- The moment you've all been waiting for.
The GCN Cheap Bike, which I've gradually been transforming
into something which hopefully is going to resemble
a Super Bike in terms of performance.
But hey, I've got Chris Opie to do that tough work for me.
But many of you will remember
how this bike started its life.
It began as a Trek road bike
that I bought off of eBay for 260 pounds,
that was simply advertised as a Lance Armstrong replica.
Let's have a close look at what I've done to it.
(snappy upbeat music)
Let's start with the frame then, shall we?
Well it's an aluminium frame and it's size 57 centimeters.
The original paintwork and loads of you will remember,
it was that United States Postal Service,
just like what Lance rode back in the early 2000s.
Well that just had to go didn't it?
We wanted to change it.
So I asked some of my fellow presenters,
how shall I paint it?
And they told me.
So I decided to do that, and well,
I was waiting for that phone call from Oliver.
- What is the last paint job that the viewers, or anyone,
is gonna expect you to put on a bike?
Whatever that is, do that.
- So that's how it ended up in this,
well, rather resplendent looking Celestial colorway.
So I decided to do that,
and thanks to the folks at spray.bike
who sent me some cans of spray paint.
And well the results,
I have to admit I'm pretty pleased with it to be honest.
If I had more time
I definitely would have sanded it down more and more,
just to get it ultra smooth.
But well, for the money, seven pounds 99 per can,
it's certainly not bad.
Then came the decals,
as well as a final coat of lacquer on there,
and to be honest, I'm impressed.
Let's talk about the cockpit then.
Well, I opted for the Deda Zero Seatpost,
stem, and handlebars, purely 'cause I thought the black
would really look great against the Celestial colorway.
And I'm sure you agree, I'm not wrong with that am I?
So seatpost, that's a size 27.2 millimeter,
and the stem, that's 120 millimeters in length.
Bars, 42 centimeters wide, and as you can see,
they're kind of a semi-compact style design,
so they're pretty shallow there,
so when Chris is up battling his PB,
he won't be giving himself a sore back.
Now, the eagle-eyed of you at this point
will probably notice that in one of my previous videos
I mentioned about the barrel adjuster here on the down tube,
and the thread in it was, well virtually non-existent.
So whilst building it up, I thought to myself,
I'm gonna have that wound all the way in,
so I don't risk pulling it out whatsoever,
and then fit an inline barrel adjuster here
on the front derailleur cable.
So that just went on nice and easy,
and it's gonna give me just that bit of fine tuning there
for the front derailleur, should I need it.
Whilst we're at the front end,
let's talk about the shifters.
Shimano 105 5800, and they are so light in their action
compared to the originals that were on there.
You'll remember as well,
they have the old external cables poking out of there,
the Flight Deck buttons and all that.
None of that anymore, it's all hidden away nicely.
And then finally the bars,
well they're wrapped off in some LifeLine handlebar tape.
I do like it, it's got a slight silicone feel to it
so it's nice and grippy there too.
Right, let's move on to the wheels then.
We've got a pair of Vision Team 30s,
and I'm sure you'll agree they look fantastic.
And loads of people in the office,
when I wheeled this bike through,
actually asked me what they were and how much they cost,
and simply couldn't believe it.
That's how impressed they were.
They come with seal bearings,
we've also got bladed spokes here too,
and importantly, external nipples.
Because if you were to have to true them up,
well you don't have to take off
your rim tape, your tires and all that jazz.
So it's super impressive
to get that for such a bargain price.
Tires, we've got a pair of Continental GP 4000s,
in a 25 millimeter width.
A certain upgrade over those old Michelin ones
that were on there that came in a 23 millimeter.
They would definitely be a pair of bone shaker tires
if I had to ride that bike.
And then actually, one of the components on the wheel set
is one of the only bits which I managed to salvage
on this bike from the original one.
And that is the inner tubes.
They were all in great condition,
so I was happy to be able to reuse those.
Oh, and I got the Vision skewers included too.
All right, let's talk about the groupset then.
Because I managed to get this as a complete item,
but there was a few changes from the full 105 groupset
which I initially thought I was gonna be getting.
So whilst the brakes were a slight downgrade
from the 105 5800,
I did get a pair of Shimano R561 calipers.
So similar really to the original bike
that came with a full 105 groupset,
yet the brakes on there were Tiagra.
So it's a pretty similar comparison to make.
And that rear derailleur, as you can see,
is standard short-cage rear mech.
It does manage to accommodate, though,
that 11 to 28 cassette there on the rear.
Then the chainset,
I've opted for 170 millimeter length cranks
and a 53/39 chainring combination.
The reason being that's exactly the same
as what came on the original bike,
so I thought, well let's replace like for like,
or as close as possible.
Now something else that was different
from the original 5800 groupset
was actually this front derailleur.
So it's an Ultegra 6800 Braze-On one.
Now the shop, when I bought it from them,
they just didn't have the 5800,
so they upgraded that one for me.
And I think that's good
because it's a nice light-action front derailleur.
Admittedly, you don't use the front mech that often.
But when you do, you wanna make sure it's nice and easy
and there's no strain there whatsoever.
Then also the bottom bracket, that was exactly the same too.
They managed to upgrade that
from the 105 to the Ultegra version.
And it is also that newer Hollowtech style.
So you remember the original one
that had the Octalink chainset on there,
those bottom brackets weighed an awful lot
compared to the actual overall weight
of the chainset and bottom bracket on this bike,
because you're using a hollow spindle,
and it's a much more slimline affair.
Particularly, the fact that the actual external cups there
are almost the same diameter as the bottom bracket shell.
Something which I'm a big fan of
compared to the original Hollowtech bottom brackets
that were released.
Now the chain itself, that's not Shimano 105 either.
Instead, it's a KMC 11EL model.
That stands for extra-light
because it's got considerable weight savings,
so it only weighs about 245 grams.
And they've come to save some weight
thanks to the slotted-out sides here
on the links of each individual piece.
Right, but what actually remains then
from the original bike?
Well, other than the frame and the forks,
we've got the seat clamp here, which was a BBB one.
Well let's believe it was an aftermarket one
when I bought the bike from Johnny.
And also the headset here.
Luckily those bearings were in perfect condition.
Now the bike, it has been set up for Mr. Opie,
but I'm sure he will fiddle around with this.
But don't worry, I'm gonna change
these silver headset spacers to some black ones
which I've got kicking about at home.
Because it uses an old one inch diameter steerer here,
I didn't have any in the workshop at the GCN offices
to actually fit on the bike.
So I'm gonna have to go back
to my own personal stash, aren't I?
Then I've got the GCN headset top cap cover there,
just to finish it off and look nice.
And fitted on to the seat post we've got a Fizik Arione,
and it's got the carbon braided rails
so we're saving a little bit of weight there,
but not sacrificing comfort whatsoever.
It's my favorite saddle, that.
And the weight of the bike, it's coming in at 9.02 kilos.
The original bike, that weighed in at 9.85.
Pretty good weight saving.
Oh, you didn't think I was gonna let you go
without hearing the freehub did you?
Let's have a listen.
(wheel clicking softly)
Ahh nice, that's quite old school.
There we are, the GCN Cheap Bike.
Let me know what you think of it,
down there in the comment section below.
I've thoroughly enjoyed building this bike up.
So much, I want to do another series.
So let me know what you'd like to see me build or restore,
down there in the comment section below.
Don't forget too,
to like and share this video with your friends.
Give it a big old thumbs-up.
And also, why not check out how it got on
since it's been pimped up, just down here.
And for the complete series of this bike
and the transformation, click just down here.