Originally Posted by texaspandj

I put my matching cages to give it a RTish look.hehe. I'm actually gonna put white pedals, white saddle, white cages which I have. And buy some cheap white wrap since I don't have any white inner tube wrap. Btw I test rode it 17 miles with clip in pedals.
​​​​​​​So I finally took the Ole beater out for a ride. It's the trek 5900 purple people eater. So I'm posting about the ride in comparison or contrast to the Ironman.
Right off the bat the trek is lighter, (18. something by my fish scale) than the Ironman. Next it accelerates quicker than the Ironman. Lastly it climbs well but only as well as my previously owned steel '88 Ironman with regular road bars. Since I've been running more than riding I'm more comfortable standing than sitting while riding even small inclines to keep my momentum. When I climb with my aero bar setup I'm usually in the drops when standing, but being on road bar hoods when standing is really ideal and that made it somewhat easier. So I call it a draw on climbing. Next is handling, and the trek is a hair quicker but not insurmountable.in fact possibly like my '89 Master.
As far as fit, because it's 56cm and I normally ride a 54 it is a touch bigger. About a 1/2 Inch longer TT and a 1/2 inch longer stem so only 1 inch longer overall, the seat measured basically the same as my 54cm. So not much difference yet I felt so much higher on the trek. The saddle is some type of tri saddle and although it was shorter than my preferred turbo I had no complaints. Honestly it felt great overall. It felt a lot like the '88 master I sold to my riding partner. I think the road bars had a lot to do with that. However the '88 Ironman had brifters and the brifter hoods are way more comfortable.
Here's a pic. The rear derailleur, DT shifters, chain and 3 chainring bolts I borrowed from @canklecat...uh thanks?
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