Foo - 5500 Restoration Nearing Completion...

So the Trek 5500 CF bike I bought a while back is nearing completion. I've attached a few photos from tonight. Besides taking the entire bike apart to the frame and going through everything from top to bottom with great care and detail....I replaced the following components:

New Dura Ace Front Deraillier, Crankset and Rear Cassette
New bottom bracket assembly
New Dura Ace Frame bosses and cable adjusters
New Bontrager Race Lite stem in my length
New Bontrager Race Lite handle bars in my width
All new Shimano silver-gray cables
New Michelin Pro2 Race tires to go on the Race Lite Wheels (with Bontrager Ti skewers) that I bought as a spare wheelset and barely ever used.
New brake pads frt & back
New Selle San Marco Era Lux Saddle

I'm still waiting on the Bontrager Race X Lite Carbon Fiber seat post to replace the aluminum one and the blue Bontrager bar tape to come in at my LBS to complete the bike. A set of Shimano 7800 Dura Ace pedals will be added sometime over the winter when my wallet recovers a bit!:p

Total investment in this bike to date: $1489.00 Current weight (with old aluminum seatpost,and without pedals):16.7 lbs The feeling of satisfaction from restoring this bike and wrenching it myself.... priceless.:D

Whacha' think Foosters?

P.S. I hope this thread stays here in foo. At least my fellow foosters will try to appreciate what I've been working on. The road forum will say something like" Not enough Carbon Fiber parts" or " Why'd you buy another Trek, you should have bought a Cervelo." etc....

Man, that's one sweet looking ride! Final pics are not just mandatory, but expected! :)

edit: and it's nice to see I'm not the only one that practically tapes up the entire cable under the bartape.

Looks awesome man! :beer:

Awesome ride, I say post it in Road as well and let the nay sayers to jump off a bridge. That's a sweet looking Trek if I do say so my self.

Not enough unobtainium parts, IMHO. And lower that stem, you're killin' me. ;)

Wow, talk about a classic. :D I gotta admit, I have a soft spot for the red, white, and blue color scheme.

Why'd you buy another Trek, you should have bought a Cervelo. :p

Just kidding. Looks awesome. :beer:

You just don't care enough to put the chain on THE BIG RING. Ugh.


oh, and that SSM saddle will probably hurt lots. Unless you already like it. I rode one for not very long and it was mega-painful. --Too soft.

Sweet. USPS Treks are the best, IMO.

Sweet!

You just don't care enough to put the chain on THE BIG RING. Ugh.


oh, and that SSM saddle will probably hurt lots. Unless you already like it. I rode one for not very long and it was mega-painful. --Too soft.

Haha...hey Dex! Actually, the SSM is the saddle I ride on my other two bikes, so it worked out good when I went looking for one in the postal colors.;)

Thanks to everyone else who posted comments. Finding the correct parts for this thing was harder than I thought, but it's been a fun project so far.

Cycle17,

gorgeous bike! I love those older USPS 5500's.

Have you seen these by any chance? i think they would look sweet on that bike!
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=241409

Well done! That is going to be a sweet ride. Don't sweat the Trek haters.

This is off topic. Mods, please move to BMX or 50+ where it belongs. :p

BTW, nice bike cycle17! Looks to be about my size too which is odd cuz I thought you were tall. What size is it?

This is off topic. Mods, please move to BMX or 50+ where it belongs. :p

BTW, nice bike cycle17! Looks to be about my size too which is odd cuz I thought you were tall. What size is it?

Thanks jyoss! I'm 6 ft tall exactly. But I'm long torso, shorter legs, so it's a 56cm frame. The 2001's look smaller because the "molding/shaping" of the CF frame is more pronounced than the 2002 and up frames, so it looks smaller.:D

that is very cool looking! nice!

I think it is really cool you are restoring the bike to it's original look. Almost all avid cyclists change their bike. It is uncommon to see a histroically correct bike. Nice job, I dig the pearl white paint with the red and blue.

Steve

Where's the rest of the seatpost?





j/k - it's looking good cycle17. :)

I think it is really cool you are restoring the bike to it's original look. Almost all avid cyclists change their bike. It is uncommon to see a histroically correct bike. Nice job, I dig the pearl white paint with the red and blue.

Steve

Thanks Steve!

The seatpost will not be original, I'm keeping the aluminum DA seatpost, but going with carbon fiber one for the smoother ride and lighter weight. But as much as possible the bike is correct. I missed an auction on some USPS bar end plugs. Gonna keep my eyes out for another set of those.:D

I missed an auction on some USPS bar end plugs. Gonna keep my eyes out for another set of those.:D
Just put a couple young Elvis stamps on some generic plugs. :D

Just put a couple young Elvis stamps on some generic plugs. :D

LOL:p The ones I bid on were yellow and had the USPS logo with the eagle on them. Pretty neat looking actually. Maybe I can find another set in like new condition... like those. I'll keep looking. It's gonna be a cool ride either way.:D

Thanks Steve!

The seatpost will not be original, I'm keeping the aluminum DA seatpost, but going with carbon fiber one for the smoother ride and lighter weight. But as much as possible the bike is correct. I missed an auction on some USPS bar end plugs. Gonna keep my eyes out for another set of those.:D

They make USPS bar end plugs? That's getting into detail! :)

They make USPS bar end plugs? That's getting into detail! :)

yep. they make(made) them. I doubt if I'll ever run across another set of them in nice shape though.

Bar tape is in. Gonna' stop by tomorrow night and pick that up. Now I'm just waiting for the CF Race X Lite seatpost to arrive.

Ok cycle, you have to stop buying bikes until I at least get 1 new bike. Ok deal?

You're making me look bad over here:o

A few more pictures on the build/restoration. Bar tape came in.:D Still waiting on the carbon seat post. I may have a line on some Dura Ace pedals as well. Did I mention this thing is just under 17 lbs!?:D It will be so great to ride this!:D

Looks nice. :)

Thanks man! I'm anxiously waiting for the last couple of parts.......!! Too bad the season is pretty much at an end here in CT.

Thanks man! I'm anxiously waiting for the last couple of parts.......!! Too bad the season is pretty much at an end here in CT.

Hi Rich,

It will be 60 by Wednesday, I am contemplating a day off.

Steve

Go for it Stevie! I've got Friday off this week. Hope the weather is decent! Maybe I can ride this thing finally......!

Go for it Stevie! I've got Friday off this week. Hope the weather is decent! Maybe I can ride this thing finally......!

Looks like Thursday and Friday are decent. We can't waste warm days at this point in New England. I am sure you will find those handle bar end caps again. This is what I am working on. My friend let me borrow his Rolf Vectors. It might be psychological but my average speed is quicker around my usual route despite the colder temperature last weekend. So yes, I bought a set of Xero XR-1's and they should be here this week.

Steve

Nice buddy! I see you have something I don't...the stereotypical white garage door to snap a photo of your bike in front of!! Glad your liking that new fork too.

Nice buddy! I see you have something I don't...the stereotypical white garage door to snap a photo of your bike in front of!! Glad your liking that new fork too.

why yes, bikeforums had assimulated me. :D

I think the seatpost is in...gotta' go pickup a package at the psot office after work. Woooo Whhoooo! Yea baby!:D

Got the Carbon Fiber Bontrager Seatpost today! Woo Whoooo! Just need some Dura Ace pedals and she'll be done. This was a really rewarding project and the bike came out better than I expected. Thanks to my friend Eddie for selling the bike to me for a good price and knowing that I would take good care of it. And thanks to everyone who took the time to check it out.:D

So I bid on a Bontrager Rear Chainstay decal for the 5500 on ebay and won it. :) The left rear chainstay is really the only area of the frame that it "blemished" since the original owner took off the original decal and then did a poor job of sanding the area down. Thus some of the pearl essence was sanded off and left the white underneath, plus no decal. I decided to find a Bontrager B and lettering to cover the space on the chainstay. So here it is...now the new decal covers up a lot of the missing pearl on the chainstay. I'm going to get some spray on clear coat and apply it , then buff and polish it out to protect the decal and what's left of the finish.:)

P.S. I hope this thread stays here in foo. At least my fellow foosters will try to appreciate what I've been working on. The road forum will say something like" Not enough Carbon Fiber parts" or " Why'd you buy another Trek, you should have bought a Cervelo." etc....


F-em.

Post a picture of your ass and tell them that's the only view of your Trek they'll ever have to see. :D

F-em.

Post a picture of your ass and tell them that's the only view of your Trek they'll ever have to see. :D

Play nice with the mods. :fight: ;)

Play nice with the mods. :fight: ;)

It wasn't the mods I was referring to..but rather the hordes of Trek haters in Road Cycling.

LOL

Ah....the beauty of Foo. On Bike Forums...it has no equal......

Foo You.

;) :D

:beer: ok. :)

Beauty of a Trek btw.

Well then for any Trek haters who may be lurking here in Foo...

Here's all three of my road bikes in one shot. The 5000 in front, 5200 Team Bike in the middle and the rebuilt 5500 in the back.

Porn alert!!!

Well then for any Trek haters who may be lurking here in Foo...

Here's all three of my road bikes in one shot. The 5000 in front, 5200 Team Bike in the middle and the rebuilt 5500 in the back.



Thank you for this thread. It helps inspire my fleet.

You're welcome Dipper!!

There are Treks, then there are Treks like yours, and 55/Rads, and a few others out there that are more than the "cookie cutter, everyone's got one" treks. I've had one Trek pass through my hands, a 86 Trek 400 that I resold the next week as it didn't fit me well. And there's a gray 5500 at the LBS I keep eyeing too. But no way I'll afford any time soon.

Thanks Cuda.

I look at it this way...the OCLVs and Madones are the top end of Treks line and handbuilt in the US. The Postal Bike is one of those "historical bikes" and most of them have had the "**it" beat out of them by now. So rebuilding that bike to like new condition was a really neat experience. I will ride it for sure, but with two other bikes, I doubt it will see a ton of miles each year, so it should stay in nice condition.

Well then for any Trek haters who may be lurking here in Foo...

Here's all three of my road bikes in one shot. The 5000 in front, 5200 Team Bike in the middle and the rebuilt 5500 in the back.


I am not OCP or play one on TV but aren't you suppose to pose your bikes in front of a three car garage? :D

Nice bikes!

Steve