Trek Y Foil 77. An iconic classic brought bang upto date.

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Clannagh
Posts: 292
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 7:37 pm

by Clannagh

I've always liked the legendary Trek Y Foil, not only do they look so damn cool 'still' they actually ride really nice. Of course getting banned for being to fast for the competition soon after their launch back in the 90's they're now quite rare.
However they are getting quite long in the tooth so why not rebuild one and I mean a massive 'rebuild'.
Add lots of new swanky components carbon bars, stem, seat post all the usual. That's easy, go deeper than that get into the core rework the frame. Rebuild and modify the very heart of the thing, build it as light as possible and bring it bang up to date. Sit back and enjoy as this long term build unfolds :-)

Here's where it all starts your regular everyday if somewhat played with Trek Y Foil.

Just a taster, I'm putting some pics together :D
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You'll just have to flick through the thread to see what stage its at....
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As this build continues major changes in design diminish. Its down to detail now, little tweaks here and there thats where refinement occurs.
Stealth coloured Dura ace Di2 front and rear mechs, integrated carbon rear light mount, handmade carbon integrated stem/bars.
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Stripped of parts... and so to work.
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Paint removal
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Back to naked carbon...
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Custom made pieces...
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To be continued... :D
Last edited by Clannagh on Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:18 pm, edited 15 times in total.

mdeth1313
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by mdeth1313

Can't wait, I had 2 of these back in the day. Loved them, even climbed Mt. Evans on one.
Speedplay is the devil!

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Clannagh
Posts: 292
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 7:37 pm

by Clannagh

Heres a quick pic of how my Y Foil arrived from the States to UK. Well used and obviously set up as a TT complete with disconnected brifters and bar end shifters only.
Full Dura Ace which was nice.
I almost s@@t a lung getting it out of the box, it weighed in at a hefty 10.23kilo

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Most parts came off easily until time to remove front forks. I tried every trick in the book, heating, WD40 upside down overnight, leverage with bars, googled it, Youtube'd it. Nothing worked, steel steerer tube and alloy stem had become one after years of being dripped in sweat. Eventually brute force was the only option.
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Finally stripped down the frame weighs 1.851kilo. Still quite hefty, these things were built to last they are actually a hugely strong frame. When riding its almost like having two frames beneath you, whilst sitting you are cushioned from road vibration and bumps by the slight flex offered by that beam. Stand up and push and you instantly feel rigid feedback, the Bottom bracket area and entire rear triangle is renowned for being immensely strong.
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Removing paint brought weight down to a surprising 1.652 kilo, still no lightweight.
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Bottle cage holder made of cast alloy 44g.. gone
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Front mech hanger 46g.. gone. I have some plans for a replacement.
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Original English screw in Bottom bracket 88g.. gone. This didn't want to come out easily, I also have plans for this area of the build.
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Rear dropouts 131g .. surely not.. yep gone.
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Having removed bottle cage holder, front mech and also the rear brake mounting stud gives an opportunity to further reduce weight and modify that whole frame area. Fortunately Treks original frame construction method aids this. Well it leans in the right direction to help with modification at least.
These original 3D conception drawings from way back in the early days of this frame design show how it all went together. And what goes together can also come apart again.
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Time to build a 'new' lightweight upper carbon seat stay section complete with moulded in front mech hanger.
First stage is to shape a mech hanger
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Stick it in place and create a plug ready to form a mould.
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Carbon part straight from the mould ready to clean up
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Initial dropout plug
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Straight from the mould
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Dropouts will become an integral part of the rear forks
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All new PF30 carbon BB ready for final bonding
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Heres an indication of where its heading. That hideous piece of metal tube bonded to the BB area is temporary, its my point of reference for the front mech hanger and will be removed once everything is in place.

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A side view mockup with proposed swanky new SRAM red GXP crankset and Di2 mech
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To be continued.
Last edited by Clannagh on Tue May 05, 2015 11:38 am, edited 3 times in total.

Pottsy
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Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2014 11:54 am

by Pottsy

Interesting

rossjm11
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by rossjm11

Super cool, can't wait to see what it looks like fully built...
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bencolem
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by bencolem

Subscribed... because this is insane!

Although you're (rightly) obsessed with losing and then mount an Ulegra Di2 front mech on??

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Clannagh
Posts: 292
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 7:37 pm

by Clannagh

bencolem wrote:Subscribed... because this is insane!

Although you're (rightly) obsessed with losing and then mount an Ulegra Di2 front mech on??

I know I know, I was on the verge of upgrading to a newer traditional Dura Ace and do have the parts to go down that route.
Then I rode a Di2 equipped bike! wow just phenomenal, Im just waiting for a Di2 battery to arrive then i'll compare the two options and make the decision which way to go its looking 90% Di2 though.
Im building this to enjoy riding it and I just like the idea of Di2 for this build. Im aiming for sub 6.8kilo finished weight, if I can reach that with Di2 I will be happy :D

dereksmalls
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by dereksmalls

Very interesting. However those pictures are huge!!

NiFTY
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by NiFTY

This is what makes weight weenies great. Glued to the thread.
Evo 4.9kg SL3 6.64kg Slice RS 8.89kg viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Clannagh
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by Clannagh

dereksmalls wrote:Very interesting. However those pictures are huge!!

I will make them smaller from now on, Im quite new to this posting thing. Cant seem to edit what I've already posted once someone has replied. Is there anyway to do this?

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Clannagh
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by Clannagh

NiFTY wrote:This is what makes weight weenies great. Glued to the thread.

Ha ha, thanks.
I'd rather build something a bit nuts rather than just screw a load of components together.
I hope it all works out now I've posted it for the World to see :lol: :roll:

singlespeedscott
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 12:37 am

by singlespeedscott

Reckon you've just destroyed a nice old frame. Why didn't you just make one from scratch?

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Clannagh
Posts: 292
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by Clannagh

singlespeedscott wrote:Reckon you've just destroyed a nice old frame. Why didn't you just make one from scratch?

I guess thats one way of looking at it. The way I see it yes it is a nice old bike and yes it could be preserved in every authentic detail and maintain it as it was on its first ride. But then where's the fun in that i'd rather do something different. They were built at a point in time and at that time were at the very top of the Cycling tree in terms of design and technology (carbon bikes.) But they are now old hat, I dont see them as sacred there are still lots of Y Foil's on various forums (this one included in original form) many now have lightweight forks, wheels etc all the usual modifications and upgrades. Well why not go a stage further? try something that hasnt been done before. I probably could build a frame from scratch and it would actually be easier, but for this project I would rather 'Hot Rod' an existing Y Foil.
If I get this one to work as i'd like and enough people said "Build me one" I would make some moulds and build a few, who knows.
With the correct geometry and a few tweeks this frame design would still make an ideal TT bike.

Im not a total bike butcher though, I do love this era of bike from Trek and own other examples. I have a standard Y Foil frame hanging up, also a few Trek Y22/Y33 Mtb's. I must admit though this isnt my first offence. I have a previous conviction for attacking a Trek YSL200. That was their flagship super lightweight mtb at the time. Foiled only by the utterly useless rear suspension setup which they marketed as technologically advanced when in fact it only worked when seated. Standing up on the pedals transfered all your weight to the unsprung side of the suspension, not much use on a mtb!
My conviction was for cutting one of these frames up and starting again with all modern suspension and components etc. It now has modern geometry with 150mm travel front and rear, due to the lightweight frame even by todays standards it still weighs under 12kilo.

An original knackered old Trek YSL200
BEFORE
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AFTER
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BmanX
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by BmanX

I can't wait to see what you have for a finished product. I love these builds where someone takes something and improves on the original design.
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MNX1024
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by MNX1024

This is getting very exciting, exactly like reading a suspense novel! Darn the cliff hanger.

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