I want to buy a commuter frame and build one up. I was thinking either the Surly LHT frame or Salsa Casseroll. The bike will be used for light loading to and from work and to school roughly 8 miles RT everyday.

My current commuter is a 2010 Trek 3700 that I have put some 26 x 1.5 tires on. I am wondering if there is anything that I can salvage off of the Trek and put it on the new frame. Here is the specs on my current bike...

https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...3700&Type=bike


I'm thinking there is not much I can do with the parts on the Trek and I may just end up selling it, but wanted to hear what the experts have to say on the matter. Thank you.

I wouldn't bother personally, the part spec of the Trek isn't fantastic and it would retain value better as a complete bike.
That said, you could potentially use most of the drivetrain on that sort of bike on those frames. If you get a 26" LHT, you can reuse the wheels as well. You can use the brakes from the Trek on the LHT but not the Salsa. You would need new shifters and brake leverson either (unless you want to build with flat bars). Note that if you reuse the V brakes on the LHT (or any V brakes) you need special linear pull levers, like the Dia Compe 287v or the Tektro RL520. The seat and headset are also transferable.

Also, is there are reason why you want to build up from the frameset? While pretty fun, it's generally a better deal than buying a complete bike unless you have a lot of preexisting parts or will scour for used parts pretty intensely. The stock LHT is, for example, pretty sensible for commuting. If you're willing to put in the effort to build up a bike from scratch, you could also buy a mail order bike for a lot cheaper with similar spec (like a bikesdirect touring bike).

Because I have the Trek that I can take parts from, but it sounds like all the parts wouldn't work. Also, I found a real nice deal on a salsa frame and I like working with my hands and building things.

Well if none of the parts from the Trek would work sounds like I need to figure out what a good build looks like and what parts work well together. I've got some research to do.

I built up a commuter frame a few months back and documented it as I went. While buying a complete bike may be slightly less expensive in the long run, I think the knowledge gained, hands on experience and buying exactly what you want are worth the difference in cost.

Probably not much from your current bike will transfer and I agree that it's worth more as a whole.

Here's a shameless plug for my build thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ild?highlight=

Megalow that is a great thread thank you for pointing me to it. I thought it was cool that you live in San Diego as I am heading there in the Fall to start University. I'm not very knowledgeable in bike parts, but I did notice the prices for the parts that you used and I thought they were good prices for everything. I was thinking if I built a bike from just the frame it would cost more, but seeing those prices gives me hope.

Anyway's I've been looking through ebay and local CL for some nice frames to see what I can get.

I built mine from the frame up. Bought an old 531 framed Trek that I liked the geometry and fit, had it powder coated, bought a mix of new and lightly used parts, and learned a lot building it.
While I have > $1K into it, I know I couldn't touch a quality steel bike with full ultegra 10 speed for the same price, plus have all the old parts to use for other projects. I could have brought the price down by using some of my old accessories like fenders & cages, but hey new bike, new stuff.

I like it dedhed! I found a Salsa Casseroll 59cm frame, im 6'2'' 34'' inseam, that looks like a real nice frame. I like the classic light brown look of the frame also. I'm just not sure on parts just yet for it.

Salsa makes nice frames. They're owned by the same company as Surly: QBP, so perhaps it's not a coincident that their frames look a bit similar and have similar features.

Also, forgot to mention while commuting on my Trek I max out the speed on it and I can't go any faster than it allows me to. So for the commuter I will be looking for some gears that won't max out easily. I'm still confused on what gear to look into as far as cranks, derailers, shifters and what not.

Was wondering if I could get some Drive Train part recommendations. Should my Salsa have a 10 speed, if so what teeth 12-25? What about RD and FD, I've seen the Shimano 105's on Jenson are these good parts? And about the Chain and shifters? Sorry for the ignorance I'm just not familiar with the parts and the more i looked at Jenson the more lost I became.

Soma offers some nice frames. Like the Double Cross.

Was wondering if I could get some Drive Train part recommendations. Should my Salsa have a 10 speed, if so what teeth 12-25? What about RD and FD, I've seen the Shimano 105's on Jenson are these good parts? And about the Chain and shifters? Sorry for the ignorance I'm just not familiar with the parts and the more i looked at Jenson the more lost I became

Only You can decide what will work for you and your style of riding, terrain etc. You need to educate yourself on gearing and see what you have now and what you desire to change. Here is a good place to start.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_g.html#gearinch

You also need to know about (or at least be aware of) compatibility issues. For example Shimano road shifters generally will not work on Shimano Mt. front deraillers due to different pull ratios. In general shifter "speeds" need to match cassette speeds. Then there is the rear hub spacing 135mm Mt vs 130mm road, BB widths, seatpost and stem diameters, chainline, brake reach, etc. None are deal breakers, but you do need to know what you need to fit your frame, and how they affect your choice of components, wheels etc.

Shimano 105 is good stuff, just below Ultegra. In general Shimano stuff works well all the way down to their lowest level. You move up to lighter, longer lasting along with price in their higher levels.

This is a bit dated but gives you an idea.
https://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/vichpv...manoparts.html

SRAM, Campy and others are similiar in their compatibility and levels.

Spend some time in the mechanics forum reading and searching so you can understand how this all works together before you buy any components. Building a frame up bike isn't hard, but you need to come into with some knowledge if you want to do it cost effectivly

The Surly Cross Check and Pake C'mute are both great commuter frames (so I'm told) and have 132.5mm rear spacing which will accommodate either 130 or 135 hubs. I recently built up a Surly Cross Check as a dedicated commuter. I got a great deal on an Apex equipped road bike and cannibalized it for parts for my CC. In retrospect I could have purchased a Motobecane Fantom CXX which is an exact copy of the bike I have now for a couple of hundred less, but building from scratch was a great learning experience. I could have built the Pake for cheaper too... those frames can be had for $200 online, but still would have been close to the price for the Moto CXX. Buying complete also removes some of the component compatibility questions that you may have.

If this is a college bike I hope you have a secure place to lock it with quick release locks. While building up a bike from a frame is a fun idea once it's built it's a bike and you're using it. If you don't have a secure place to lock it I'd go for the cheapest bike you can afford to lose and use a U-lock.

There's an REI in SanDiego. You won't need fenders so 45mm tires is a possibility.

https://www.rei.com/product/806824/su...heck-bike-2012

Dedhed thank you for the links and Lee for the bike suggestion, that Sulry CC does look really nice.

So basically it comes down to manufacturers. My current trek has the Shimano atlus that has worked fine for the 2 years iv'e had the bike. But for the road bike I would probably step up into the Shimano 105 (level 3) area. I noticed the SRAM Rival is similarly priced I may check into those also, they seem to be a lot lighter also for some reason. Thank you, now I at least know the quality level of some of these parts so I can get started and shopping around used and what not.

A little update. I'm still looking for a steel frame and am still trying to sell my Trek 3700. My mom told me she has an old (1990's) shimano 105 groupset lying around that I can use for the new bike.

I have a couple people who want my trek, but I wanted to make sure I have the parts lined up for my new bike first before I sell the trek because I commute everyday.

So with the 105's that I'm getting and the potential $275 for the Trek I need a frame, fork, wheels, tires, handlebars, stem, saddle that will hopefully not exceed the price of what I get for the Trek.

Right now I am leaning towards a cyclocross type frame. I saw nashbar has the Nashbar X Cyclocross frame and I can get a surly CC fork for it, but the frame is aluminum and it would leave me with $150 for the rest of the things I need.