Lastblast

Hi, I purchased a 2008 trek madone 6.5 a few months ago and was trying to at the minimum find original OEM parts or better. I have scoured the internet to try and figure out what model the original brakes and shifters are. The reason is because someone replaced the original brakes with basically low grade ones. Plus the shifter levers don't match. I'm guessing this bike was wrecked at some time and someone wanted to get it back on the road as cheap as possible.
thanks for any information you can give me on the OEM parts or upgraded but not new. I don't want to sink a fortune into it.

ramzilla

Well............................................hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. ? (I've restored a couple of old bikes). So, first off you need to try & get the original specification sheet for the bike that lists all the parts used to build it. Then, type the exact part numbers into Google. Sometimes it takes a while. A long time. I recently restored a basket case 2010 Fuji Team that was missing the brakes & crankset. After visiting the Fuji website & researching parts lists, I found the stuff I needed to get the bike back on the road. Take heart & be brave. The parts are out there somewhere.

Lastblast

yeah, I did spend a few hours looking through treks pamphlets and info on their bikes but all I continually found was a generic detail like shimano dura race for the levers and shimano dura ace for the brakes.
I wanted to return it to stock or at the very least upgrade the components without breaking the bank. Even the used stuff i see out there has a broad price range and i know there has to be parts out there that would be close if not better without spending more than I paid for the bike
With dura race and dura race having so many different versions available I don't know where to begin and I wanted to make sure it would fit my bike.
So i guess i was hoping some trek madone owner out there could give me some sort of direction.

Rogerogeroge

Shimano Dura Ace is what you need to know. Shimano is the manufacturer and Dura Ace is the product line, which is the highest they make. One step below that is Ultegra, and 105 is the next group lower. Trek uses their inhouse Bontrager brand for components in some of their bikes. Here's what you want. Between the frame color and the crank you can figure out which model you have. You may have to pull out the pic and magnify it to read.

biker128pedal

I have a 2007 Madone 5.0. For that year the Ultegra Series was 6600. I am guessing the Dura Ace would be 7600 or 7700 for your year. Might be more cost effective to upgrade.
When New.

Today These wheel are too wide. I really can only use 23mm tires.

Rogerogeroge

Oh, and don't get hung up and having to replace components with top of the line Dura Ace. The Ultegra groupset is a very nice set of components. You won't notice a difference in performance, the weight savings of Dura Ace components isn't very significant, but the price difference is.

Lastblast

thanks, that's more of what I was looking for was model numbers. I was looking at parts with those models numbers on ebay. I was mostly concerned about making sure the parts would fit.

Your bike is really nice.
I would upload a photo of mine but beings I am a noobie on this forum I think I have to wait a month. I had purchased this bike with realitivly very little knowledge about road bikes and probably got a little bit screwed over.

Lastblast

Ok, after further investigation I think the brakes on my bike where the dura ace 7800. Does anyone know if the 7900 is that much different? I like the color better . Also I just purchased some dura ace st7800 shifters, anyone have any feedback on those? Good or bad?

Ironfish653

Shimano's Road Group hierarchy goes from DuraAce (top) to Ultegra, then 105, then Tiagra (or RX100), then the 'sport' groups like Sora, RSX and Claris.

The top 3 groups, DuraAce, Ultegra and 105 have been around for decades, and each generation also has a series number: DuraAce 7xxx, Ultegra 6xxx, 105: 5xxx.
So, to answer your question, DuraAce 7900 is one generation newer than DA 7800, both are 10-speed, IIRC, 7900 was the first generation to put both cables under the bar tape.

Unless you are one of those people who is OCD about keeping their bike 'factory original' there's no real reason to seek out the original fitment parts. I mean, DA 7800/7900 is 10+ years old, so you're either getting used or paying premium for NOS. Ultegra is typically regarded as 95% of the performance of DuraAce at 30% less cost.

Finally, buying each part individually will drive up the cost. Find a group (shifters, brakes, crank, FR/DR) if you can. Frankly, Ultegra 6800 incorporates a lot of the tech from DA 7900, and it goes for peanuts, and is easier to find.

Just have to have 10 posts to post pics. Keeps the spambots at bay.

veganbikes

As @Ironfish653 said just go for 6800. It is a fantastic gruppo (I am running the Di2 equivalent minus brakes which are Cane Creek eeBrakes and wheels which are handbuilt on White Industries T11 hubs)

If you are really looking to restore it go for it that can be a lot of fun but it can be a lot of cost. Sometimes I want to do period correct and sometimes it is nice to upgrade to newer parts especially if it makes the bike more useable and practical. BikeRecyclery.com is an excellent resource for vintage parts and Justyne is absolutely awesome, a true bike geek. She has stuff from early on to today and frequently has NOS or near mint stuff.

If the bike is relatively functional and you don't want to spend a ton, get really high quality brake pads, cables and housing and bar tape. That can make a world of difference and can turn a mediocre brake into something way better (just like a cheap pad can turn a high quality brake into garbage). Fresh cables and housing can help the brakes actuate more smoothly and keep shifting crisp. Bar tape because I don't want used sweaty bar tape that probably isn't what I would use normally and I want to be comfortable for myself.

I really love the SwissStop Pads (especially on a good stiff shoe) and Elite Link housing and their cables as well. High quality parts that aren't that exceptionally costly compared to buying shifters and brakes and things like that.

Lastblast

All I really want is to make sure the stuff bolts on with out too many issues. I have found due to my lack of knowledge that my last few choices on purchases have caused me more headaches. Like the wheels I bought that should have been a quick swap but for some reason they where just different enough to screw with my shifting, plus I knew nothing about what a tubular wheel was and now I do haha.

Ironfish653

Now is where some knowledge becomes valuable. Shimano compatibility is based on the number of 'speeds' (gears ) on the rear wheel, not which product line it is.

The number of 'speeds' on the shifter and the rear cog should match. It doesn't matter if you're using a Tiagra (4500 series) shifter and a 6700 Utegra derailleur, they'll play together fine, as lon as there's a 9-speed cassette on the wheel, but if you have a 10-sp shifter, a 9-sp cassette, and a 11-sp RD, it'll be a dogs breakfast, even if they're all DuraAce.

You can also find partial or 'mini-groupsets' that are shifters, FD/RD and cassette for good values, especially since cranks and brake calipers are almost universal. Just a quick looksee found a state-of-the-art 11-sp Ultegra R8000 mini group (Shifters, FD/RD, chain and cassette) at Colorado Cyclist for $500. That's hard to beat.

WRT swapping wheels, there's more than a few threads around here about having multiple wheelsets for the same bike. Unless you have the wheels built with the same hubs and cassette, you'll have to do a little tuning every time you swap. 10- and 11-speed are known for having to be juuuust right for them to be operating happily.

trailflow1

If you buy older components you will not be benefitting from any of the improvements that Shimano have made to their groupsets since this bike came out. There has been 3 generations of groupset revisions since 2008. They redesign each groupset every 4 years. Each has been better than the previous. Except for 5700,6700,7900 which were
mediocre and the least impressive from Shimano.
Lots of technical improvements have trickled down from the top tier Dura Ace to 105 that have made the latest mid range good value. The lastest groups are the best they've made to date. They work phenomenally good. 105 r7000 is better than older DA from 2008 by a mile. I see no good reason to restore it how it was unless the bike has some special sentimental value. You will pay high prices for new old stock parts or you will buy used parts that are already worn. The Trek is a mass produced bike at the end of the day. I don't think it worthwhile that's just my opinion.

The latest generation 11spd r7000 or r8000 or r9100 are indistinguishable from each other, other than weight. 5800,6800,9000 groups are similar. And can be bought for very good prices. Just stay away from 6800 cranksets because they have a delamination issue.

The only compatibility thing you need to be aware of is, if your rear wheel is stock. The freehub will be a 10spd wide freehub. Meaning it was designed to only fit 8,9,10spd cassettes. Wider 11spd cassetes will not fit the freehub with exception of HG700 and HG800 11-34t (only) casettes which were released later and are specifically designed to fit older 10spd freehubs. So if you buy a 11spd group. You will need a HG700 or HG800 11-34t cassette and that also means you need to choose a Medium cage rear derailleur.

The other parts like brakes,bb,shifters,fd will fit your bike fine. When choosing the front derailleur fitment type choose 'braze-on'. Then buy a braze-on adapter for your seatube diameter. Then if you ever change the frame later you won't be stuck with a 'clamp on' FD for a particular seattube size.

Lastblast

The wheels I put on where for a 10 speed cassette, they where Mavic Ksyrium SR tubular road wheelset, this wheelset was in almost new condition. For some reason adjustments needed to be done after swapping the cassette off a Bontranger rim. As I said nothing has been smooth.

trailflow1

This is very normal because not all hub dimensions are the same between manufacturers. Each have very slight variations of the alignment. A tweak of the limit screws is usually needed with any wheel swap.

alcjphil

One of the reasons for the adjustment is that your Mavic wheels have a cassette body that is longer than a standard Shimano 8,9,10 speed cassette body. In fact your wheels are compatible with 11 speed cassettes if you wish to upgrade to more recent components

Lastblast

oh, I was told it was up too 10 speeds

Is it normal for tubular tires to not hold air? If I leave the bike for a few days the air drops off to 30lbs. Would it hurt to ad a little Stans liquid?

trailflow1

Yes it's normal to lose air. The tubular tyre might have a latex or thin butyl inner tube that is more porous than a typical inner tube. Latex is the more porous. You can add Stan's liquid but that wont make any difference in losing air.

Lastblast

I was just curious. I just got a pair of used dura ace st 7800. They are really clean and seems to be in great condition. My question is how can you tell they are 7800s? They say dura ace on them but I cannot find the model number anywhere on them.
the reason i purchased them was the ones on my bike currently don't match. One is a dura ace (model unknown) that looks similar to the 7800 i just purchased. The other is a ultra, which I think is causing my high gear issues beings the adjustment looks different.

Lastblast

Ok just confirmed the replacements I just purchased are dura ace st7800. Also confirmed the current right shifter on the bike is a dura ace 7801 and the left shifter is a ultegra st6500.

is there much if any difference between the st7801 and the st7800 shifters?