Chombi1 

Actually the second 5500 frameset I owned the first, about two and a half years ago, when I bought one for my younger brother to get him started on C&V projects. Now he has more bikes than I do.
Cannot forget how nice that first one looked like that this one really caught my eye when it came up at C&V sales forum, two weeks ago.
The gunmetal color really attracted me and it really looked great when I got to see it when it finally got to me.
The aluminum fork crown and dropouts really sets the bike off, but they were already dull from age and exposure. Fortunately, a quick buff this morning with some Mother's polish, and they look brand new again! As can be seen on the pic.
I still have to clean up the frame and also look into how I might deal with the peeling clear coat, which maybe could just mostly polish off(?).... or maybe I can respray with clear myself (rattle can?) to seal and shine up the exposed base coats......or just leave the peeling clear the way it is tor that 24 year patina ....as I might end up ruining the gunmetal paint if I try painting over it eith possibly non-compatible paint....what do you guys think??
Anyways, I already have a DA BB and headset on the bike which looks to be original, but the headset looks a bit tired cosmetcally, and will need at least a new locknut to look presentable again. Next step is to start looking for the rest of the appropriate DA group to complete the bike with a tubular wheelset, but I do have a seatpost and saddle for the build already. Some of you guys might recognize this.....






The seatpost/saddle should be perfect for the 5500 as its tech forward design and color of the cover feels to be ideal for me to go with. Do I need a quick offset adjusting seatpost like this on my bikes??..... not really, but dang, its uber mechanical coolness just gives me a great feeling, more than any othe bike component I ever owned!. The seatpost/saddle actually came up for me to buy, a couple of days before the 5500 frameset did, so, am I actually building a bike around a seatpost and saddle. Being how I feel the seatpost/saddle is so unique and cool, I personally feel the combo is worth building a bike around and the most modern bike I really love to build up, just happens to be the 5500 OCLV, so things look to be falling into place, so far.
The coming hunt for period DA components and a proper tub wheelset (Rolf?) to complete the bike, dealing with more modern stuff presently "not in my wheelhouse", will be a big challenge, especially indexed shifting, brifters and ergo bend bars, but maybe the stuff might not be as expensive as the usual 80's stuff I deal with, so easing into them, might be.........uhm.. easier........
Shooting to maybe complete the bike by this coming fall....we'll see....

TenGrainBread 

Way cool...i always like the look of the older Trek carbon forks with an AL crown. Same reason I love Wound Up forks.

easyupbug 

Hoping you get some good input on the finish. Mine is a '94 (came w/ Campy Chrous) with the red fade paint job in worse shape than yours. It's been hanging up for years now, waiting for a local painter I trust for stripping and paint. IIRC your color was called silver by Trek. When carbon became popular I would buy one every few years then sell it a year of so later, this is the only one I held on to, the others just did not resonate with me for some reason.

RobbieTunes

Given the colors of the decals, either the polished, black, or gold Rolfs would look outstanding. That particular grey looks great with either bling or black, or in combination, can't lose.

That seat post is the cat, man.

The edges of peeling clear on those can be "whisper sanded" to feather them out, then you can likely use Testor's clear, mask carefully, and re-spray. Let dry a couple of weeks, then use the same technique to smooth that out, then some paste wax would work, rubbed in. I recommend the Testor's sanding sheets, which only come in really fine grit. Done patiently, invisible unless you look for it. Straight touchup will work, too, but in the sun, stands out.

Good wheels will make you realize how light the front end is, you can almost wheelie it without trying. I actually think that made a lot of people curb-hop their 5000-series OCLV's, and the fork just is not designed for that...

Next to the Y-Foil, my favorite Trek Carbon, in model and color. Actually classier and not as "in your face" as the Y-Foil, more like "in front of you, so keep up!"

Glad you're taking it on. Your attention to detail will complement the build immensely.

crank_addict

One very handsome frame. That saddle and post is killa.

Nothing but the best by Chombi. Looking forward to seeing the magic!

OrenNoah

I rode my 5500 for twenty years or so, until the bottom bracket gave out last September. They're great bikes, but have an issue with cracks / delamination in the bottom bracket. Check it thoroughly before investing too much into the build.

I hope that works out for you.

nomadmax 

Tell us about that seat post/saddle combo please!

Chombi1 

The seatpost/saddle combo is a joint venture design by seatpost maker, Selcof and saddle maker, Selle San Marco. The thing is, the previous owner and I could not really find out anything about its history. Nothing at all came up on all the internet searches I did on it. All I can assume at this point is, it might have been produced very briefly, but maybe it just did not click in the market and was pulled out of production, right away. Maybe, issues came up like the question of what happens when the saddle wears out? Do you really need to replace the whole thing?
Adjustment is by typical single bolt pivot for tilt and the incremetal forward backwards adjustment made through the screw shaft with the knob on the back the knob/shaft turns with detents that move the saddle backwards or forward. 1.7mm per click.
Seems like they provided fore and aft movement to match what was typically available on San Marco saddles back then. The whole mechanism between the seatpost and saddle is all aluminum, except for some kinda wedge component that locks the adjustment. The single tilt pivot bolt is Ti, with a steel, split lock washer.
Pretty much all of the special mechanism between the saddle and the post is CNC'd aluminum with just a very few small parts for the knob detent and the lever wedge lock in steel (stainless?).
Some think it could be just meant for fitting bikes to customers at bike shops, but I don't think so, considering the finish work and all the branding on the post and mechanism. Most fitting equipment I've seen are much simpler construction and finish.
The whole thing seems to be a bit overboard and some might argue, a solution looking for a problem, but my fascination with things mechanical just made it irrisitable to me.

velomateo

nomadmax 

Thank you

diomekes

Great to see this on it's way to a new life.

The original groupset is 7410, are you looking to get that one or something different? Yeah, the wheels that came with the bike when I got it did not, in my opinion, do it justice or look good (there the ones I have post in the sales forum), so hopefully you can find a set or something to build up that will.

Oh, I forgot to mention regarding the color, this was what was used by the Saturn team in the US:

https://mariposabicycles.ca/wp-conte...0447983136.jpg

velomateo

That's a great pic of Dede Demet (Barry)...and no socks. What would all the knee-hi wearers say about that today?
@Chombi, those early Mavic Cosmic wheels (in the picture) would look awesome on your bike. I have had several sets of the Carbon version and they are very durable wheels. Not super light, but once they get rolling they really stay up to speed well.

HarborBandS

Oh man, 1995 was one of the last years that I worked in a Trek dealership, and this was the absolute object of desire for the guys in the shop back then--probably up there with the 1990's stars of Baywatch.

I can't wait to see what you do with this. The frame looks pristine!

HarborBandS

Here is a PDF link to the 1995 Trek print catalog. The 5500 is on pages 66-67.

https://www.vintage-trek.com/Trek-Fis...d/1995trek.pdf

I used to pore over the pages of these catalogs back in the day. I probably have my old copy of this one somewhere deep in my basement somewhere...

Chombi1 

Thank you very much for posting the 95 Trek catalogue!
It will be great reference material for the build!

RiddleOfSteel

I am so on board with this build! That frame and that paint color are beautiful.