Attempting GCN "SuperBike" Build!
 

Hi team!

Recently watched the GCN Trek conversion to "Super Bike" episodes. Fascinating! Thinking this would be really fun.

First, Need your opinions on the starting Frame. I found a local Facebook listing for a 2007 Trek 1600 SL in my sizing. Aluminum Frame and Carbon Fork. He's asking $300. It has Shimano 105 and Ultegra rear derailleur. Good condition.

I'm thinking I could sell of most of those bits and rebuild with the same components GCN used. Newer Shimano 105 groupset. Vision Team 30s. Deda handlebar/stem.

Thoughts on the 1600 Frame? $300 fair for the stock bike? I whittled him down from $350 but won't go any further.


I like the aluminum because I will sometimes throw a Thule Ride-A-Long baby seat on it for our 1 year old.

keep looking.... try the proscloset or ebay.

Nothing wrong with alum.....I have a bike in that and carbon both are great to ride to me.

What would you recommend I look for? Something different or just a better price?

That’s a 13 model year old bike. I’d be concerned about the wear and tear you can’t see (BB, headset and hub bearings, etc.) Also, choice of wheelset and tire width will be limited as compared to recent frames. Since you really only want the frame anyway, I wouldn’t consider this a particularly good deal.

But this is your project. Why are you asking others about subjective value? It only has to make sense to you. Unless you can find everything you want at a huge discount and do all of the restoration and rebuild yourself, you are unlikely to save money over what you could probably buy already built into a bike of new stock.

Good luck!

both!

Pick a budget and then decide where you want to take this. You can get a NOS super nice frame or slightly used for not a lot of money. What isn't a lot of money to me may be a chunk to you.

I enjoyed that GCN video as well, and the timing was pretty good, as I'd just won a 2005 1200 frame on the bay.
I'm mounting Deda stem/bar, and bought a Tiagra groupset on alibaba for just over 200 bucks. I have a takeoff wheelset, from a Trek a friend upgraded a few years back and never rode on these... probably almost the same sort of wheel that came with the frame.
I really wanted 105, but for the price difference, and for the type of riding I do, I figured Tiagra will do just fine.
While this frame may seem a little gaudy, I don't think I'll be painting it any time soon.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fddb48e9e4.jpg

Nice!! Mind me asking how much that frame set you back?

I'm with you. My riding is light and I don't need to get to far in here. That said, these little projects are very cathartic for me.

As for the paint, have you checked out Spray.Bike? Seems interesting and fairly straight forward. That said, I don't mind the style of your 1200. Looks good.

A nice Italian steel frame - I'd recommend a Bianchi, Colnago, or De Rosa - with better-than-entry-level wheels and tyres, and you may shock yourself. It may not be purely as light as an aluminium frame, but it won't be far off, and the ride quality will more than make up for any weight difference.

The only problem is it just might bounce you out of your budget.

I'd say Ebay and Craigslist like a madman (madwoman).

I'd say aero and initial frame weight and stiffness you can't really "soup up". If you're starting with a turd of a frame, the rest of the kit will be lipstick on a pig.

IMHO, I think more people need to learn carbon repair and buy up crashed frames if you want superbike on a budget. If it's a chainstay or top tube, it's about as easy as auto body repair. Just takes time and patience.

It's pretty cheap for the materials for a modest repair, like $50.

You can probably score a frame that was nearly $10k new with a few years use and carbon damage for like $500. Or less.

Also, people seem willing to buy name-brand decade old frames (bikes) with unknown wear/tear/damage to them but totally snub their nose at a Deng Fu or "Chinarello" frameset.

Meh, an old frame with 105, value wheels, bar and stem, doesn't scream "superbike" to me (I know that's what they called in the GCN video, but really?) throw some SRAM AXS, ZIP 404s, and some ENVE on there and that'd be something "super".

105 in 2007 should put you at 5600 - a really nice-shifting 10-speed group. Going to 7000 would get you cables routed under your tape, somewhat better front shifting, somewhat better brakes and an extra cog. Is that worth it for a newly-bought, 12-year-old bike? Not in my book.

In general, buying a bike of this vintage with the intent of sinking money in to it just doesn't make sense to me. If you already have the thing sitting around and what to spiff it up just because... well, okay, I guess, but I'd rather cruise the LBSs and see if I can find a closeout Allez or something for around $1k.

If I was going to build a bike from scratch, there is no question that I'd use a Chinese carbon fiber one from eBay. T800-1000, brand new, and with most of the attributes of something worth 5x as much.

I've been looking at this lately, only briefly, but it seems there's little-to-no savings to be had from buying a Chinese frame off AliExpress or Ebay.

Compare it to buying a carbon bike from Planet X (the "Pro Carbon Evo", for example), and you're spending more money doing it yourself. Not only would you be spending less getting a complete bike from Planet X, but you'd have some level of assurance with regards to quality control.

I'm not saying the frame you'd get off Ebay or AliExpress isn't just fine - in fact I think they're probably great, may even be exactly the same! - but the reality is they're not cheaper than would be available elsewhere, and there is a level of risk (that is accepted up front of course) in the case of making any warranty claim.

Bout a hundred. So, not a *screaming* deal, but still ok for me. Fortunately, though the GCN guys had different ideas, I'm not after a "super" bike, just a good solid mount for club and event rides.

You can get a new aluminum frame with carbon fork (brand x) from Chain Reaction for about $150

Does it end up cheaper than a new bike with 105. I've built a lot of bikes from scratch to get what I wanted. I don't think I ever saved money unless it was because I already had me at of the parts.

But it would look goofy. I saw the episode but I think it was more of a thought experiment brought to life than something that you'd actually want to do, but if you're having fun, who cares?

If only they had one in my size. :)

what size frame did you say you were looking for?

Why not buy a carbon frame from China?

Have you checked out the "retro roadies" thread in C&V? Upgrading is more popular than you might think.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...i-s-ergos.html

IMO there's not much performance to be gained with a new groupset unless it's electronic. Better off dumping the money into wheels, and waiting a bit for some second hand Di2.

Thank you for summarizing the video.

By this measure, I guess my 2002 Fuji with 105 group, Dura Ace wheels and carbon bar is a superbike. That's good to know for when I sell it on craigslist.


-Tim-

Not looking. Already got. It's a 63

I think you both missed the “On A Budget” part of the video title. The purpose of the build was always to get maximum bang for minimum buck. AXS and Dura Ace are not budget choices. It is, as pointed out above, a “thought experiment” but for someone putting together a build, it’s a decent jumping-off point.

I like the idea of taking an old frame and putting modern parts on. As said above in a couple places, a vintage steel frame with 753 or Columbus SL would be a more fun project than an early 00’s Trek, but each to their own.