2010 Trek 1.5 Build

[amngwlvs]

Hey WW,

This may be a a horrible idea, but I've always had a soft spot of the Emonda ALR and would love to build one up as a project and add it to the stable. Though, with my TCR and Propel I feel like it wouldn't likely get ridden as often as it should so I wouldn't want to throw a bunch of money at it. Which got me thinking, maybe I could do the project anyways and use my first road bike as the platform - a 2010 Trek 1.5.

I understand it won't be as light or likely perform anywhere near the level of a modern Emonda ALR but I rode it for more than 5 years before upgrading to my Propel and beyond adjusting the saddle height when I bought it, I just rode it. Looking back, it was a fun bike and I enjoy it's simplicity. It's not really worth anything to sell it and with some potential bike travel prospects on the horizon (UK 2022 and Vietnam 2023) I thought it may be the perfect platform for a travel bike - ridable, reliable, reasonably light(?), and robust without the frills or worries of things like Di2 batteries.

Currently the bike is bone stock with 9 speed Tiagra, aluminum frame, carbon seat post and fork. I'm thinking semi budget friendly here but still reliable - maybe Zipp Service Course or Pro Vibe bars and stem, 105 (or a Sram alternative) groupset, lightish clinchers...

With stuff I have at my house currently I could steal the Giant PA-2 wheeset (1720g IIRC) w/ 25mm Vittoria Corsa clinchers, Shimano RS500 crankset and at least a new saddle from my Propel if need be.

Any one have advice on how to spec this thing on a budget? Are there any major compatibility issues vs a more modern bike that would make this a prohibitive project? Do I strip it and paint it, strip it an leave it raw? Any idea what the final weight could end up at? Unfortunately the bike is at my dad's hosue right now so I don't have a current weight...

Thansk in advance for any info, I get this is a bit of a tall ask!

Post first crit pic below, along with a steamy ALR for insiration



Inspiration from here

[FrederickVCyclestein]

I have a 2010 1.2 as a backup bike currently and it's about 9.5 kg stock. It really isn't very stiff and is quite heavy. By the time you pay ~$700 for the groupset and ~400 for wheels along with a few more hundred for a new seatpost, bars, and stem you'd be better off just saving up for the Emonda ALR.

[amngwlvs]

I have a 2010 1.2 as a backup bike currently and it's about 9.5 kg stock. It really isn't very stiff and is quite heavy. By the time you pay ~$700 for the groupset and ~400 for wheels along with a few more hundred for a new seatpost, bars, and stem you'd be better off just saving up for the Emonda ALR.

Thanks for the reply, I apprecaite the insight! You might be very well right on the stiffness front; I hadn't even considered that. It may be worth taking the 1.5 out for a ride and re-examining this whole thing. I think I even have a 9 speed casette on my Giant PA2 wheels so maybe I'll test with those because I think the stock wheels had a broken spoke or two.

I'm not going to be using the bike for racing or anything so I don't need a jack hammer of a bike but going back to aluminium for the first time in years I may notice the lack of stiffness. If that's the case, I may scrap the idea as a whole because as much as I'd love an Emonda ALR, I'd more likely just put the money into droping some weight off the TCR and/or Propel.

Thanks again!

[FrederickVCyclestein]

If you already have some parts laying around there really is no harm in swapping stuff around to see how light you can get the bike. I was just pointing out that it is a bit of a weak platform so no matter what parts you put on it you are still limited by the frame.

For what it's worth aluminum bikes are definitely not all that soft. I am working on an allez sprint track build right now and it is substantially more rigid than just about every carbon bike I've ever ridden.

[amngwlvs]

If you already have some parts laying around there really is no harm in swapping stuff around to see how light you can get the bike. I was just pointing out that it is a bit of a weak platform so no matter what parts you put on it you are still limited by the frame.

For what it's worth aluminum bikes are definitely not all that soft. I am working on an allez sprint track build right now and it is substantially more rigid than just about every carbon bike I've ever ridden.

Makes sense. May be worth swapping some basic parts around to see what happens but as you mentioned the frame will still be the limitation relative to an Emonda ALR. I think I was under estimateing the difference between a 10 year old basic aluminium frameset and a modern higher end one. Thanks again for your input!