Trek Rod Flyer - New Stuff Added 3/10/14

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the_undecider

the_undecider

Joined
Sep 9, 2012
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Between a Rock and a Weird Place, TX
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This may be the dumbest build name I ever thunk up. Let me explain. This is a 2011 Trek Cruiser Classic Deluxe. Trek hails from Wisconsin, known for its dairy products. This is an Asian made bike, thus not real Wisconsin "cheese," but rather a facsimile like the yellow stuff in a spray can. It has fat tires that will be even wider after I am done. So, we have DeLuxe Ratty Fatty E-Z Chee-Z.

I bought this because I like the frame design and it actually fits a tall person. It comes with Bontrager Solana 26 x 2.35 tires that will fill out so nicely on a set of wide rims. The stock rims are really narrow and these tires already measure out at 2.4 inches wide. Mounted on a Felt 50mm rim, they only increased .2 inches, but they look so much better.

I stripped off the fenders and swapped bars and saddle, so will get pics of that later. Here is what I am starting with:

 
I started swapping parts the other night, but I decided to wait for daylight yesterday for photos. First thing was I swapped in my Brooks B68 and also have this nice Origin8 alloy post.


I flipped some low rise bars I wasn't digging on another bike and found the position to be pretty comfy on this bike:


Here's the bike with all the fenders and chainguard stripped:


This crank is sort of ugly without the chainguard. I am thinking I may want some longer cranks than these 165mm (6.5 inches).


I decided the flip the bars upright and slam the stem all the way down. It feels good, sorta like how it looks better. Also threw the chainguard back on. If I get new cranks, I have to decide on keeping the same 38/18 gear ratio which will allow me to keep the guard if I want. I am thinking about doing a 46/22 ratio which is nearly the same, but I like how bigger chain rings look. Chainguard wouldn't fit, though.


Here are these narrow rims. They look funny with the 2.35 tires. They also have gold colored spokes, pretty subtle, though. I have a set of Felt cruiser wheels on order. Red rims ought to POP on this bike.
 
the_undecider said:
If I get new cranks, I have to decide on keeping the same 38/18 gear ratio which will allow me to keep the guard if I want. I am thinking about doing a 46/22 ratio which is nearly the same, but I like how bigger chain rings look. Chainguard wouldn't fit, though.
Click to expand...
Schwinn exerciser 65 tooth front with a 30 tooth rear would be the same ratio too... ;) You would have to make up the 30 tooth rear though.

Luke.
 
LukeTheJoker said:
Schwinn exerciser 65 tooth front with a 30 tooth rear would be the same ratio too... ;) You would have to make up the 30 tooth rear though.

Luke.
Click to expand...

That would look pretty crazy! The more I looked at the bike, the more I liked it with the chainguard. As such, I had to stick with the same front chainring size of 38T.

I ordered up a set of unbranded 175mm cranks and a 38T chainring:


Now, I will have appropriately sized cranks for the tall rider for whom this bike was designed. Getting the right chain line was a worry and I had to flip the bottom bracket spindle around, but it worked. I also had to put a spacer in between the front chainguard bracket and frame mount. The clearance for the crank arm is tight, but that makes it look nice and precise. If the weather cooperates this afternoon, I'll get some pics.

Wheels will be here tomorrow. Can't wait!
 
the_undecider said:
This may be the dumbest build name I ever thunk up. Let me explain. This is a 2011 Trek Cruiser Classic Deluxe. Trek hails from Wisconsin, known for its dairy products. This is an Asian made bike, thus not real Wisconsin "cheese," but rather a facsimile like the yellow stuff in a spray can. It has fat tires that will be even wider after I am done. So, we have DeLuxe Ratty Fatty E-Z Chee-Z.

I bought this because I like the frame design and it actually fits a tall person. It comes with Bontrager Solana 26 x 2.35 tires that will fill out so nicely on a set of wide rims. The stock rims are really narrow and these tires already measure out at 2.4 inches wide. Mounted on a Felt 50mm rim, they only increased .2 inches, but they look so much better.

I stripped off the fenders and swapped bars and saddle, so will get pics of that later. Here is what I am starting with:

Click to expand...
lol i kinda like the name ratty fatty cheezy eazy lol looks like a good canvas to build on though and trek are usually good bikes
 
Hard to beat those Felt wheel/tires on black!!!! Totally changes the vibe of the bike!
 
kingfish254 said:
Hard to beat those Felt wheel/tires on black!!!! Totally changes the vibe of the bike!
Click to expand...

It does. I had a bit of "cognitive dissonance" after I ordered the red wheels. I almost bought the black rims knowing they would be a safe bet as far as looking good. The black wheels would look good because they aren't much different than what came on the bike. That would make spending all that money kinda pointless.

A real testament to how cool these look is my wife even said so without me fishing for a compliment. She walked into the living room and when she saw the bike, she stopped and said "Wow! That looks cool!" I consider that the highest compliment coming from the one who doesn't like bikes living inside the house.
 
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Are those 26 or 24 rims?
 
the_undecider said:
The more I look at this thing, the more I realize how the large frame makes the wheels and tires look like 24s, almost similar in proportion to Thick Bricks.




Click to expand...
Totally agree, that must be a big bike!

Luke.
 
LukeTheJoker said:
Totally agree, that must be a big bike!

Luke.
Click to expand...

Trek calls it a 21 inch frame (53 cm). Their standard size is 18 inches (46 cm). With the forward placement of the bottom bracket, the distance from the center of the crank to the top of the seat tube is 23 inches (58 cm).

There aren't a lot of large frame cruisers out there. Trek has made their classic cruiser frame in this size since the late 90's. Jamis makes the Boss Cruiser in larger sizes, but that is a diamond frame. I really like the lines of this frame. The rear triangle is the same size as a standard size cruiser, but it looks so much smaller with that tall seat tube. I also love bikes with long head tubes.
 
Box o' goodies showed up in the mail yesterday:


I found that MKS makes several pedals with a satin champagne color cage which is a perfect match for the factory pin stripes. Picked up these simple platform pedals:


Also found this interesting adjustable kickstand by Pletscher. It is much more modern and stylized than a plain old Greenfield:


I think I was most excited about my water bottle cage. It is made by Portland Design Works and is appropriately called the Bird Cage:


Also, last week, I got my Portland Design Works leather grips:


I swapped the 18 tooth cog for a 16 so my 38/16 gear ratio feels much better for faster cruising. With my birdie cage and faster top end, this is now the "Trek Rod Flyer." Just need a Soma Bullet tail light and she's golden.
 
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