- Following on from our cheap bike versus super bike videos
on GCN I thought to myself, can I turn a cheap bike
into a super bike but within a budget?
Now what am I gonna do with this?
Well obviously I'm gonna upgrade the components on it
as well as maybe making it look a little bit cooler too.
Now I have set myself a budget for this of 900 pounds
which is about $1,100 roughly, because quite frankly
I don't wanna spend 1,000 pounds.
And in true GCN does science, I will in fact pit this bike
up against the super bike both pre
and after I've pimped it up a bit.
Of course we can't just build up that bike on a budget
and compare it to a super bike.
Instead we need to actually scientifically record
the results in order to see the differences.
More on that later though.
I'm genuinely really nervous about standing on pedals.
I might have to go for a bit of a weave across the road.
(air rushing)
(metal ringing)
So for this project I've decided to head over to eBay
to try and find this cheap bike and well, I've spent
many a late night over the years scouring eBay
for a bargain here and there so I'm pretty experienced
when it comes to knowing what to look for.
Now one tip I can really give you
is to search out the lazily listed items.
So by this I mean things which include spelling mistakes.
One of my favorite websites for this is called
FatFingers.com where you can type in the word
that you're looking for and it gives you variations
around that spelling so hopefully
you can find yourself a bargain.
Then another great thing I do is to save searches
so I get an alert whenever a matching item
of my saved search is listed.
Finally sorted or searching within a set distance
is also a good feature, 'cause many people
would prefer to not ship a bike.
So you could strike gold with a bike local to you.
Or in the case of a friend, he even bought a bike
in the north of Scotland and in a relay race sort of method
thanks to his circle of friends,
it was transported from various weigh points to him
in the southwest of England.
In my case, I'm pretty lucky actually with what I've found.
I've found myself this Trek road bike
Lance Armstrong replica for around about 18 or 19 years ago.
Complete with a Shimano 105 groupset.
It has had some new wheels added at some point though.
Now I wanted to go for an aluminum bike
because with this budget that I've set myself,
buying carbon could be quite risky
because any damage is not always visible
where as with aluminum bikes, you're a lot more likely
to be able to spot any problems on there.
Plus let's face it, super bikes can be built from aluminum
too because Pete Sagan road one earlier on
this year at the Tour Down Under.
It's not all about carbon remember.
What is ultra important too is to have
good communication with the seller.
So in the case of this one here,
well I've asked loads and loads of questions
as well as the fact that the seller's got
100% positive feedback, that fills me
with quite a bit of confidence.
Admittedly this whole process can be quite daunting
and possibly not for the untrained because buying a bike
of this age does come with its risks.
The possible seized bottom bracket
or seat post for instance, yeah that can take a bit of time
to actually free up from a frame.
But well, I think I'm up for to the job with this
so let's go and get it.
(calm music)
Alright I've made it, about an hour away from the office
so it's been a nice little drive.
I'm a little bit nervous, a few butterflies in my stomach
because it's new bike day after all
and I'm not wholly sure exactly what I'm gonna be getting.
Yes I know that I've been talking with the seller
as well as seeing pictures and asking for more pictures
and getting excited, but this is gonna be the basis
for the cheap bike being turned into a super bike.
Let's go and get it.
(upbeat music)
Johnny.
- Hello there. - Hi, John.
- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you,
come on in. - Right let's
see what I've bought.
(laughing)
(upbeat music)
Right Johnny here it is, the beauty,
the beast that I've bought from you
and well I've had a look around it
and it's in pretty good neck to be fair, isn't it?
I'm always a little bit, whenever I buy anything
on eBay I'm always a little bit unsure,
but well you seem like a decent guy anyway.
(laughing)
- No I stitched you up, I stitched you up.
No it's a really good bike,
it's served me well to be honest.
So I updated the wheels and that was a few years back.
I put a new chain on it but I didn't change the cassette
so probably not a done thing.
- [John] Yeah I'll have to have a look at that.
Also you've got a split cable down there
but I'm not gonna tear your arm off about that.
You sad to see it go?
- I am, I'm really sad to see it go.
I'll probably want it back actually.
- Yeah when you - Once you've fixed it up.
- see what I do to it I think, well I hope anyway
you're gonna be biting my arm off.
Maybe we'll put it up for auction then, you can bid on it.
- [Johnny] Yeah buy it back.
- Right well I won't take any more of your time.
But do keep an eye out on the channel
because I reckon you're gonna see this
turned in to a super bike and well, you're gonna be
super jealous at the end but thank you so much
for taking some time off of work
- Yeah absolutely. - to let me
come up here and visit you.
Alright a big thanks to Johnny for making us
feel so welcome up here.
Let's look at the bike then.
Well first up a Trek aluminum frame we've fought with.
What I really like about it is the fact that it's got
a horizontal top tube on there.
It's a real classic looking bike,
controversial though possibly that bit.
Full Shimano 105 groupset.
Again this groupset is from around about the year 2000
up until 2003 from memory, it's quite a long time ago now.
Now the only parts of the bike which are non-standard
I think are probably the saddle, that's likely
to have been an upgrade and also the wheels.
These are some newer Shimano wheels on there
and also the brake calipers, they're Shimano Tiagra.
Now the bike itself, it will need probably about
five minutes actually in the work stand just to make sure
the gears and brakes are working absolutely fine
before we do the first part of the comparison test.
But all in all, I think I've got myself
a really nice bike here.
Headset, that's in good condition,
that's a diacompe AheadSet,
it's a beautiful looking bit of kit still.
Bottom bracket, really small amount of play.
Again in the work stand I might be able
to sort that out, who knows.
Interestingly, a 53/39 chain set on there,
because well compact chain sets
were just merely a pipe dream.
But all in all, I'm impressed with it.
So from the first five minutes,
I can just tell already this is an absolutely great bike
and it's more than up to the job.
But we're not gonna leave it there are we.
Oh no, no, no.
All the parts on it are actually gonna be replaced
but before I do that, well I'm gonna have to
take this back to the gang to show them in the office
because one of them is gonna have to ride it
so we can get a marker time so that when we compare
it to it in a few weeks time,
we can see exactly the progress.
I wonder what they'll think of it
when I take this in to the office.
Something though they will be happy about
is the fact that the bike computer, Johnny told me
it didn't work, I moved the sensor and now it does.
Three, oh 9.3 miles an hour, 13 degrees Celsius.
(calm music)
Now I hope you've just said goodbye to that bike
because that is the last time
you're ever gonna see it looking like that.
There's a little hint for you in what's coming up next week.
So stay tuned for that makeover and as ever,
remember to like and share this video with your friends.
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