John Ummel
I am talking to the original owner of a 1982 Trek 613- have confirmed that with Skip Exchert.
When he bought the bike at Palo Alto Bikes, he opted to change-out the front Ishiwata fork and replace it with a chrome fork. I have to admit, it looks really sharp on this bike. The owner said it was a “trek” fork.
While I am concerned about purchasing a classic without the original component, I am more concerned whether this replacement fork is comparable to Ishiwata quality.
I called Palo Alto bikes and of course no one there is old enough to explain how and where Trek dealers got replacement forks back in those days.
Can anyone shed some light on this? Did Trek dealers replace original forks on new bikes with comparable Reynolds or Ishiwata forks from Waterloo or buy off the shelf.
I do have an email to Skip on this.
When he bought the bike at Palo Alto Bikes, he opted to change-out the front Ishiwata fork and replace it with a chrome fork. I have to admit, it looks really sharp on this bike. The owner said it was a “trek” fork.
While I am concerned about purchasing a classic without the original component, I am more concerned whether this replacement fork is comparable to Ishiwata quality.
I called Palo Alto bikes and of course no one there is old enough to explain how and where Trek dealers got replacement forks back in those days.
Can anyone shed some light on this? Did Trek dealers replace original forks on new bikes with comparable Reynolds or Ishiwata forks from Waterloo or buy off the shelf.
I do have an email to Skip on this.