# My Trek 2.3 Build and Story



## trekroadie1.5 (Oct 20, 2010)

Hey everyone, It's really pouring down the rain with thunder so I thought instead of going for a ride, I would show off my bike.

I started riding in the fall of 2007 when I decided I was going to stop smoking and do something positive with my life. After trying to quit smoking several times throughout the years, I started reading about Lance Armstrongs story fighting and surviving cancer. And I ran across his 10//2 message:

“October 2, 1996. The day it all changed. The day I started never to take anything for granted. The day I learned total charge of my life. It was the day I was diagnosed with cancer.”

Now, I'm not one to model my life after somebody elses, but his story and this date at least gave me something to hold onto when times got tough quitting smoking. So I smoked my last cigarette on 10/1/07 and I started riding my Ebay pre-owned 2007 Trek 4300 MTB that I bought a week earlier. My first ride on 10//2 was no more than 3 miles and I was whooped...but...it felt good. Spring of 2008 I convinced my wife to let me spend $1000 on a new Trek 1.5. I was hooked. It all started with an 8 mile ride and I don't believe I rode my MTB since. After 3 years with my 1.5 I started doing some research and realized the size 60 1.5 my LBS sold me was actually to big for me. I'm only 5'11". So again, I convinced my wife to let me sell my 1.5 and build a bike.

So to Ebay I went and I found a beautiful 2010 Trek 2.3 white/black/yellow frame for sale. I had to have it. And next Sram Force components and bits of Bontrager RXL and RXXXL adorned my new frame. And alas, after every bolt was torqued and cable was run I came up with my beautiful 2.3.










And as I was building the bike, I weighed every part before installation on my Park Scales. Here is a build list:

56cm Alpha Black aluminum frame 1568g
Bontrager Race carbon fiber fork 526g
Cane Creek Headset/Spacer/Cap 90g
Sram Force Shifters 324g
Sram Force Crankset 175mm 50/34 664g
Sram Force Bottom Bracket 107g
Sram Force Front Derailleur 102g
Sram Force Rear Derailleur 173g
Sram Force Brakeset 285g
Sram Force Cassette 11-26 232g
Sram Force Chain 253g

Bontrager RXL Wheels 1577g
Bontrager XXX Handlebars 44cm 180g
Bontrager Buzzkill Inserts 32g
Bontrager XXX Stem 100mm 121g
Bontrager XXX Seatpost 159g
Bontrager RL Inform Saddle 146mm 217g
Bontrager RXL Cages 60g
Bontrager R3 Tires 405g
Bontrager RXL Tubes 134g
Look Keo 2 Max Pedals 261g 
Skewers 113g

The total weight of the bike with tape, cables, pedals, and computer runs 17.75lbs.


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## winstonw (Apr 27, 2011)

You've done a good job there. Looks like a 58cm frame. 
My first roadie was a used circa 2004-5 Trek 1500 US Postal Service colors, all Ultegra. 
The components wore out within a few years, so upgraded to new Madone 4.7. 
I am pretty happy with Trek, but next bike will be ultegra on a titanium frame, with lighter wheels. I am over the pretty paint job thang. Too much rain where I live.


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## little (Apr 30, 2011)

great stroy man and great lookin bike!:thumbsup:


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## tgrider (Jul 5, 2010)

Nice job on the build and great job on kicking the smokes.


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## Road Hazard (Feb 5, 2011)

Very nice. I really like my RXL wheels. And the free wheel is nice and loud! Grrrrrrrr

Nice touch on the yellow valve caps.


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## Trek2.3 (Sep 13, 2009)

You'll love the 2.3.


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## cdyer77 (Jul 27, 2010)

Nice color combo! I just bought a 2.3 frame myself & am going to start building it up in the next month or so


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## trekroadie1.5 (Oct 20, 2010)

I know this is an older thread of mine, and I didn't feel like creating a new one for this question, but I'm kicking around the idea of upgrading my frame to a Madone. I understand the added costs of a new derailleur,BB,seatpost yadda yadda yadda, but what am I really going to gain in upgrading from a 2.3 frame to a Madone? I've read that the Trek 2.3 is a high quality aluminum frame but I've read great things about Madones as well. And I've read that carbon is lighter and more comfortable...but I never had an issue on my 2.3 with 120psi in the tires.

I ride alone because there are no other bikers in my area. So I don't want to upgrade for status. And because I ride alone, I don't really have any carbon bikes to try just to see the difference between carbon and aluminum.

Will carbon be any faster? Is it just lighter and more comfortable? I pretty much have my bike spec'd out at a higher end Madone with Sram Force and Bontrager XXX and RXL so is it worth dropping the extra money on a Madone frame?

I'm a recreational rider and 20-30 mile ride and I'm happy. I average between 17-18MPH so I'm not really taking it easy when I'm out there though.

Any replys would be great!


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## Adrianinkc (Nov 13, 2011)

First of all great looking bike right down to the smallest details. Now where to start, first carbon is smoother over longer rides. The carbon sucks up the shock of potholes, gravel roads etc etc. Faster no. Unless you are racing and every second counts, maybe a couple seconds. Madones have a 3 4 5 6 series, I don't think it would be worth an upgrade to a 3 or 4. The reason I say this is, I have a specialized allez with SRAM apex as my back up bike. My main bike is a trek 4.5 with rival and Easton wheels, there is not enough diffrence between the two bikes other than comfort on long rides.


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## Pedro S (Mar 28, 2011)

Great looking bike :thumbsup:

My quit day was November 4th 2007 after 20+ years. I have no idea how I ever smoked as the mere smell of it now makes me want to puke. I feel so much better now and sure don't miss being a slave to cigarettes.

After spending the past few years on a mountain bike, I broke a couple ribs in wreck which kept me off the trails for a couple months this summer. We have a pretty good network of bike paths and rail trails in my area that I started riding but a MTB just doesn't cut it for long rides on pavement. This gave me the itch for a road bike. I got a good end of season deal on a 2011 2.3 and I love it. Now if I could just eat and drink a little less so I could shed a few pounds.


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## iTrek (Nov 15, 2011)

I know this is an older thread, but it was a great read. I have a 2012 2.3 that I love riding.


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## jwl325 (Feb 3, 2010)

Beautiful job! Still very much in love with my '10 2.3--and your is equipped much nicer than mine. 

Congrats!


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