treknew

hey guys,

Im new here and have a bike that I found in the attic. After researching, I found it to be a 1978 Trek TX500. It has the following:
Zeus pedals
Zeus crank
Sun tour derailers
Huret Shifters
3 ttt superleggera made in Italy handle bars
Campagnolo Headset
Campagnolo calipers
Matrix safari rims

Was wondering if you guys could help me price it. It is in used condition and has some rust.

Thanks!!!

treknew

rekmeyata

From 1976 to 1978 even numbered TX series, like the 500, were sold as frames and forks ONLY, the customer ordered whatever part kit they wanted; the odd numbered TX series were sold as complete bikes. Thus the TX500 the OP has is not a complete bike and would have been ordered anyway the original buyer would have wanted the parts kit to be...the only question now is what era is the parts kit from.

digger531

Someone will chime in with more info but if you can post the serial number, it would be helpful.

treknew

The serial number is E3G8L61. Sorry im new to all this, ill try to take more pictures

FastJake

Yes, we need larger/better pictures from the other side showing the drivetrain. One of the frame tubing sticker would be good too.

I can tell you for sure the wheels are not original.

Scooper

Weren't the TX500 (and TX300, TX700, and TX900) sold only as framesets?

Vintage-Trek Timeline

EDIT - It looks like the TX500 was built with Ishiwata 022 double-butted chromoly. Fork crown is forged semi-sloping Cinelli type. Lugs and BB shell are Nikko Sangyo long point Italian cut. Dropouts are SunTour GS-11 forged micro-adjusting.

Sounds like a pretty sweet frameset to me.

digger531

I assume you already checked the serial number but if not and for other readers..

The bike is a 22.5" TX500 built in july of 1978 and was likely sold as a frameset. It is Ishiwata tubing and considered a sport touring bike.

That is a nice find and I bet it rides niiiice. As far as value, the Ishiwata tubing is going to hurt a little and there is some value to the components that we can't access yet but as is I am thinking that may only be a $200 bike. I want to believe its worth more (living in the midwest, Treks hold a special place) but....maybe better pics will show something. Its probably worth more because I would likely give $200 for it (in a moment of weakness) and I am pretty cheap.

The Golden Boy 

That's not exactly what the catalog specifies.

It's not until 1978.5 (effectively the 1979 model year) that the nomenclature of the frame material, geometry and groupset was used. The serial number will show the frame series. In other words, my 1978/79 736 shows as a 730 (531 frame, "racing" geometry) from the serial number, but as it was built with a 600 group- that makes it a 736.

The 1977 catalog shows a variety of Suntour combinations for the TX200-TX700 with Dura Ace stuff and Campagnolo NR at the very top end. You also get a good idea of what Trek was using in the 1978.5 catalog Suntour VX, Shimano 600, Campagnolo GS and Campagnolo NR.

More than likely, out of the items listed, the derailleurs may be original.

rekmeyata

Read: https://www.vintage-trek.com/Trek_timeline.htm if you note the years of 1976 to 1978 1/2 the odd numbered TX's were frame only, even were complete bikes, that information corresponds directly to my experience when in 76 I bought a TX900 as a frame and fork only because that's the only way it came and I spec'd the component package on it and the paint and braze ons to fit my needs.

The Golden Boy 

Unless there's any sort of verifiable documentation with the bike- any model information about the bike would be derived from the serial number.

Unless Trek really changed, the serial number would only document the frame material, which would be the bike model number. (IE- Ishiwata 022 = TX500, Reynolds 531 = TX700 etc)

While they did sell built up bikes- the model number was dependent on the build- as the build could be changed by replacing a component, that model number was not incorporated onto the serial number.

Scooper

There's nothing wrong with Ishiwata 022 except that it doesn't seem to have the same cachet as better known European tubing like Reynolds 531 or Columbus SL/SP. Here are some comments by Andrew Muzi about Ishiwata quoted on Sheldon Brown's website:

Andrew Muzi on Ishiwata tubing

Tim_Iowa

I agree that Ishiwata .022 is just as good as 531 or SL/SP. But I also agree with digger531 that it will decrease value. That's just how the market is. Trek charged less for Ishiwata, and built its lower spec bikes out of it.

What it means is that bikes built of Ishiwata or other non-Reynolds, non-Columbus tubing are great deals for riders, but not for collectors. I'm cool with that!

I have a bike made of Excelle steel that is top-end, heat-treated tubing. But nobody's heard of it so that lowers its resale value. Means I got a sweet deal on a lightweight, fast bike. I'm cool with that!

unterhausen

in those days, bikes were built when they were ordered. The frames weren't even painted until they were ordered. So there was no stock of built-up bikes, each one was essentially custom. I don't know how many bike shops realized you could get custom colors if you asked. I tried to talk Bevil Hogg into building stock bikes, but that somehow got changed to having build kits on-hand, which were shipped to the dealers along with the frames. That was about when I left. IIRC, the employee price for a paint job was $18, wish I could get that deal now

rekmeyata

Correct, I waited about a month for my TX900 frame and fork to be painted and braze on options I selected on the order form Trek had, I filled out the form handed it to the Open Air Bicycles in Santa Barbara CA at their original location by the Amtrak train depot there, they in turn sent it to Trek who then built the bike and shipped it to Open Air who then put the components on that I had also preordered.

The TX900 was Treks top of the line bike but it was a bit noodly, not as bad as Peugeots were but typical of Columbus tubing of the day...oops, did I just offend the original Trek? Maybe, but I still wish I would have kept it.

unterhausen

I was never a big fan of Ishiwata tubing, but that was mostly because the stuff they used on the 300 frames was not finished very nicely and was heavy. Trek didn't make a frame the size I ride, so I've never given the 022 a fair chance, but the 500 bike I built up with arabesque felt dead to me. The other issue with Ishiwata was that it was consistently undersized, so that getting it to sit right in a jig was a pain, I had to force way too many 300 and 500 frames off of the BB jig when the seat tube slipped. Maybe my current preference for Columbus comes from the fact that the tubes fit consistently into the lugs. Reynolds was all over the place depending on the person that butted it. I guess I don't see the point about the finish of the tube; just about all the tubing we get nowadays is finished better than the '70s offerings, but Columbus back then had a sort of industrial charm to it. I never did figure out why the Columbus bikes cost more, pretty sure they got a better deal from Reynolds though

tmh657

I had a 1982 Trek 412 with Ishiwata 022 that was a good rider. My 3Rensho is pretty nice if a tad twitchy. Not my decal photo but same tubing on my Super Record Export.

rekmeyata

Unfortunately Ishiwata never got the respect it deserved, the 022 was actually better than anything that Columbus or Reynolds put out, it was stiffer then either, even though it was a tad heavier than the lightest tubesets it wasn't that much heavier maybe 1/4 pound, but it more than made up for it in responsiveness. Up until the early 80's most racing frames were noodles and I could get at least the chain to rub on the front derailleur cage and French tubing was even worse, but with the Ishiwata I could only get a slight amount of rubbing on one side of the derailleur...of course all this rubbing occurs while hammering up steep inclines.

Then the mid 80's came along and Miyata came out with the splined tubing and I couldn't get the chain to rub at all. Miyata is still my most favored tubeset for responsiveness, but the Reynolds 531 was a bit more comfortable.

Of course all that is just my opinion from after owning those framesets.