about his new bike. We found his choice quite interesting.
tony_farrelly wrote:I don’t
Sorry. Didn’t mean to imply you considered him a hero should have been something like “why treat him as someone who still has any relevance to cycling in any positive way”. I probably had my tuppence worth and more so I promise I will now shut up on the subject.
PaulVWatts wrote:Sorry.
Nope, not that either.
1. What is there in the article that makes you think we’re treating him as someone who still has any relevance to cycling in a positive way? A quote, perhaps, or a reference?
2. Why would we, as a news-based website, confine our news to people who have a relevance to cycling in a positive way?
Lance Armstrong has tweeted about a new bike that’s a) Not a Trek. b) Not fitted with SRAM. It’s news, especially in the light of his relationships with sponsors as a result of the USADA report and the fallout from that.
We’re not in the business of restricting our news to cover only people whose actions we approve of. Sorry.
Mat Brett wrote:
Lance
Looks like he might have chosen a Specialized(?) helmet toohttp://instagram.com/p/Z0uVI6QDCY/
I thought he was banned from
I thought he was banned from riding a bike? Why would he buy a new one? 😕
That’s a nice looking bike.
That’s a nice looking bike.
Interesting bike. I thought
Interesting bike. I thought it was metal at a first glance. The joins don’t have the large radius typical of carbon. How do they keep them strong enough? If all carbon bikes looked like this, I might buy one. (Not this one obviously, as it is tainted by association with “The evil one”…)
It’s taken him 41 years to
It’s taken him 41 years to realise there are better bikes than a Trek out there.
Lance fan for Life!!! I’m
Lance fan for Life!!! I’m going straight out and buying two Parlee’s! (if I have to sell my child and whore out my wife…!)
I’ve boycotted Trek & ShimaNO
I’ve boycotted Trek & ShimaNO for 8+ years since I felt he was too good to be true
So therefore I’m thinking of selling my my three Parlee’s after reading this…… then again they are sublime, and I’d have to change my forum name. Nah best ride them
Actually I do already have a Z5 for sale (£1400) which looks a lot like the finish on the one the texanscum has bleatweeted.
This is why they posted this
This is why they posted this story – 50 odd comments in a few hours on a story which is otherwise of no consequence.
Anything about LA is going to cause a reaction and controversy and road cc know this as much as anyone!
Nice choice going with the
Nice choice going with the Shimano Dura-Ace 9070. Nice to have that option.
Where’s the downtube shifter
Where’s the downtube shifter for the chainrings?
Its a little sad i made it to
Its a little sad i made it to the bottom….
i still say he’s a suicide
i still say he’s a suicide watch
Give the guy a break and move
Give the guy a break and move on!!!! old news new times still one of the most charismatic riders ever to watch, doped or not, I just can’t understand why the likes of Miller get left alone.
Look back and everybody was on the gear all the greats!
RussFar66 wrote:Give the guy
Careful. I once dared to make a similar point on this forum amidst all the schadenfreude and was comprehensively shot down.
You don’t want the Lance-hating mob to turn their sights on you! 😉
LOL we would not want that
:”( LOL we would not want that would we
Should I care?
Should I care?
And Parlee has a cult
And Parlee has a cult following in the US – said to the best carbon maker on that side of the pond … what do i know? I only abuse my ti brides …
Interestingly Lance has
Interestingly Lance has chosen the Z1 not the Z-Zero, I suspect a good choice.
Mungoman wrote:Interestingly
No, it’s a Z-Zero – Z1 is just part of the Twitter name he has mentioned.
Sorry Z1 it is. The devil is
Sorry Z1 it is. The devil is in the detail.