Classic & Vintage - Rolled the dice tonight...

Picked this thing up tonight. It's in really good shape but definately needs a thorough cleaning....Oh yeah and the seatpost tube is cracked....and the seatpost is stuck....hmmm. We'll see how it turns out, either I bought myself a nice bike or some garage art and a nice DA7400 groupset.

Crappy cellphone in the dark garage pics
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/russd32/IMAG0139.jpg

Check out that seat
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f239/russd32/IMAG0140.jpg

how much that set you back?

how much that set you back?

$3.26 :)

That's a very random and specific number. you're going to have to explain that...and nice score!

That's not really what I paid for it. If the frame is rideable I got a great deal....if it's not I probably still did alright but I didn't steal it. But, the way I figure even if it ends up hanging on the wall in the garage it's cheaper and cooler than a crappy painting.

Is that saddle a san marco?

a Selle San Marco Rolls Candy-Cane Acid Trip is probably worth the purchasing price right there :p

Haha, yeah it's a San Marco Rolls Girardi somethingerother acid trip saddle. I thought it was 80's ballin!

I don't see any seat post clamping ears.

Is that perhaps an internally-expanding seatpost, or did it internally expand from corrosion?

Nice bike if you can fix the post problem.

I wouldn't rush this at all. Definitely worth investigating first.

A machinist should be able to ream out the post if it comes to that.

I don't see any seat post clamping ears.

Is that perhaps an internally-expanding seatpost, or did it internally expand from corrosion?


This was my first thought as well. Interestingly an internally expanding seat post is not an uncommon fix for a cracked seat tube.

The seatpost is officially out of the frame with no damage done. It is an internal quill seatpost. The quill part was free but it looks like it was inserted dry so a little corrosion most of froze it up. It actually came out really easy once I let a little WD40 seep down in there. So that problem is now fixed.

For the frame, I'm really not convinced that the crack would harm anything...especially since as you say the internal clamping post isn't really putting pressure in that area. I thought about sending pics to Trek to see what they say. I imagine their lawyers have instructed them not to give any useful info in situations like this just to avoid legal troubles, but hell you never know. I figure I'll clean everything up real good so I can look down the tube to give it a thorough inspection to get a feel for how structually sound it is. If it's looking like it'll be dangerous to ride I might contact someone about getting a price to fix it, but more than likely it'll just be garage art.

If anything, it certainly looks awesome. Any chance of a close-up of the crack? The saddle looks like it would taste like a delicious peppermint.

There are a few choices if you want to have the frame repaired.

I always heard that the eariest Trek 5500s had a very damped ride with little to no road feel. When I was in the market for CF in 1999 it was my 2nd choice. I tested Trek, Aegis, Kestrel and bought a Calfee.

I have a home for that saddle if you want to sell it!

Its a composite/carbon frame, the crack in the seatube makes the frame junk.......I mean wall art.

I have a home for that saddle if you want to sell it!
It's now in a FS thread, I'll shoot you a PM


If anything, it certainly looks awesome. Any chance of a close-up of the crack? The saddle looks like it would taste like a delicious peppermint.


There are a few choices if you want to have the frame repaired.

I always heard that the eariest Trek 5500s had a very damped ride with little to no road feel. When I was in the market for CF in 1999 it was my 2nd choice. I tested Trek, Aegis, Kestrel and bought a Calfee.


Its a composite/carbon frame, the crack in the seatube makes the frame junk.......I mean wall art.

Yep, it's wall art. I haven't even cleaned it up and I found cracks not only in the seatpost area but there's some down around the bottom bracket. I imagine that if I really wanted to I could pay someone like Calfee to fix it and repaint it and all of that but it's too small for me anyway it'll have a new home as a piece of decor!