Insider Rides looks at the bikes that we ride, the bikes that industry insiders ride, that racers ride, and everyday folk ride. For this instalment, we take it back in time, way back to, oh, only 2009… have bikes really come this far in seven years? Rod Bardsley put together this Trek TopFuel with some bits from the bins, and has been having more fun than he ever thought possible.

I wanted to build up a bike that didn’t cost too much, was lightweight, could handle some distance winter riding with an emphasis on the  road, gravel and commuter trails that I regularly ride in winter around my backyard, the Kapiti Coast. I found this 2009 Trek Top Fuel, as a frame only, on Trade Me. It was a bit of a dog, the drink bottle mounts had been ripped out, it had no shock, and there was some hardware missing from the Split Pivot at the rear axle.In case you aren’t aware, this was one of the fastest, lightest and most expensive XC weapons of its day. So it became mine for $86, and for a carbon bike, I thought that was pretty damn good. It turned into a nightmare but it all came good in the end. It weighs 25lbs and cost me about $520 and I got to use up some crap that was lying about in the shed. Bonus!

I HATE front derailleurs, so I had to go single up front, I had some old 10 speed bits in the shed and a worn out 32T narrow wide, so I got out the Dremel and filed the hell out of the teeth and it now works surprisingly well.It has no BB, just bearings sitting in the frame shell, so I had to find some that had a 24mm inside diameter to take this crankset spindle. Alloy swingarm but the rest is carbon.

I can confirm that a clutch rear derailleur isn’t necessary to keep your chain on as long as you have a narrow/wide ring up front. The chain is a bit noisy though slapping on the chainstay. There were a couple of unusual sized washers missing in the rear axle pivot so I added a couple of tap washers…lightweight and wont rust.

The biggest issue I had was trying to find a straight steerer fork that was at least 120mm. I struck gold after a long search and found this 100/120/140mm Talas QR baby. The stanchions are a bit worn at the top bushing at 140mm travel so it came cheap ($100), and I just run it at 120mm most of the time which puts the wear beneath the bushing so it’s like new.

What a balls up! I can only drop the seat 70mm with this silly curved seat tube. I thought that would be enough as in the ’80’s I ran a 50mm HiteRite spring and thought I was rad, but I guess times have changed. I glued up the drink bottle holes and re-drilled them and put in a new thread kit.

It did come with this carbon post. I have cut it as short as I dared, there’s about 80mm in the frame, for maximum drop.

I had no idea what headset and BB would fit so I just threw in some random bearings and bits and spacers and it’s all good so far. When I drop the fork travel to its stock 100mm for climbing, I wonder how on earth the pros ever had the balls to go so fast, this bike is seriously steep. I’m running a 60mm stem and 750mm flat bars

One piece shock rocker, way ahead of its time. I picked up this RT3 shock that was leaking air for $80 and I rebuilt it with new seals. 165 x 38mm stroke. It’s like a bucking bronco on Hippy’s jump line up Mt Victoria.

Yes, 26″ wheels. Do you remember those? Fulcrum Power XL that are light fast silent and came  tubeless with a pair of Nobby Nics for $180. I broke a spoke on the Hippy’s Table jump the first time I rode it off road, maybe they weren’t meant to be whipped. This bike scares the shit outa me whenever I take it off road but that’s half the fun. I’m using it more than I thought I would and I’m sure it’s improving my skills, mmmmmm, I wonder if 26 will come back? Oh crap… 26Plus is coming. You’ve been warned!