use a brown bar tape and it is fire, when si roasted the brown saddle in the bike vault I was laughing but when I see this video I feel bad for alex and understood his reaction, he's really passionate with the dream build. use a brown bartape and this will be instant classic
The Discovery network owns something like 20 channels. They still have a lot of highly educational programming, but for some stupid reason most American cable companies don't carry that kind of content. The only way I can watch it is on European channels using an IPTV service.
@@gcntechit's beautiful🙏I have 2 of the 1999 5500 oclv pro us postal treks and they are amazing, love them, best frame ever built in my opinion, ❤ from 🇨🇮
When you're done with this, please make a comparison video between this one and a modern top of the line bikes. Like one of those A-B tests where you use the same wattage and test your time. Bike looks great. Cheers.
I still ride a 2008 Madone which is still a period-appropriate build except I switched out my RXLs for Enve 4.5s. I still think the 7800 Dura Ace is the peak of groupset aesthetics and the performance is still superb
Built some bikes myself over the years. Two favorites are Trek 5200 and Trek 5500. Both are full carbon OCLV with old but excellent running gear. They're all I ride and love them.
I had a one piece bar and stem from Toseek. I sold the bike a few weeks ago but the bars were brilliant, they had been on for three years with no issue. They were a rip off of the Canyon ones in shape and were £65.00. I’d have them again.
Like the look of the bike. If you get some brown handlebar tape it will look absolutely sick. Brown goes well with blue. Will also stand out against the classic black. Well done!
Lightly warm up any stickers you’re going to remove with a hairdryer(not too hot). I sold a ton of those Treks back in the day and sometimes when you would peel off the warning stickers or chain stay guard it would peel off the clearcoat and water slide decal underneath. Cheers.
Bin those toseek handlebars mate. I've had 2 sets and both sets failed around the clamp area. Checkout trace velo and you'll see luke also had the same issue stay safe
Love this video from Alex, taking an older flagship model and giving it a new lease of life, on a tight budget. Would love to see how this 2004 racing model at the start of the Madone series, compares to its latest 2023 evolution. With a comparison of £ per watt gain of Alex £1000 build compared to the Madone SLR 9 at ~£13,000. However can you put a price on owning your dream bike 😉
I've got a couple of the 2004 Trek Madone 5.2s. Daily riders - one for indoor, one for out. Beautiful bikes that ride great. Your 5.9 looks amazing. Enjoy.
I really said “oh no” when I heard it was a Toseek drop bars. Those are not good at all. Ive heard and seen broken toseek bars back in my country. Be careful when using them!
Yep. Mine lasted about a week. Just stepping down a curb off the footpath onto the road at walking pace and CRUNCH! Luckily it didn't brake clean off but it was snapped almost all the way through. So lucky I didn't hit a pothole or something at speed.
I have a friend that change his aluminum bars and seatpost years ago without any problems at all. I know there's shitty products out there. But, don't get in the marketing trap of big brands.
A neighbor of mine left a bike exactly like this in my garage when he moved out. Unfortunately, the seat stay was cracked beyond repair. So, I stripped off all the parts, and am using the Ultegra groupset and wheels to build-up a 2004 Colnago C40 frameset I got off Ebay recently. My Dream Bike upgrade. I hope it turns out as nicely as yours has. 🙂
Watched this right after watching the Tech Show. Awesome to see how excited Alex is after seeing Si giving him such a hard time about it and not having it yet.😆
LOVE IT…although not my taste in bikes,love your passion and care taken over your dream build. Some Amazing S/H bikes out there,especially as so many folk feel the need to upgrade from their custom built rim brake bikes to the race bike being pushed by the bike industry. I hope you ride this great bike and enjoy. Plus,I have to say…whilst I understand why GCN has to promote the latest tech and trends,it is refreshing to come across content such as this. Would be great if each GCN presenter took on a similar project.
Love it but I suggest you match the bar tape with the saddle and the tan wall tires. That will give you 3 locations with the same color bringing the design and aesthetic together. Perhaps some nice Brooks leather tape. Beautiful build Alex. Cheers - M
Great bike. I like the brown saddle, but I would do matching brown bar tape. You have tubulars but the brown saddle, brown tape and the pirelli brown sidewalls would look sharp if you ever switched to clinchers.
That brown saddle is very nice but doesn’t fit this beautiful frame imoo. I like to keep the amount of different colours on my bike low. But that is all a matter of taste.
Very interesting build, and it features lots of personality. I guess I'm more worried about how the suede saddle is gonna to hold up long-term with moisture and my bum on it.
“RULE 8 // Saddles, bars, and tires shall be carefully matched. 3Valid options are: Match the saddle to the bars and the tires to black; or Match the bars to the color of the frame at the top of the head tube and the saddle to the color of the frame at the top of the seat tube and the tires to the color where they come closest to the frame; or Match the saddle and the bars to the frame decals; or Black, black, black”
@@gcntech It’s a slippery slope once you let that first rule slide. First it’s non-matched contact points then before you know it you’re stripping Discovery Channel frames.
Great bike, great build to ride, but too many logos makes it too busy. You obviously have to keep the frame logos, but if you can get 'em off easily I'd much prefer to see the rims just nice plain black. I also agree with those suggesting brown bar tape to match the seat. Also, nail polish patches paint well.
Bike looks stunning, can't wait for the ride video. It's a shame the Giant project is just consigned to the bike rack to be used as parts donor, last winter I built one almost exactly like it that I've been riding this summer.
I've got spare Bontrager QR "thing" from my old Trek (bontrager) rear wheel. Mine is 2012 version (135mm wide). So propably not same as was fitted in 2004. I hope, someone keep somewhere this piece, exactly as You need.
@Alex. In the video about building your workshop, I noticed your bike storage is something that would serve me well with my own garage conversion. Do you recall and if so would you share the maker/model of those wall-mounted bike racks, please? Thank you.
Alex, bike looks great! Saddle is a nice touch! Hope to hear your thoughts on the ride and performance. I have a 1999 5200 frame on its way and will outfit with full 7800. ❤
Great series Alex love it brilliant you showing what can be achieved with a lovely older bike brilliant just shows you don’t need the latest bikes.. 😊😃👍🚴🏻🥇🥇 Pete
Hi Alex, thanks for the video, I am really enjoying it. Please, let me know if the jockey wheels you purchased worked with the derailleur? I have the exact same parts to replace. If so, where did you get them and can you provide a part number? Happy days
Very cool thing! I see, you've stick not just with external cable routing but the one having shifter wires going out from a side. So easy to handle when need a new line. Yay! As for the saddle - alone is COOL AS f-word, but not necessarily fits your build. You have blue-white frame, red paint on rims. Added brown/beige saddle. Not much room left for handlebar tape color. Just don't go for violet one!!! DON"T!!! ;)
Great and entertaining video. Why brands are pushing so hard to force everyone to migrate to disc brakes. They can still make amazing and competitive rim brake bikes. I add that now they are heavier and ridiculously more expensive. To finish, I have a 2021 Trek Émonda and a Cannondale Caad 8. Guess which one is the best one that I like?
There's a reason I hadn't upgraded my Trek 5500 for 22 years -- it's a great bike and a great frame (precursor to the Madone). But since I grew up and raced in the 70's and 80's, mine is all Campy. The bike is still amazing..rider not so much.
Please test your forks regularly. This generation of bontrager forks had some nasty blind delamations. Paint was so tough carbon could be in pieces and you wouldn’t know. Had an amazing customer pass after a delaminaton accident.
Brown suede saddle: hot or not? 🔥👀 Let us know in the comments below! 👇
🔥
use a brown bar tape and it is fire, when si roasted the brown saddle in the bike vault I was laughing but when I see this video I feel bad for alex and understood his reaction, he's really passionate with the dream build. use a brown bartape and this will be instant classic
🤮😁
👌
Sorry Alex, I’m with Si on this one. Black or white would be nicer.
This bike reminds me of when the Discovery channel didn't totally suck and actually had educational content.
The Discovery network owns something like 20 channels. They still have a lot of highly educational programming, but for some stupid reason most American cable companies don't carry that kind of content. The only way I can watch it is on European channels using an IPTV service.
These bikes are so nice to work on. None of the modern hydro disc brake, cables inside the steerer and the handlebar nonsense
AWESOME VID! Can’t WAIT to see how the COMFORT and OVERALL ride quality is! Do update us.
14x cheaper than the 2023 Madone. And the 2004 bike has the flexibility of a separate stem & convenience of external cables.
2005😉 2004 = us postal.
It's a pretty sweet machine!
@@gcntechit's beautiful🙏I have 2 of the 1999 5500 oclv pro us postal treks and they are amazing, love them, best frame ever built in my opinion, ❤ from 🇨🇮
a good steering wheel from this company tossek, when I was collecting a gravel pit, I put it there. very durable
Oh, LOVE the brown/tan suede saddle with this bike. STUNNING!
When you're done with this, please make a comparison video between this one and a modern top of the line bikes. Like one of those A-B tests where you use the same wattage and test your time. Bike looks great. Cheers.
$1500 is definitely not bad to build your personal dream bike. Beautiful bike. Suede sadle? It will be interesting to see how well that perfoms/lasts.
Rim brakes-smart choice! 👍🔥🚴🏻♂️🔥
I still ride a 2008 Madone which is still a period-appropriate build except I switched out my RXLs for Enve 4.5s. I still think the 7800 Dura Ace is the peak of groupset aesthetics and the performance is still superb
Built some bikes myself over the years. Two favorites are Trek 5200 and Trek 5500. Both are full carbon OCLV with old but excellent running gear. They're all I ride and love them.
They're brilliant bikes! We made a film about Trek on GCN+ that you may find interesting! 👉 gcn.eu/Trek
I had a one piece bar and stem from Toseek. I sold the bike a few weeks ago but the bars were brilliant, they had been on for three years with no issue. They were a rip off of the Canyon ones in shape and were £65.00. I’d have them again.
Like the look of the bike. If you get some brown handlebar tape it will look absolutely sick. Brown goes well with blue. Will also stand out against the classic black. Well done!
Not a bad shout!
And a brown AG2R bib short 😂
@@croninnicholas9063Those are iconic now!
Lightly warm up any stickers you’re going to remove with a hairdryer(not too hot). I sold a ton of those Treks back in the day and sometimes when you would peel off the warning stickers or chain stay guard it would peel off the clearcoat and water slide decal underneath. Cheers.
Love it. Have one very similar from 2006. I love the affordable(ish) approach. Evolve away Alex. I'll be tuning in.
I actually enjoy these kind of builds way more than the fake budget ones. Keep it up guys!
Bin those toseek handlebars mate. I've had 2 sets and both sets failed around the clamp area. Checkout trace velo and you'll see luke also had the same issue stay safe
Being a Treky I would have to whole hartley agree. Nice to have your dream bike and ride it to.
Keepemcoming
Love this video from Alex, taking an older flagship model and giving it a new lease of life, on a tight budget. Would love to see how this 2004 racing model at the start of the Madone series, compares to its latest 2023 evolution. With a comparison of £ per watt gain of Alex £1000 build compared to the Madone SLR 9 at ~£13,000. However can you put a price on owning your dream bike 😉
Si's reaction to the brown saddle was just savage.
And right.
I've got a couple of the 2004 Trek Madone 5.2s. Daily riders - one for indoor, one for out. Beautiful bikes that ride great. Your 5.9 looks amazing. Enjoy.
Now THATS a bike more of these kinds of bikes
I really said “oh no” when I heard it was a Toseek drop bars. Those are not good at all. Ive heard and seen broken toseek bars back in my country. Be careful when using them!
Yep. Mine lasted about a week. Just stepping down a curb off the footpath onto the road at walking pace and CRUNCH! Luckily it didn't brake clean off but it was snapped almost all the way through. So lucky I didn't hit a pothole or something at speed.
I have a friend that change his aluminum bars and seatpost years ago without any problems at all. I know there's shitty products out there. But, don't get in the marketing trap of big brands.
Alex - Wonderful video - well done. I do actually have some Bontrager quick releases that I would be delighted to donate.
Very nice video gives myself and possibly many others ideas for enjoying current bike with maintenance and upgrades
Cracking job Alex. Fantastic understated job- that saddle is the cherry on top 👍
Very nice bike, Alex!! I hope you have many miles/kilometers of enjoyable and memorable rides with it, and maybe even share some with us.
I'm sure he will!
Congrats Alex, looks unreal! Good to see classic bikes being restored and respected like classic cars. True bike enthusiast 👊🏻
A neighbor of mine left a bike exactly like this in my garage when he moved out. Unfortunately, the seat stay was cracked beyond repair. So, I stripped off all the parts, and am using the Ultegra groupset and wheels to build-up a 2004 Colnago C40 frameset I got off Ebay recently. My Dream Bike upgrade. I hope it turns out as nicely as yours has. 🙂
That bike needs a front basket to go with the brown saddle then it would be chef’s kiss worthy.
I don't see that happening anytime soon 😂
Watched this right after watching the Tech Show. Awesome to see how excited Alex is after seeing Si giving him such a hard time about it and not having it yet.😆
Dude, I have that same handlebar. It works great and looks great.
LOVE IT…although not my taste in bikes,love your passion and care taken over your dream build. Some Amazing S/H bikes out there,especially as so many folk feel the need to upgrade from their custom built rim brake bikes to the race bike being pushed by the bike industry. I hope you ride this great bike and enjoy. Plus,I have to say…whilst I understand why GCN has to promote the latest tech and trends,it is refreshing to come across content such as this. Would be great if each GCN presenter took on a similar project.
Nothing is more fun and exciting than barreling down steep streets in the rain with rim brakes.
Nicely done Alex, Beautiful Build.
this is my dream..one day I will build my own bike. Thanks for the inspiration Alex
Love it but I suggest you match the bar tape with the saddle and the tan wall tires. That will give you 3 locations with the same color bringing the design and aesthetic together. Perhaps some nice Brooks leather tape. Beautiful build Alex. Cheers - M
I love the rebuilding of old bikes.
ive got a madone in the shed, thanks for the inspiration for making it great again!
Love how this turned out,Alex!
Blue stickers on the wheels would have improved drastically the look of the whole bike I think!
I wholeheartedly agree with you! Blue wheel stickers for the win!
I disagree … the red sticker contrast is 🔥 … ☮️
I have some parts of toseek, good cost x benefits. great trek bike 👍👏
I would get blue decals instead of red and a black seat The bike could look so much better. As the Frame is so nice
More like this please! Great vid Geoff.
Where can I find the 'Alex workshop" label that you have back there ? 5:50
Don’t care what Si thinks, I love it Alex.👏👏👏
Those old cassettes were 🔥 So small and nice small jumps between gears.
as long as you dont have to go up hill for longer than a few minutes
Great bike. I like the brown saddle, but I would do matching brown bar tape. You have tubulars but the brown saddle, brown tape and the pirelli brown sidewalls would look sharp if you ever switched to clinchers.
That brown saddle is very nice but doesn’t fit this beautiful frame imoo. I like to keep the amount of different colours on my bike low. But that is all a matter of taste.
Each to their own!
Very nice indeed. Lots of old bikes out there need some love.
Replace that saddle with the black version and you get Super Nice! I love the chrome DA components. Wish I could get that on new 12sp 105 mech.
Very beautiful bike. Reminds me of my dream bike which is the USPS Trek OCLV'S. I love the classic look to them.
Very interesting build, and it features lots of personality. I guess I'm more worried about how the suede saddle is gonna to hold up long-term with moisture and my bum on it.
Beautiful, I think the red contrasts really well with the blue
It's looking pretty awesome isn't it!
“RULE 8 // Saddles, bars, and tires shall be carefully matched. 3Valid options are:
Match the saddle to the bars and the tires to black; or
Match the bars to the color of the frame at the top of the head tube and the saddle to the color of the frame at the top of the seat tube and the tires to the color where they come closest to the frame; or
Match the saddle and the bars to the frame decals; or
Black, black, black”
Rools is rools!
This is the way.
Or you could just ditch the rules and do your own thing 😉
@@gcntech It’s a slippery slope once you let that first rule slide. First it’s non-matched contact points then before you know it you’re stripping Discovery Channel frames.
Great bike, great build to ride, but too many logos makes it too busy. You obviously have to keep the frame logos, but if you can get 'em off easily I'd much prefer to see the rims just nice plain black. I also agree with those suggesting brown bar tape to match the seat.
Also, nail polish patches paint well.
dont slam the stem but take some spacers of the steerertunbe and then cut it, and find a stem with a n angle that makes it horizontal 🙂
Supernice... You should send into the Bike Vault. :)
Bartape should have been a similar brown suede with the punched out holes, to match the saddle. Apart from that, lovely build.
Bike looks stunning, can't wait for the ride video. It's a shame the Giant project is just consigned to the bike rack to be used as parts donor, last winter I built one almost exactly like it that I've been riding this summer.
I've got spare Bontrager QR "thing" from my old Trek (bontrager) rear wheel.
Mine is 2012 version (135mm wide). So propably not same as was fitted in 2004.
I hope, someone keep somewhere this piece, exactly as You need.
@Alex. In the video about building your workshop, I noticed your bike storage is something that would serve me well with my own garage conversion. Do you recall and if so would you share the maker/model of those wall-mounted bike racks, please? Thank you.
I love the bike, I just found my dream bike. The 2009 Madone SSLX, blue with flames.
Lovely bike. I have a red/grey version. 9.7kg, but I ride with old school flates rat traps.
Alex is the GCN sensei of bike projects. ❤
Even if he is still traumatised by Crankgate. 😅
and PaintstripGate
What a weapon! Looks and sounds like a beast
Alex, bike looks great! Saddle is a nice touch! Hope to hear your thoughts on the ride and performance. I have a 1999 5200 frame on its way and will outfit with full 7800. ❤
Awesome! Make sure to submit a picture of it to the GCN app so our community can see it!
I've got a pair of bontrager skewers that look like the ones from that era if you're still after some - bit scratched up though!
It looks great. Only thing I would change is the chainring/cranks to black since it has black Stem/bar/seatpost.
Great series Alex love it brilliant you showing what can be achieved with a lovely older bike brilliant just shows you don’t need the latest bikes.. 😊😃👍🚴🏻🥇🥇 Pete
Hi Alex, thanks for the video, I am really enjoying it. Please, let me know if the jockey wheels you purchased worked with the derailleur? I have the exact same parts to replace. If so, where did you get them and can you provide a part number? Happy days
Love the saddle!!!
Your Dolan track bike is SICK!!
Very cool thing! I see, you've stick not just with external cable routing but the one having shifter wires going out from a side. So easy to handle when need a new line. Yay!
As for the saddle - alone is COOL AS f-word, but not necessarily fits your build. You have blue-white frame, red paint on rims. Added brown/beige saddle. Not much room left for handlebar tape color. Just don't go for violet one!!! DON"T!!! ;)
That frame is in butter shape. Great find.
Nice build! Forgot to add the cost of the saddle! Great!!!
What a great video and a great bike
Glad you enjoyed it! For a further look at some Trek heritage, we made a film about the brand on GCN+ that you may like! 👉 gcn.eu/Trek
That bike is sick. Love it.
I have the same bike and I love it!!Where can I find the decals? Mine could use a refresh
What about matching the bar tape to the saddle? They could be nice 😊
Maybe some day 😉
Love the bike rebuilds ❤
Great and entertaining video. Why brands are pushing so hard to force everyone to migrate to disc brakes. They can still make amazing and competitive rim brake bikes. I add that now they are heavier and ridiculously more expensive. To finish, I have a 2021 Trek Émonda and a Cannondale Caad 8. Guess which one is the best one that I like?
Love those discovery channel frames! Grest choice Alex 😊
I got the original bontrager skewers from the racelite wheels. :)
Your homage to Lance is turning out great!
Fantastic bike and groupo! no the saddle. Its like a roof rack on an e-type?
Really enjoyed this Felix!!!
Nice job on that one Brian.
When did the dura ace triple chain ring come out and then get superseeded? As I have seen a madone 5.9 with a 3x10 speed for sale.
How about a matching suede bar tape? That would be 👌🏽👌🏽
There's a reason I hadn't upgraded my Trek 5500 for 22 years -- it's a great bike and a great frame (precursor to the Madone). But since I grew up and raced in the 70's and 80's, mine is all Campy. The bike is still amazing..rider not so much.
Love that retro rear hub sound❤
Please test your forks regularly. This generation of bontrager forks had some nasty blind delamations. Paint was so tough carbon could be in pieces and you wouldn’t know. Had an amazing customer pass after a delaminaton accident.
Supernice to build the bike you loved years ago. Decent money and I’m sure it will perform just fine.
The seat angle looks seriously slack though
Sweet bike! 🔥🤘🏻
Love the geometry. Wanna see a vid on evolving geometry over time. The seat tube and head angle look slack as hell!🔥
Saddlegate....
274 Pounds of suede Saddlegate
Don't yum someone's yuck
Seriously! Didn't he learn??
What Bontrager wheels are
Those? Would
Love a pair for my 2006 5.2 madone
Lovely build ❤