RiddleOfSteel

Gather 'round for another build thread with RiddleOfSteel. Another creation of vintage American steel has been found, and now we must discover its secret...

General specs:

1-year only offering
Columbus SP DB tubing (as provided by @JohnDThompson )
Campagnolo Super Record original equipment
64cm CTT
HT/ST angles: Factory spec: 73.5°/73.3° for a 58cm frame | My 64cm frame as measured: 74.5°/73.2°
BB drop: 75mm measured | TT length CTC: 59.5cm measured | WB: 1013mm measured | FC: 610mm measured | RC/CS: 415mm measured
Frame, fork, and (Shimano 6400-era 600) headset weight: 7.16 lb / 3256g

I picked the frameset up in Portland a few weeks ago. I had seen it months earlier and kinda liked it (red and yellow together are not my #1 favorite color combo), but another visit had the price lower and me pulling the trigger. Maybe after five Treks spanning many years I will keep one for a while. Rarity, condition (minus the decals..), size, purchase price, hand-made, geometry, tubing, and now a nice and steep HT angle have sealed the deal.

The Shimano 600 headset is not original, but in good shape. I picked up a Tange Levin headset to swap in as it looks period, looks enough like a Campy HS from a short distance (YMMV), and fits the silver component theme I have selected. Originally, the overall aesthetic was fairer per the catalog--lots of silver pieces, with tan wall tires and yellow bar tape.

I will be having the bar tape, saddle, and tires be black, with high polish silver components throughout. Initially I was not very self-sold on the idea as I do like my black/serious "speed" look, especially when confronted by a frame color combo that lacks a focused look. I think the yellow throws me, BUT, now that I've had a good think, I am pretty pumped to outfit it.

Trek road/race bicycle production numbers for 1983:

Employing the Vintage Trek website's gold mine of information, I came up with the following as I am keen on seeing just how rare a bird I have. Other 1983 road/race models will be listed as well! The serial number of my bike has it listed as a "950" frame, and is nearer to the middle of 1982 than I would have guessed. Thus I have tentatively concluded that 1) my frame is a very early 970 2) the production of 970s more or less starts with my batch (other 950s were built much earlier, so I feel confident). Other road/race frames end their production years around when the 970 did in 1983, so I use that as my other bookend when coming up with numbers.

Yes, I enjoyed this process.

1983 Trek 970

52cm - 30
54cm - 75
56cm - 160
58cm - 125
60cm - 95
62cm - 20
64cm - 30 (I have one of just 30!)
535 total 970s produced for 1983

Now, that is not too many frames. For added context, other 1983 road/race model production volumes (as best tallied) are:

560 - 6,484
760 - 780
970 - 535
170 - 116 (+5 for racing)

That 170 is rarefied air, and they only (officially) built 5 64cm frames of that! If you want to know frame size production number breakdowns for any of these, I have them--let me know as it's fun to see just how special the bike is.

To the frame at hand:

Decals are toast. Trek painted the frames yellow first, then masked off the desired areas, and painted the rest red (with a touch of orange). Clever decal application makes it look like the DT and ST panels are huge decals. Regardless, as you will eventually see, they need to be replaced, IMO. The paint is in great shape and I want her to look her best. The decals can be fingernail scratched off. Very slow, but I'd like to know what you all employ to speed up the process while not murdering the paint beneath. I will be taking measurements for when I order new decals and place them.

RiddleOfSteel

More Interior Lighting Specials...











Initial mocking up or composition. The Turbo saddle is not set in stone, the Cinelli stem and bars will most likely be swapped out as they produce too much saddle-to-hoods reach, the wheels pictured will not be used (I am holding out the surprise when more pieces are on it), but overall, this is what the bike proportions out to. Nice tight wheel-to-frame clearances and all of that. I need to clean and wax the frame.

Oh, and I will be building it with 8-speed Campagnolo! Rest assured everyone!

abellanti

Great find. Always wanted of those! Should be a great ride with the 10 speed group.

JohnDThompson 

Yes, 60cm and larger used SP, 58cm and smaller used SL.

The Golden Boy 

So who made your frame?


You should have a maker's mark stamped on the BB.

As I recall, @JohnDThompson had the letter Z.

RiddleOfSteel

I have a letter B stamped on the bottom of the BB. Is there a list of those who built it? I'm trying to find...

Also, the BB shell is marked TSI60 as it is a larger frame. The 58 was standard on smaller frames, so this makes sense.

Chrome Molly

Is there a way to decode who made the 950 series road frames?

And oh yeah. Sweet 970!

Barrettscv 

I had an '83 Trek 970 with Columbus SP. A very stiff race frame. Enjoy!

RiddleOfSteel

I really dig the white/navy panel '82 950 frames. Ice cold and cool looking. It would be nice to know or even have a partial list of who made the frames.

nesteel 

It's nice to see other BIG early Trek race frames. That's a sharp color scheme.

Narhay

I use goo gone and a plastic tire lever to scratch decals off. Hasn't harmed paint yet.

RiddleOfSteel

Good to know a proven technique! I will try it out.

GradeIsGood

Nice bike.

I too just picked up an '83 Trek 970 which someone had converted to a single speed. Mine is a 58 (so one of 125) and included a box with most of the original Campy Super Record parts. I'm missing the bars, brake levers and chain, but he still had the original hubs, although laced to newer rims, and freewheel so mine is going totally retro and as original as I can. If the last owner can find the box with the bars and levers then I'm styling!

Good luck with your build.

dgodave

Excellent!

Here's mine. Original spec except for wheels. I need to clean it up and fix the bar tape. Havent ridden it in years, but now I want to.

ryansu

+1 on the plastic approach, I used plastic too, not like the cheap white plastic picnic utensils, but something nicer and thicker like a baby's spoon, be sure to clean it thoroughly before returning to the baby....(kidding). I had really flaked stickers on a Schwinn Varsity that I scraped off this way with no harm to the paint -ymmv

RiddleOfSteel

Thanks guys!

Well, the wheels I had picked up for the bike went onto a much newer Trek Emonda ALR and that bike looks lovely with them. And with @dgodave showing your bike, my rims that match that look will, at the very least, be used in the build (so thank you for that visual reference and inspiration!).

I still need to swap headsets as the Shimano 600 unit, nice as it is, has too low of a stack height and isn't the look I'm going for. I've slowly procured early 8-speed Ergo era pieces (give or take a few years), Chorus specifically, for this build. I flirt with the idea of throwing late-'80s Shimano 105 parts on it to get an idea for the thing as I get into redoing the decals, but we'll see.

Definitely don't want this to qualify for a 'stalled project' thread entry, but it has been very slow as of late. I will be in Portland for a bike show and will be bringing (and riding!) my Paramount. Next week I will try and get the ball rolling on decal replacement and headset work. Thankfully the crown race diameters match (26.4mm).

RiddleOfSteel

Update, after quite some time:

I have all of the pieces save for a bottom bracket, which will most likely be a cartidge unit--totally fine by me. I have measured the Trek decals' lengths so I know what size to order. I have also measured and removed the chain stay protector strip, taking a picture of the 970 script to put into Adobe Illustrator and create for the Velocals people. After that it will be off to old decal scraping and goo-gone-ing the leftover adhesive on the chain stay!

Parts sourcing has been slow, but good. Happy that it's a Chorus build (wheels are Campy 8-speed hub somethings.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) and I was able to very cheaply source (now) two 8-speed cassettes of high quality (fully plated cogs) in 12-21 and 13-26 setups.

The Shimano 6400-era 600 headset was removed yesterday and I will be installing the chrome Tange Levin looks-close-enough-to-Campy-and-works-very-well headset. I'm a little burned out on Cinelli 64 bars, or rather, 64's for brifter application. Found a less sloped drop bar yesterday, but the trick is finding a 100mm 26.0 stem that isn't rough-looking. I have a Cinelli 100mm stem, but the test gap between it and the supposedly 26.0 bar is...apparent.

I am still very much looking forward to building this up and riding it. Hoping the stiffness is not like my '87 Tenax-tubed Super Sport (brutal) and more like...all of my other bikes.

RiddleOfSteel

Most recent update (posted a few hours ago) awaiting...moderation? You'll see it soon enough I hope...

kc0yef 

Beautiful

RiddleOfSteel

Ok, all pieces necessary to build this bike have assembled under my still very hot top floor apartment roof!

Still really excited to build the bike up, and look forward to doing so this coming week. The last bits were tracking down a lost-in-the-mail rear derailleur, removing the Shimano 600 (6400-era) headset with a Tange Levin unit to be installed in its place, a cartridge ISO taper bottom bracket, and a non-Cinelli 64 handlebar (though fitted to a Cinelli stem).

I contacted Velocals about getting the chain stay protector/guard decal sorted out. They have an exact match, but for a 620. I traced and used a good picture of the font of the "970" on mine and sent it to them via Adobe Illustrator file. Hoping that can work and I can get the decals ordered.

It was a scorcher today temperature-wise here in Seattle, hitting a record 96 at Sea-Tac. Shave a few degrees off in Seattle proper, perhaps, and it was quite hot. Not too far behind Portland's 100. Biked out in it for a little bit--woof. The body definitely lets one know to not push lest they overheat. Bedroom is still too hot right now, so I am going to set up shop in the living room and be among my bikes for tonight. I'll post pictures soon, but first, sleep.

RiddleOfSteel

Decals Removed

I was able to scrape away part of the decals using a credit/plastic card and a liquid agent. Sadly, that only went so far. I remembered I had some adhesive remover and pulled it out. Aviation grade. Ok, no problem. Smells like it means business and worked well, too. A little too well, unfortunately. And by that I mean that getting some of the more stubborn old decal remnants meant I accidentally also removed some paint as I scraped with the card (at not even much pressure)!

Major "OH CRAP" moment, for sure. Here I am creating a problem when I'm really trying to make things better!

So, any good news in this? YES!!!

1) Trek laid on the paint thick, and in multiple layers--the paint is still yellow
2) I stopped quickly enough, and only the drive side got the worst of it--NDS was almost unscathed
3) The new decals, of the same size, will exactly cover the scraped away areas, leaving essentially no one the wiser.

Whew!

I took my time waxing the whole thing with some Meguiar's Carnuba car wax, and the paint really responded to it. The red looks great and even has that hilariously reluctant metallic flake Trek enjoyed putting in their red paints in the '80s. The yellow painted panels also shined up and it feels really good to improve and protect the paint, especially after accidentally muffing up part of it.

So, to the Bad News photos (all photos are post-waxing):

RiddleOfSteel

And now the Good News photos: Soooo pretty.





Frame and fork, awaiting decals and building up!



I contacted Velocals with a few questions but they never responded all week. Don't know if they are on vacation, but I am absolutely chomping at the bit to get the new ones on the bike, so I hope they respond soon!!

Drillium Dude 

This one's looking good! Have you given any thought to lightly sanding the scratched areas in an attempt to feather them out? If the paint is thick enough I think you may have some success. Once you've put the new decals on and shoot some clear, you'd be all set.

I think this is the perfect candidate for an 8-speed setup, and I think it will look great with a groupset that's mainly silver vice black. I dare say a yellow saddle and bar tape wouldn't be over the top, either, tho yellow saddles aren't exactly growing on trees.

DD

RiddleOfSteel

Thank you! I've thought about the paint smoothness and transition zones, and am currently working under the conclusion that the new decals will be thick enough (2 mil adhesive types) to obscure most any imperfection, especially as the lettering has numerous borders and offsets.

I will be using the wheels shown in an earlier mockup--silver braking surface, but black spoke bed/areas. The goal is to let the polished silver do a lot of 'talking' visually with the various black bits 'anchoring' the red, yellow, and polished silver. I've test-fit DA hubs with MA40 dark anodized rims and black tires, and that didn't work. And all silver rims like Open Pros just look...meh, on it. IMO, either high polish silver or all-out black modern components with deep section carbon wheels are the options for this.

Currently, a black saddle and bar tape will be employed, but I do entertain the idea of red or yellow tape (and saddle for that matter). Red + yellow weren't my thing (I am still a big sucker for an all gloss black steed), but I figured I may grow into liking it in the right application (or rather, on this bike), and so far that is proving true. I think I also see it as a bit of a challenge. The white with blue panels 95X's of 1982 is, to me, a timeless and beautiful color combo that looks good with either silver or black components, and easily so. With this 970, the key for me is to balance the fun/loud factor of the red and yellow with the 'seriousness' of it's original mission: a race bike. The 970 that @dgodave has is, to me, balanced in this regard.

With the non-Cinelli 64 bars mounted to a 100mm stem, I will enjoy a better fit and aesthetic (with brifters, that is) than with the 64-series bars. I will swap out the Gatorskin tires with either Vittoria Open Corsas or some red-striped Michelin Lithions (if I'm feeling funky).

RiddleOfSteel

Mid-Build Update:

So far so good. I had some hiccups in getting the Tange Levin crown race to seat (time to file/sand!), and once done with that, had bearing balls that were too small, which resulted in the headset binding on itself and not rotating on the balls. Swapped in some fitting ones at Recycled Cycles and we are good to go on that front.

Touch up paint has been applied. I changed the older Gatorskin tires to the 23c/25c (F/R) Vittoria Open Corsa CX's I had, and have installed other pieces. Good news with saddle and Ergo lever placement is that it is nice and in the middle of my fitment measurements/range, and actually doesn't have too much saddle-to-bars drop. Hand position in vertical relation to front axle is very good as well.

I will be running a 7400 Dura-Ace (heresy!) FD for the time being as my Chorus unit is a braze-on type and I have no adapters left. The DA FD is also a 28.6mm band, which looks cleaner to me. It will look fine for now, and more importantly, work well, too.