ViperZ

The 2500 was offered with polished lugs. My friend always talked about removing the paint on his lugs and polishing them.



What a great looking bike that would be. I would love to get a hold of one of those in a 52-54cm frame

Hopefully the new deraileur will shift as fast and precise as the old Dura-Ace Unit. That 7402 system with the down tube shifters was lightning fast and precise

cuda2k

Yup, that's the bike. This one looks like it came off the show room floor a week ago. Very well kept up and with some very nice upgrades. This was a bigger frame, probably 63cm I'd guess. The rider was several inches taller than my six foot height.

sirshane13

it's very cool that you got such new life out of an older frame. an instant classic. looks freakin great.

ViperZ

Thanks. I remember when I bought this bike in 1989, I told my wife, it looks sexy now, but in about 10 years it would probably look fun and sort of like "One of those 80's Aero craze bikes..."

16 years later it doesn't look as funny as I though it might. As Krazyderek stated, "It was ahead of it's time"

jslopez

good call on the AC decals. I may steal that concept as it looks very slick.

***Butch***

That bike is picture perfect. So clean.

How do you clamp down the seatpost? I don't see a binder bold. Weird.

ViperZ

Thanks, I spend a bit of time with Paintshop Pro, masking off each segment of the decals one by one to see how I wanted it before I even bought the wheels. With no decals is too plain, but not bad, I left the eagles head on for a day or two, then cut it off.

The full decals are just to garish and tacky in my opinion, it would not have been so bad if they were smaller, like the size of the 350's. Actually I have ordered a set of 350 decals that I thought I would graft on to the wheels should I decide to at a later date (I don't think so now). I should post a picture of my bike with the decals on the wheels, its hilarious.

Imitation is the best form of flattery, I would like to see you do it too


Thanks ***Butch*** The seat post is held in place with an internal expander wedge. you can see the tightening bolt under the saddle at the fron of the post. The post is made by American classic. It's cool, but in a way it dedicates the frame to that seat post design only.

endform

To Cuda2k, there is an Alan that I've seen in the shop that is exactly that, natural carbon tubes (including rear triangle) w/ polished alum. lugs. It is a sweet bike.

woodcycl

ViperZ ... OMG ... I LOVE your bike. I'd make you an offer (even though you aren't selling it) if I was closer in heigth to you. I'm only 5' 7" and ride a 54" cm Trek frame.

I currently ride the first "production" OCLV Trek carbon frame ... a 1992 model. I bought it in March of 1993 and have ridden it ever since. It has the old Ultegra 600 group on it ... and the levers are starting to wear out. But, overall ... I still enjoy it very much.

I sure do LOVE your 5000 frame ... man that is a nice color!

ViperZ

Thanks Woodcycl Actually I'm 5'11". with a 32" inseam.

My ideal size bike is a 53 cm Center to Center, however based on the "Competitive Cyclist Fit" this 52cm is what would be sized for an aggressive ride, Which it is, however it's still comfortable.

Based on a few Online fit guides (Competitive Cyclist) "Competitive Fit" is a 53cm ct-ct, "Eddy Fit" is 54cm, "French Fit" is 56cm

When I bought the Trek, I also owned a 54 cm Klein Q-Pro. I liked the ride and feel of the Trek more and ened up selling the Q-Pro 2 years later for I never rode it anymore.

My next bike will most likely be a 53-54 or a Large Compact for a more pedestrian riding posture

I really like the early OCLV Treks like yours too. Those were the years when Treks were really special. The color of mine was only available in Red as a complete bike, however if you purchased just the frame, it could be ordered in various colors.

I had really wanted a black one, however I could not have built the bike for the same price the dealer was offering the complete Dura Ace equipped bike to me at, so I just went with the red.

Looking back now I'm glad I went with the red, the Pictures really don't do any justice to how glassy and fluid it looks in the daylight. I'm still in awe at how the paint and color looks, and I've been staring at this same bike for 16 years now

Here is a shot I took of it while on a ride the other day.

acathi_cyclist

dude......sweet.

ViperZ

Thanks, glad you like it

indie kid

Wow...nice bike. Your pictures are really sharp...what kind of camera do you have?

oneradtec

Man...Trek was 15 years ahead of everyone else with that bike. Too bad no one knew it at the time.

Looks like your bike is in mint condition. My impression is that you bought it in 1989...then brought it home and packed it in an air tight vacuum packed plastic bag. Then you put it in a box with foam padding and taped it up. Then you stored it in a climate controlled attic for the next 16 years. Now you have recently climbed up in the attic and pulled down the box and proceeded to extract the bike. You immediately took pics and posted theme here.

Chucklehead

they were two or three years behind another company...

khuon

That Trek was not really made by Trek. Hint: both that Trek 5000 and that Kestrel 4000 were designed by the same folks.

Chucklehead

ha! i knew that would bring you out.

Serpico

I know I've said this a dozen times, but DAMN--I love that bike

Aegis-built Trek, wow

I think those ACs look much better with the decals removed

what size tires are those?

ViperZ

Thanks, The camera used fo those photos was a Nikon 5700, 5mp.




Thanks, that had me rolling Actually I did put a lot of riding miles on it for the first 3 years when I got it. Then all my riding buddies and I went hardcore MTB riding, and the Trek 5000 only came out for the odd road ride. I had my Klein Quantum Pro and a Norco Magnum SE that I rode a lot as well on the road. So you are kind of close with you assessment in the later years of the bikes life. I found I was just riding my MTB more and more... You are right, it's amazing how it fits right in with today's bikes. I think a thread-less stem carbon fork would bring it right up, however we'll see what shakes out.


As Khuon stated the 5000 was made by Graphite Technologies (now Aegis) I think they were right in step. I Actually think the Trek 5000 has aged a lot more gracefully than the Kestrel 4000


Thanks Zig. I took a picture of the bike with the AC decals on it just for posterity, however even before I bought the wheels I had planned to take the decals off. I took internet pictures and modified them in Photo-shop to determine how much of the decal I wanted to remove and to make sure the wheels would look ok with the no decals. When I got the wheels I took pictures and then just blacked out the amount I wanted, and then executed it. It seems the CR42 with the wedge was about the best compromise.

The Tires are Michelin Pro2's in a 700x23C They are a dark gray side wall that had me disappointed at first until I got use to them. I had thought the were black, and even the place i bought them from indicated the tires were black. I ordered a set of Continental Attack and Force tires right after for the black side wall. I mounted them to see how they would look, and although the Black sidewall is wicked. I have become accustomed to the dark gray side wall and find it adds a bit of contrast and interest over the black.

I have attached a photo of the wheels with the AC decals on it, it's kind of funny

Say didn't I read somewhere you are Building a Serrota Ti Legend?

Sakae Custom

Simply Beautiful.

Amazing Bike

ViperZ

Thanks!

cydewaze

It's amazing how much nicer ViperZ's 5000 looks than any of the new ones do. Kinda wish they'd stuck with that design, and kept developing it.

oneradtec

It's amazing how Trek has done so much better than kestrel or Aegis...even though Kestrel and Aegis had carbon bikes first. Reminds me of Microsoft...and how they capitalized on the graphical user interface(windows) even though Xerox and Apple had it first.

Trek is an amazing company and I have always liked their bicycles.

Chucklehead

is it that they've done so much better or that they've always been willing to sell "whatever" to "whoever?" aegis' and kestrel's philosophies differ greatly from trek. if you look at what the different companies are about, it's safe to say that aegis and kestrel have done quite well.

blandin

Hot color, hot bike, great job! Needless to say, but I Will anyway - enjoy . . .