Trek 930 Singletrack 700c conversion emotional trashcan build

This bike (and the working on it) means a lot to me at the moment. It is going to be a long and personal story post so if you don’t feel like it, don’t read it. I am just happy to share and it feels go to write this stuff.

Bike history:

The previous owner, first owner since its original build 1997, of this Trek 930 Singletrack was going to bring it to the landfill. He had used it on and off from the 90’s up until a few years ago and I think he had almost never done maintenance or cleaned it.

State of the bike:

Everything was worn out to the max (rims, bb, tires, shifters, rear derailleur, fork, etc). The original frontwheel was missing and basically all that was still working was the rear hub and front derailleur. Seatpost was semi stuck but came loose very easily with some overnight oil. The frame is in poor condition with a lot of rust all over the place although the three main tubes are still very good (although all the welds have rust under the paint)

My story with this bike:

So, this frame is actually on the big side for me especially for a mtb. But I am trying to give the bike a good purpose for me and I really wanted to build a commuter type bike. This coming spring and summer I want to do some weekends with some good friends to go bike camping. I’ve had some difficult years (burnout and a lot of feeling I ignored for a long time) and am trying to recover. And what better way is there than going into nature and enjoy the freedom of cycling adventures.

So because I have never done a 700c conversion, had some parts for it and I became very curious after finding this lovely subreddit, I just had to do it. I have missed building bikes after leaving the bike industry after 10+ dedicated years because of my burnout and this felt like the right time and oppertunity to dive back into it.

What is the plan:

If I find out that this frame fits me very well for a commuter/bikepacking type of build I am going to love the shit out of it and do everything it deserves. (Buy proper parts, sandblast or strip and powdercoat or do a custom paintjob myself, maybe bring it back to nice 26” I don’t know)

For now I build for the sake of getting back into building and cycling. I wanted to do it as low budget as possible so also alot of recycling. I still have some parts I want to try on it, some fenders, rear carrier and some things I want to swap out for the fun and experimentation.

What have I done up to now:

I took it all apart, cleaned and re-used every original item I could, so the headset, seatpost, front derailleur and some fasteners were reused. I refurbished the rear hub, which I will probably lace up in a new rim for this bike someday.

Almost all parts I put on it are leftover parts of bikes I stripped over the years while I worked as mechanic and old family members bikes through the years. I tried to use as much parts with a certain history for me because hey, this is an emotional build right haha.

Parts:

We’ve got some Deore XT, Deore, STX RC and Xerox drivetrain and hub parts mismatches. Old Giant Randonneur 28” frontfork with paint color that doesn’t match at all.

The handlebars, rear hub, shifter/brake levers and rear derailleur came off my mothers favorite bike she has ever owned (she bought it off the first shop I worked as mechanic but the frame eventually failed).

Unknown rim in the back that had been spraypainted black my father for a bike he build years back, reused spokes, different sizes so I had to do my best to come up with a fitting pattern to make it work with what I had. And a cool old Specialized mtb seat of one of his many mtb’s he has owned.

Not a fan of Ali express and a big fan of recyling but here is the explanation:

Litepro Ali x-press brakes to make the conversion work. I have never done it before and was very curious how it would feel and work. I know that there are better options like the Avid Tri-Align or the Promax P1 but it is what it is for now.

The V-brake posts on the frame are the type you cannot unscrew and I wasn’t feeling ready to grind them off drill holes make thread and use the famous Ali X-press adapters yet so this is my solution for now.

So basically all relatively cheap parts that wouldn’t be appealing to anybody but me but that is I think very suiting for this trashcan style build.

If you made it up tot this point, well I don’t know what to say, thanks a lot for reading I hope it wasn’t too much of time wasted.

Cheers!