fleslider 

let us know what she says, it would be interesting .

texaspandj

Dura ace crankset and front derailleur


Dura ace rear derailleur and cassette.


Dura ace compatible 8 speed gripshift


Hed sew up/tubular race wheels. Unfortunately No training wheels
​​​​​​​My '86 Classic is 6 speed.
My '87 Miami Vice is 7 speed.
My '88 Carbon is Now going to be 8 speed.
My '89 Summertime blues WILL be 9 speed... someday.
Here's pics of the components on the bike I got and will be gracing the '88 Carbon soon. My daughter currently has the bike and I'll be getting it tomorrow or Wednesday.

Hudson308 

@Espo3909 has a nice one he'd sell for $250. I could facilitate.

RobbieTunes

Very cool. Nice "speed/year" progression.
That carbon is going to seriously rock. Very seriously.

What size is that 5900 frame?

Makes me feel OK with my '01 being 11-speed.

RobbieTunes

Sent her an email last night.

canklecat

I saw that Trek 5900 on CL this weekend. Looked interesting.

texaspandj

Your size. 56cm, I really don't know much about them. Reportedly 15-16 pounds built. I'm afraid to ride it for fear I might keep it..and race it. PM me if you're interested in frame otherwise it's going on the vintage sales...is it vintage? The only time I've ever rode a monocoque carbon was the original one by kestrel made in '86.
@markwesti will be happy because its Dura Ace. @canklecat will like it because he's getting the Carbons group.
​​​​​​​Here's a full pic

fleslider 

thats the same color as my 1994 1400, Ice Blue. out of sunlight it looks purple but in direct sunlight its a deep blue . I picked it up originally it was cheap and it had a campy groupset on it but i fell for the color. so decided to keep it.. N+1+1+1

​​​​​​​

RobbieTunes

I'm game if the price is right!
I see the same seller had an Allez Epic Carbon sitting in the background.
These 5600-5900 lightweights were known to fail once in a while, but I'd take a chance.

That Dallas USPS edition looks pretty good, too, but it's not that collectible, and those SSM USPS saddles are hard as rocks.

That group will simply rock your Ironman Carbon. The weave in the wheels will match your frame pretty well.
Are you going to use that monstrous narwhal bar/stem combo, or stick with the hammerhead triangle?

texaspandj

The 5900 is supposedly lighter than the originals 5200 or 5400 or whatever it was. I don't know much about them and I'll pm you a price once I get it.
To be honest the way my Carbon Ironman is set up now is the way it'll look when I'm done. So really no difference but upgraded to dura ace.
I've got my eyes on some training wheels other wise I'll just use the carbon for racing and train on my other bikes.

TXsailor

I'll see what my daughter thinks after she rides the 52 cm we are building for my granddaughter. She is a little shorter so I think the little one would work well for her. I would love it for my wife but I can't get her interested. She says she is happy with her hybrid.

canklecat

@texaspandj, I'd be tempted to just ride that Trek 5900 for awhile as-is. I keep eyeballing them on CL where the Trek OCLV models from that era seem to pop up every couple of months for reasonable prices.

I suspect internet scuttlebutt keeps the prices fairly low -- just enough to make it worth buying an entire bike just to cannibalize the parts. Every time there's a discussion of the early 2000s OCLV models, invariably it drifts into claims that the frames felt mushy and might asplode, because somebody once heard something from somebody somewhere.

But if I ever drift away from steel, it'll probably be titanium rather than carbon fiber. Once in awhile I see a Litespeed or Lynskey and think "I would totally cheat on my steel bikes with you, behbee."

Might be fun to build a rat rod out of the Trek 5900 frame. Something with flipped albatross or North Roads bars, radial laced wheels, blue tires, maybe a banana seat if it has rear eyelets like the mythical Centurion Turbo Allemagne TTT (time trial touring) funny bike.

texaspandj

Bahaha Ccat you had me rollin.
I know mugging those components off that 5900 just to feed my Ironman may seem odd but I know what I like. But all a mono carbon can do is give me their parts and point me to a nice steel frame.
Truth is I may fall in love with the trek and keep it.

canklecat

Whenever I see a Trek 5900, I think of the 2001 Tour de France Alpe D'Wheeze, when Lance Armstrong rode the Trek 5900 OCLV PED EPO model with special "The Look" pedals.

If it helped me climb like that for my favorite 6 mile time trial segments, heck, yeah, I'd get one.

RobbieTunes

They were not the most durable of frames, i.e, they "beat up" quickly, but proper care and riding them less than banshee should be fine.
My guess is they're a little skittish with really light wheels.

Many had the same issues as some early Kestrels: once the RD hanger goes, you either improvise or move on.

I'd be looking to do something like this, again...


I've worked on several Litespeed and several Lynskeys. Watch for certain models on the Litespeed, some just are not all that.

I've yet to see a Lynskey what wasn't really nice.

In your area, something out of Colorado, or an Airborne, in Ti, may well be the cat's pajamas.

RobbieTunes

She answered:

"Yes! I am familiar with those Centurions. There’s one in the garage right now that I need to get rideable for kids of a friend of mine.

You ask why don’t they sell... all I have are opinions. I actually raced one for a month waiting for my Gilmour to get completed.
A great bike and a great fit with the short top tube due to the 24” wheel. No toe overlap! :-)
It really is a lot of bike for how cheap they go now a days.

But I don’t want one ... sorry...It could be it’s a bit of a goofy look with the small front wheel.
And a pain to carry spares for both sizes, much less to find decent tires in a 24”. "

texaspandj

Got the 5900 today or in bike forums terms " I took possession" of said bike today. Ya'll forum members are hilarious.
Anyways, it's light but the wheels are really light but I'm not sure why. It seems like they're regular wheels with plastic rings.
The bike doesn't seem to have any blue ala fleslider, it's Purple and it needs cleaning. I did get a chance to ride it but only long enough to figure out it needed more air than I thought. Since my daughter lives 60 miles from me and doesn't have a pump, I only rode 20 feet. Oh well gonna get a closer look after we eat lunch.

canklecat

Pix of you riding or it didn't happen.

seypat

OOH, OOH, OOH! The color alone is worth the purchase of that bike.

texaspandj

Aint gonna happen cause I'm ain't gonna ride it. <(my 5th grade English teacher would be dissatisfied however John Mellencamp could have another hit with that grammar).
After spraying it with some cleaner and putting it on the work stand it became clear that if I'm gonna clean (which BTW it really needs) so I can ride it then I might as well strip to frame and move the parts to my '88 Carbon Ironman.
A couple of notes the gripshift shifts the dura ace 8 speed shifting components flawlessly. The wheels shined up nicely. The grip shift and the components (although dirty) appear to be in excellent condition. The wheels are are true and good tread with a vintage tubular look.
I can't wait to put those components on my Carbon but I'll have to wait til I get a front derailleur adapter as this dura ace fd is braze on style. Coincidentally 4 of my IM have braze on FD. I did that on purpose as I have intentions of getting FD tabs added... one day.
So I'll be tearing it down tomorrow and posting pics of the clean components so no more talk about the trek.
​​​​​​​I'm really excited those wheels are awesome looking.

texaspandj

Very dirty but all matching dura ace including the chain


The giro tubulars are in good shape and glued straight and well. Although I cleaned the plastic I need to clean the rest of the wheels including spokes and cassette.
​​​​​​​Well I've borrowed and robbed and here's the end result. The dura ace components by themselves weren't worth the price I paid as its missing brifters/calipers and hub/wheels. However in a twist of irony the gripshift shifters and racing wheels made it worth it to me. I like dura ace which probably isn't better than anything else but all my tri heroes used it so...
One of my concerns was having to get new race wheels when I went 8 speed as all my race wheels are for 6 or 7 speed. However it was rectified with this purchase.
Some things I don't currently Need but will be listing for sale are the seatpost and stem supposedly titanium. The brs 500 brakeset, which are cool looking and possibly the frame itself.
The funniest part is when I'm done my Carbon Ironman won't look any different and only have one (well actually two) extra gears but I'll be what I want and that's rare in my house of two beautiful girls/ they get their way.
@markwesti check out all that Dura Ace goodness.

markwesti

7400 , my favorite DA . Well at least for derailleurs , from what I understand they are SIS but they also work fine with friction . DA 7401 I had on my Nishiki Altron with a weird shiffter set up I made up from a Nova Cycle fix kit and Shimano Arabesque 600 shiffter levers . DA 7400 is what is on my Comp TA and 600 6207 friction levers . Experts , help here please , on the rear DA 7401 derailleur does that one have short smooth cinch bolt head ?

RobbieTunes

Yes, and the allen head is on the inside. Very easy to remove and have everything roll all over creation. To this I can attest.

fleslider 

Mmm more Dura Ace crack... nice

fleslider 

ohh we got a EPO theme here, how about a 1998 Richard Verinque Festina replica Peugeot