Originally Posted by
MrAwesome
That's exactly why I came to this thread. I have a '96-ish Trek 990 frame collecting dust and one been toying with this idea for years. I didn't decide if it's worth building up as a mountain bike since I have a newer mountain bike and am about to pull the trigger on a full suspension soon. I have a FG/SS already. What to do with my steel Trek frame? I wasn't sure about 700c wheels until 29ers started pooping up. I think maybe I'll try it. I was actually thinking of using disc brakes instead of trying to adapt the Vs to for the bigger wheels. They're are adapters you can buy to retrofit discs to the frame or you can weld a bracket. And you just get a disc-ready fork. I know, it's easy to talk about it...
Do you have any photos of the Trek with 700s?
Shoot, I wish I did! I had some photos up on another site, but they look broken right now and I can't find the original shots. I'll look for them. Right now the bike is in pieces (to get a frame weight...I think it is around 2250 grams for the 16") otherwise I'd just go right out in the garage and snap a pic.
The bike looked great. it was very lightweight, a great handler, nible and smooth - it felt like a good high end bicycle. It made for a great commuter, and was a fun project bike, sooo...basically the perfect bicycle lol. One thing I tend to notice about a lot of mtb to 700c conversions it that the bikes naturally seem to have a super aggressive stance - seat way up high, and bars way out forward and low. I can't really did that riding style, so mine was set up with a short stem and riser bars, putting the bars about level with the seat. I want the bars up even further, so I'm going to go with a higher rise bar or get a fork that has a higher axle to crown length.
With 700c tires on there, the wheels are honestly probably around the same-ish diameter that they would be with 26" rims and larger knobby tires, which is probably why I don't notice any bottom bracket height issues.
I like the idea of the disc brakes. I decided to go w/ standard v brakes to keep things simply and super lightweight. And it is/was a VERY lightweight ride! And it could go even lighter. I had a Cane Creek headset on there that was massive and was steel...weighed a ton. My goal is to spend a little more time on this bike and build it up using all USA parts. I know that is difficult, but hey, I need a good challenge.
Things like a Thomson seatpost and stem, King headset, phil wood bb, will make it easier. Cranks, handlebars might make that challenge a bit more interesting. But, we'll try!