rlmalisz

I have been riding this poor bike forever, and am fond of it. The drivetrain is 3x7...and the small chainwheel is a true grannie gear, which helps get my 235 pounds up the 12+% grades around here...my home is near the top of one of them. I'm used to riding with a small Topeak rackmount bag. Am riding 700x28c tires, slightly custom back wheel (tandem rim). I hope to get lighter, but am fairly certain I can avoid getting heavier.

Here's what started me (finally) down the slippery slope: I got a Wahoo KICKR Core. The Shimano freehub on it can manage 8/9/10/11 cog cassettes with the right spacer. My bar-end shifters are indexed for 7 cogs. I live in the PNW, and am mostly a fairweather cyclist, so being able to train/ride offseason is highly appealing to me.

I can take the bike into a shop and see if they can modernize the drivetrain. It'd mean having the rear wheel rebuilt with a 10/11-capable freehub, and presumably replacing the rest of the drivetrain...freewheel, chain, derailleurs, crankset. I'm guessing we'd be talking about $400+, minimum. I'm not even sure anyone makes a wide triple crankset anymore.

Looking at new bikes, I am not seeing anything that floats my boat. I believe I am still too heavy for carbon, and once you get into decent components, it seems like everything is carbon. Anything that looks a bit sturdier seems to be aimed at gravel/off-road use...and I have a beater mountain bike for that.

Does anyone make a relaxed geometry road/touring bike akin to the 1420 with modern components? Is it silly to have this old AL frame refitted with modern hardware? Is it even doable? We have some custom framebuilders here in the Portland area, and I may wind up just going in to a couple and telling them what I want and asking for a quote.

Suggestions (aside from selling off the KICKR without ever having used it)?

Thanks in advance.

--Richard

dmark 

You would need 130mm rear axle spacing for 8+ speeds. Since yours is 7sp it is spaced 126mm and aluminum should not be spread.
I have a 1400 and now that I live in a hilly area I prefer triples up front.

Trakhak

For little more than the price up upgrading the drivetrain, assuming that were possible, you should be able to find a used 9-speed or 10-speed bike in your size locally. There's nothing wrong with having two bikes. Among other potential benefits, you'd be able to keep one bike permanently mounted on the Kickr trainer, leaving the other ready for riding out on the road at a moment's notice.

Zoxe

Is a triple a "must have" for the new bike? I'm sure you're seeing that that's not where the industry has gone in the past 5 years or so. (I love my triple, btw).

rlmalisz

Looking at something like the Shimano Ultegra line, it looks like the lowest gear-inch I could get out of that is 26.7. My 1420 really does have a stump-puller low end: 21.6, I'd basically be giving up the two lowest gears...which I use on steep stuff. With a modern bike, I'd probably drop 5 pounds of bike weight. On a 12% grade (beyond that, my 67 year-old body with its robo-knees gets off and walks the bike), the difference in bottom gear would be like climbing a 15% grade with what I've got. If I drop another 40 pounds (which would be great but seems unlikely), it'd be the same pull. My goal is to get 20 pounds in that direction. I'd need to get stronger, but it's not hopeless.

FWIW, after a particularly brutal training ride for Cycle Oregon, I swapped the stock small chainrings on our 1420s (30T?) for 26T. So this Ultegra configuration would be about the same as that on the low end, with another 20 gear inches at the high end.

Looks like Serotta is making high-end metal bikes again. So there may be an avenue there. My sweetie loves hers...and it's 20+ years old.

--Richard

Zoxe

Aha, I gotcha now.

The reason I asked was that if you hop through everyone's 2021 offerings, the number of new bikes equipped with a triple is going to be very very limited, and may or may not fit have the other features you are after.

Your thread title asks how "you" would replace the beloved Trek. I found myself in a similar situation a few years ago, and after pouring through the major brands' pages, realized that I didn't want to compromise. In 2013, that meant a frame-up build of a Surly Cross check to take on the chip n' seal roads around us, and the result still brings a smile as I type about it.

So to answer your main question (based on your inputs) I would first be looking very closely at the gravel and CX bikes to make absolutely sure that there wasn't something there that could be made to work with a tire change and a cassette swap (I'm thinking the Salsa web page could be a great stop for you). But realistically, I'd be preparing for a local shop to build frame-up from one of the niche framebuilders because I've loved the idea of a Black Mountain Cycles Road+ for awhile, and (per my other thread) like Twin6 as well. Since weight is a concern, I'd ask a lot of questions about weight as you go so that there aren't any surprises on the other end of the build.

cyclist2000

I would replace it with a Pinarello Grevil Daytona Pro+, since you didn't mention a budget and mentioned Serrotta, it should be in your price range.
Now if I were on a budget, I would get a Giant Revolt Pro 0,
On my budget, I would get a Revolt.

c_m_shooter

You can run skinnier tires on a gravelbike if you want.

rlmalisz

Have gone back out and counted cassette teeth again, and I actually still have the stock cassette on the 1420. So my bottom gear inch with my triple is 24.82..a lot closer to the bottom of the Shimano compact 2x11s (Ultegra, 105) at 26.69 than I thought I was. So a bike like the Trek Domane AL/SL 5 or higher would do just fine. And after contacting a shop that was supposed to have one in my size (they didn't...Trek flags them as having one because they've ORDERED one), I found that I could expect to get one...next October. Or if I was willing to settle for the uglier color, July. I knew there was a supply chain gap/high-demand for bikes due to COVID-19, but this seems a little wacky. I've contacted shops about other brands, and the story is similar. Have pinged Serotta, not heard back...and they may feel I am not their target customer. Dunno. Dug through a local craft bike builder's website, and I could presumably get a really nice custom bike in about 3-4 months...for $8K+.

I'm going to wait a bit. The Trek shop said that the dates they were given might be overly pessimistic. If Serotta gets back to me and can build me an AL or TI bike within reason, I might go for it. But I suspect I will be riding the 1420 through spring and probably summer. Thanks for all the input.

--Richard

Russ Roth

UCanttouchthis is completely correct. I've been riding bikes with carbon forks for years now at well over your weight and a carbon bike for the last year, they're no no less likely to fail you then anything else. Although you can't get to what you have exactly the new subcompact cranks will give you a 32t chainring while the right rear der will give you a 34t cog, assuming you're still running a 28 on the rear which is where old ders tended to top out at you'd be pretty close gear wise. Honestly, I've ridden that bike before and you've been missing out on some fun stuff. Don't be afraid of the extra gears, they work nice too.

rlmalisz

This came home today...still need to figure out the Blendr bits, adjust seat height, load things into the bat-cave.

Russ Roth

nice, enjoy the ride, looks great