My 'new' 1985 Trek Elance 310 build

[Eric Fixler]

Hello 650b'ers. I've been lurking on this list for a month or two -- I've just finished a 27"->650b conversion (guided by Bikeman and a few other sources), and I thought I'd share a bit about it with you all.

I bought the bike from a retiree via Craigslist. It hadn't been used in the better part of a decade, and the components had some corrosion and wear, but the frame itself was in great shape -- it's pretty and lugged, and all the Trek and Ishawata decals were/are in VG condition.

I decided to strip the bike and rebuild it with a modern-ish 10 speed, low-BS build. Here are the results, notes below:

Ride impressions:

-----------------------

I done one ride of substance so far, 55 miles. For the first few miles, I was thinking "this bike is so slow!" and wondering if I had wasted my time and money.

I'm guessing that the moving parts needed to loosen up a bit and that I perhaps also needed to get used to a slightly softer ride propelled by fatter tires than I usually ride.

Eventually, things clicked. The bike is confident and comfortable on dirt and gravel, and the handling is sweet, precise, and responsive. Maybe a touch slow in the flats on pavement, but Strava indicates that the difference is very small.

The E310-650 rocks going uphill; it's palpably lighter than my everyday ride (Genesis Croix de Fer) but I hadn't really thought about this beforehand and it was a pleasant surprise.

By the end of my shakeout ride, I rode a lot of gravel and had a ton of fun. Much respect to the designers, engineers and builders at Trek and Ishawata that made this frame. It's sweet.

I am stoked to ride this bike at D2R2. I expect to ride it a lot moving forward.

The Build

-------------

The only parts that I kept were the handlebars, stem, and seatpost. The rest is new, and probably familiar to most of the readers on this list.

- Brakes: Tektro R559 + TPR RRL - The 559's have about 1mm to spare on the downward drop. They are pretty and they work. The RRPs feel really nice, but I wish they had a reach adjustment.

- Wheels/Tires: HED Belgium C2+ 28s, DT Swiss 350 hubs, DT Swiss Competition Spokes. Build by the excellent mechanic at my LBS. Love the wheels so far. Running GravelKing 38's. The size seems right.

- Drivetrain: Shimano mix-and-match. 105 5701 RD, HG500 11/32 cassette, Tiagra 4700 50/34 crankset, Ultegra R8000 FD, Dura Ace 7900 downtube shifters.

Most of the drivetrain here is just chosen for what's available and reasonably priced with 10 speed/11-32/50/34/DT shifting as the goal. The only really new/current part is the FD -- I went with that because the new Ultegra/105 FDs are low-profile, so they won't interfere with fenders if I choose to install some in the future. Older FDs aren't really any cheaper. The current 105 and Ultegra FDs appear identical, and I went with the Ultegra solely because one of the places I normally shop had the 28.6 clamp-on in stock.

- Headset: FSA Duron. This was almost too tall for the fork, even without any spacers.

Thanks for reading! If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to try and answer them.

Eric

Hudson Valley, NY

[David Schensted]

Sweet bike and sensible selection of components. I’m planning to do something similar with my ‘83 Trek 600 someday.

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[Eric Fixler]

Nice. The 600 looks pretty awesome, and that vintage Trek logo is the best.

- E

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[Louis]

Good job. Those old Treks really take a 650B conversion well. As mentioned by another poster, your component selection for this build really hit the spot. It sounds to me like it took a few miles for you to adjust to the "new feel" of that bike. ;)

I converted a Trek 400 in a similar fashion. I started with Baby Shoe Pass tires which were fantastic but left no room for fenders; so I went with Grand Bois Cypress EL 32mm and VO fenders. This bike has now become my main rider.

Louis Pastor

Norton Ohio

[Bruce Herbitter]

The '85s were all nice bikes. I have a 660 that now sports 650B wheels. I kept the original FD, but put an Ultegra rear on. Kept the seatpost, stem, bars. Have the original cranks but that 52/42 double is too tough up hills for me so I swapped in a 50/34 compact. Moved the shifters from DT to bar end. I put some fun decals on it and it's my Sunday relaxer noodling around bike. I've done a century on it, but it's not my favorite for comfort on rough roads or all day riding.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9535930@N07/29054367097/in/dateposted-public/

[Eric Fixler]

The 400 and 660 are both nice looking bikes too - I'd love to see a pic of the 400 conversion as well.

I also wanted to stick with compact 50/34. Bar end shifters seem neat -- I definitely find that drop bar shifting requires a lot more thought and planning than brifters, and you also just sometimes end up in a non-optimal gear, which is OK. 

I'm liking the Gravel King 38s but I am thinking about putting a Gravel King SK / 38 (the knobby one) on the back for better traction in the dirt.

I've ridden a couple of hundred miles on the bike over the past couple of weeks, I'm finding myself hitting a lot of Strava PRs on downhills, presumably because this bike is a little comfier than my other, It also helped me realized that the stem length on my other bike is too long.

I still need to resolve brake handle position on the original bars. I got them right for riding on the tops, but they're a little too high for braking in the drops.

- E

On Sun, Aug 12, 2018 at 5:32 AM Bruce Herbitter <bruce.h...@gmail.com> wrote:

The '85s were all nice bikes. I have a 660 that now sports 650B wheels. I kept the original FD, but put an Ultegra rear on. Kept the seatpost, stem, bars. Have the original cranks but that 52/42 double is too tough up hills for me so I swapped in a 50/34 compact. Moved the shifters from DT to bar end.  I put some fun decals on it and it's my Sunday relaxer noodling around bike.  I've done a century on it, but it's not my favorite for comfort on rough roads or all day riding.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9535930@N07/29054367097/in/dateposted-public/

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[Louis]

As requested: 

[Max]

Trek 400T 650b conversion: 

- Max "more upright these days" in A2

On Sunday, August 12, 2018 at 1:40:02 PM UTC-4, Eric Fixler wrote:

[Eric Fixler]

Nice! Thanks for sharing!

[Vincent Pham]

Nice! Inspiring me to do the same conversion with a slightly too big 86 Centurion Sport or Miyata 610 build. Very cool!

[Spar]

Eric, Can you let me know the seatpost diameter on this bike? I ride on a 1986 Elance 310, and the seat clamp has been mistreated. I think it "used to be" 26.8, but hard to tell now.

Thanks,

Steve

Bishop, CA