Custom 1999 Trek 5500 OCLV Full Carbon: Budget built, ONLY 17lbs! 

Hi David! Thanks for the comment and I couldn't agree more! I have built SOOO MANY of these bikes haha I have more videos to watch on my channel too! The Dura-Ace 7700 is an excellent group, worth a pretty penny too lol check ebay! Even 9 speed Ultegra is still REALLY competitive too, it's cool to see! Thanks for subscribing as well!

Hi Al! Thanks for the kind words and please subscribe if you haven't already! These are some of my favorite carbon frames out there, they are true classics and you will not regret it!

Thanks Michael, I really appreciate the kind words and the support! These bikes are suprsingly tough, I used to ride mine on mtb trails and jump it off speed bumps all the time lol. Good luck bud, sounds fun!

Man I think I gotta delete all my Trek OCLV videos because for four years now I cant find anymore budget ones lmao! Jesus riding a carbon trek delivering the mail sounds about right to me!

Thanks man and please take a moment to subscribe! I have a few other 5200 builds on the channel and a similar LeMond! I absolutely love these frames and I wish I had one today though! I used to take mine on singletrack rides through state parks actually haha so you asked the right guy! You can DEFINITELY fit 28c tires but not 30c's, the ONE TIRE that I wouldn't buy is the 28c Continental Ultrasport's because they are HUGE compared to other 28c tires. Thickslick, Bontrager race and Panaracer Pasela are some of the brands I know 100% will work. My current Cannondale caad4 is super tight on 28c tolerances so I just went through this last year haha. If you are unsure I would definitely use amazon prime for easy returns in case the tire doesn't fit!

Hi APJ I really appreciate your kind words! The RU-vid grind can be quiet exhausting especially when you spend money and get none back for so long haha! It’s all good though, I know other bike nerds like us appreciate it :) I actually did a really awesome Felt build earlier this year! They’re very cool bikes, outstanding quality on their aluminum frames. You can checkout the felt video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WKuY0AVv60k.html

Hope you took a moment to subscribe already btw, I appreciate the support! I didn’t forget your wheel question, just wanted to make this a separate comment. I’ve ridden all kinds of setups and different wheels so your question is great! I’ve been as heavy as 265lbs and I only had wheels failures not because of weight but because I was being stupid lol. Once I jumped a speed bump and landed with the wheel turned a bit, bone stock trek 5200 and it taco’d the front wheel. Next was the same make and model wheels (road wheels) on a cross bike and I was riding mountain bike trails lol. Same issue, taco’d front wheel. These wheels were bontrager race lite wheels and are a great example of a nice wheel but can have issues with heavy riders. The distance between each spoke and its spoke count isn’t always relevant to your weight and the wheels longevity because of the great technology out now. Spokes are super important and if you can’t afford double butted, single butted are a must. I don’t mind bladed or rounded, though bladed typically needs special tools to true and catch cross winds often. My wheel sets I’ve built I keep around 20 spoke front and 24 spoke rears. Now if you have hubs with nice flanges and any decent alloy rim, you’ll have a VERY strong wheel! I personally HIGHLY recommend www.bikehub store.com too! Their basic Chinese hubs have outstanding quality and weight, their Kinlin rims rule and the customer service is awesome! They’ll calculate spoke length for you and are VERY knowledgeable too! If you like wheels already built, the Mavic Equipe wheels are the same spoke count and still very tough. The Mavic open pro is also a common favorite you can find often and even has eyelets in the rim’s spoke holes. This is great to prevent the spoke from ripping through the rim once a wheel gets older and worn. You’ll see amongst my videos though I don’t discriminate on wheels haha :)

@@D2WrenchWorksDIY Awesome information. Thanks!!

Always happy to help!

Thank you, hahah! I’m trying to step up my RU-vid game! After that first take I was laughing so hard at myself I knew I had to share it, the whole unedited bit is at the end as a fun behind the scenes thing.

Hi Sills! Shoot me an email at d2wrenchworksdiy@gmail.com and I can send you info and pics

Hi thanks for the question and please take a moment to subscribe! I can't speak for ALL OCLV frames when I say this of course, but I have never had any issues with delamination. I have only seen this on frames that were damaged previously and further abused. I worked at a carbon/fiberglass shop back in the day and there we repaired my very first OCLV. The main guy there had almost the exact carbon we used that the frame was made of, in stock, and he loved it. Once you sand these down you can really see the carbon weave on the tubes as well as the lugs which are large and high quality. There are pics online if you google because I ended up doing that to the aforementioned frame and finished it in a 4k clear coat, it looked awesome. These are super trustworthy frames though just be sure to look the frame over well. Also don't pay through the nose on a "USPS" themed colorway because they aren't worth any extra and are no different than the normal OCLV 5200's. I have actually owned a Trek frame that was almost identical but looks better IMO, it has the same blue frame but with red and white highlights that looks cleaner. This would be the 1999 Trek 5200 OCLV, if you google that you'll see.

Hi Timothy! 520 usd for a USPS Trek 5200 is a pretty great deal, there are people that collect them! Lance did the name a little bad but they are still very cool frames!

@@D2WrenchWorksDIY Alas the Trek is now sold. There is a TVT 92 for the same money but it is very old.

@@TimothyTakemoto keep your eyes open and the deals will come!

Thanks Warren! If you haven't already please take a moment to subscribe to my channel, I really appreciate the support! Regarding the intro, I was laughing the entire time myself! Hahaha! I put the whole unedited bit at the end too, as a fun little behind the scenes. Regarding your tire question: This is going to be trivial to research because every tire manufacturer that sells say a 700 x 25c are all different widths when you measure them. Great question though, it is the MOST asked too and I wish I had more variety in tire sizes available to test for myself....unfortunately its whatever I can get my hands on at the moment. I know it'll fit those chunky Gatorskins in 700 x 25c and I have had a 28c on the front myself. I have never tried a 28c on the rear but if you had amazon prime (free returns) I would give them a shot and see!

@@D2WrenchWorksDIY thanks for replying. Already a subscriber, love the content. Was thinking of getting myself one of these frames but I like to run 28c so was curious. But liked you've said prices are up which is a pain.

No worries man, I’m always happy to reply! I know of a 60cm 2004 Trek 5200 that could be had for cheap if you’re looking haha. I still wouldn’t write off a 28c to fit, I’m sure you could make it work with some trial and error. Don’t forget the newer rims out now are much wider and won’t hit the rear brake bridge, which is the big clearance issue. Sorry about the subscriber mixup and thanks for the kind words on the content! I thought your avatar looked familiar but can’t actually see who’s subscribing unless they select to publicize it in their profile. I even checked my comments to make sure I wasn’t going crazy haha!

Hi Boba! Can you tell me what timestamp in the video you are referencing? Are you asking about the weight?

Hi thanks for the question and please take a moment to subscribe! I haven't had to do this in almost 10 years but I have done this on a OCLV before, I cant remember where I found it but an aluminum brake cable stop is what it's called. I drilled out the old rivets and cleaned it up, added a new one with some rivets and it was good to go.

Thank you, that's great. I subbed there now - keep up the great work. Love the vids!@@D2WrenchWorksDIY

It's a commemorative edition Trek 5500 - I want to get this right!@@D2WrenchWorksDIY

Thanks I appreciate the support! I LOVE these frames haha if you checkout my videos you will see at least 4 videos on carbon OCLV bike builds I did! I do remember the janky rivet gun I have would get it about 80% in because the shape of the actual stop has to be in the way by design. Just use a punch or a socket the diameter of the rivet head to get it flush against the brake stop and give it a couple more presses on the rivet gun to get it nice and tight.

Hi Jo thanks for the comment and please take a moment to subscribe to my channel, if you haven’t already! I’ve had a few of those Trek 2300 pros actually! I love them, they are super underrated framesets, just make sure where the carbon tubes join at the lugs there is no clear coat or other damage to the area. If you found a 9 speed group set you can do 11-30T cassette with a triple crankset and your lowest gear would 1:1, as the crank would have a 30T smallest chainring. That’s how I built one of my favorites, I’m a comfort guy myself! If you’re lucky enough to find a cheap bike with good parts you can always harvest the newer parts and post the frame/leftover on eBay!

Hi Mario, thanks for the comment AND DON'T CLAMP THAT FRAME lol (seriously though)! Please take a moment to subscribe to my channel if you haven't already, I appreciate the suppport! I am very well versed in tracking down those little guys actually lol! They are called a "Derailluer braze-on tab/mount" and they are getting VERY hard to find now, you can see what it looks like here (though they are out of stock) soshanger.com/253438-front-derailleur-hanger-TREK-OCLV-Compact If I were you I would call Trek AND Bontrager, this is the part number: #253438. I have heard people get parts from both and hopefully someone can help you find this part. Most any local bike shop is bound to have one inside their parts bin as well, and lastly a place like bikeforums.net will have a member that will sell you one from their collection. They used this part on older Trek mountain bikes, Trek 1200/Trek 1000 road bike frame as well as the OCLV carbon frames too so save a picture of that part and keep looking! I have even found one mounted on a front derailluer on ebay lol! You can try finding someone that is great at 3D printing strong parts or even a machinist as well, though you'd likely have to borrow someone else's part via the forum I mentioned or something.

@@D2WrenchWorksDIY Thanks for the tips, and I look forward to seeing your future builds.

No problem, happy to help and enjoy it once you are all done! They are really awesome frames!

Hey Pablo, thanks for subscribing and good question! I have only ever replaced the decals on a frame once, for a newer Orbea I repainted, but I found Velocals.com and they have some excellent looking decals for these OCLV Treks.

@@D2WrenchWorksDIY ….I will check them out, thank you!…..I was also thinking about putting newer style decals but it would require sanding the clear coat and not sure if I want to do that.

Man all you need is a cheap palm sander, I have a video on replacing the velcro bottom on mine and I got that for $5 clearance at Lowe's! Buy the sanding discs off amazon in like 600 and 400 grit. If you have this frame my favorite thing to do is sand it down to the bare carbon and reclear it with an automotive grade 2k clear coat that has built in hardener! Perfect if you are already buying new decals too, but I would keep the old style! One can is more than enough for a bike, do two coats and then wetsand with a sheet of 2k grit and do a third coat with the rest of it, it's around $25: amzn.to/3Qt4ywj

Hi Luis! I haven't forgot about you and I appreciate you giving me shit for not uploading! Video coming within a week!This is actually the stock Icon carbon fork they included in later models, main difference being the fork and headset are now threadless. The steerer is a higher quality aluminum and it being threadless means it saves even more weight using a way better threadless headset!

Hi Greg thanks for the question! Please take a moment to subscribe to my channel, I appreciate the support! This 5500 will easily fit any brand 25c tire, 28c is where you’re going to run into clearance issues.

Can't lie my favorite thing about the OCLV frame is the comfortable geometry! Respect to the homies flipping the stem and pressing it into the headset without spacers but I'm too old and out of shape for that now 🤣