Shopping in the USA - 1982 Trek 730 Frame Set
02-09-08, 11:25 AM
#1
十人十色
Thread Starter
Shopping in the USA - 1982 Trek 730 Frame Set
As well as picking up my friend Yuko's Speacialized Allez in San Francisco this week I also picked up the 1982 Trek 730 Frame set I bought on eBay for $168.
There's an album of photos on Flickr:
https://flickr.com/photos/22983673@N0...7603875803916/
According to the Vintage Trek site,
"The 81, 82, and 83 75X and 95X frames and bikes were probably zenith of traditional frames by Trek. They had Cinelli bottom bracket shells, reinforcements at the brake and chain stay bridges, and reinforcements for the water bottle bosses."
I'm rather excited about this frame as it's 60cm c-to-t and I reckon that's my ideal size. I'm presently riding a 58cm Dawes which seems a touch small for me. I'm 6' 2".
The frame is gunmetal, or taupe (whatever that is but it seems popular in the US) and red and has quite a few chips and scratches and one small ding under the crossbar, just back from the head tube lug. I hadn't noticed it but I took the frame to my local bike man, Mr Sugiyama, and he pointed it out although he was at a lost to imagine how it had got dinged there. Another thing Mr S pointed out was that when the head tube was painted they also painted the front half of the crossbar, then masked the head tube and sprayed the frame. You can tell that's how it was done by the undercoat visible where the crossbar is scratched - the scratches are red at the front and white, from the undercoat, at the rear.
At the shop Mr S straightened the rear and front forks which were out 1mm or so. He did that with a Campy tool... many here will probably be familiar with it but I was impressed by its simplicity and at how Mr S simply muscled the forks this way and that until the 2 ends of the tool were aligned. He did say that they might be off-centre, or both twisted the same way in relation to each other but not with the frame. He reckoned it'd become obvious when I mounted the wheels. No problem if they are twisted, he says. I can imagine all it'll take is a grunt here and a grunt there.
I've been trying to touch up the chips in the paint on the forks. I took the fork to a paint shop and got what I thought was a good match. At some angles it is but at others it's obviously not. I'm going to redo them, this time making sure I only get the paint in the chips and not on the good paint adjoining. I might even try to mix some paint to get a better match. Or do I just say, '**** it! Let the bike's history speak...' or something like that...
Apart from the chips and scratches the paint is very good and clean. It comes up beautifully following a trick Mr S showed me, if trick is the right word. He uses model aeroplane rubbing compound to bring out a beautiful shine in the paint.
I found 730 written on the fork tube, obviously at the time of manufacture as it's under the paint. That's a satisfying find as it confirms that the frame left the factory as a frame set and not an assembled bike. The catalogue for 1982 shows a frame in the same colours with a note saying 730 was available as a frame only. While the bottom bracket is Cinelli the fork crown is Haden and the brazed-on gear cable guides are Campagnolo.
I'm going to take my time assembling this frame. I have a Campy groupset for it but for starters I want to wait until the Merician gets here as I might use the groupset on that instead.
Other info: the frame has a Tange Industries headset, as notchy as hell but apparently the races are okay and Campy bearings will fit fine. I'll probably go with it for the time being. It has a sealed unit bb of uncertain make which Mr S managed to free up and make it 'No, problem'. The SR shifters are an NOS pair I bought on eBay a few weeks back. I really enjoyed fitting them as the brazed posts were a little too big for the stops and needed the paint taking off with Emery cloth. I'm getting sooo anal.
Oh, and I spent a while rubbing the rust off the fork ends to expose the Campy script and coated them with a clear rust inhibiting paint recommended to me by the paint shop guy. He reckoned it was tough enough to stay there even with repeated wheel changes.
There's an album of photos on Flickr:
https://flickr.com/photos/22983673@N0...7603875803916/
According to the Vintage Trek site,
"The 81, 82, and 83 75X and 95X frames and bikes were probably zenith of traditional frames by Trek. They had Cinelli bottom bracket shells, reinforcements at the brake and chain stay bridges, and reinforcements for the water bottle bosses."
I'm rather excited about this frame as it's 60cm c-to-t and I reckon that's my ideal size. I'm presently riding a 58cm Dawes which seems a touch small for me. I'm 6' 2".
The frame is gunmetal, or taupe (whatever that is but it seems popular in the US) and red and has quite a few chips and scratches and one small ding under the crossbar, just back from the head tube lug. I hadn't noticed it but I took the frame to my local bike man, Mr Sugiyama, and he pointed it out although he was at a lost to imagine how it had got dinged there. Another thing Mr S pointed out was that when the head tube was painted they also painted the front half of the crossbar, then masked the head tube and sprayed the frame. You can tell that's how it was done by the undercoat visible where the crossbar is scratched - the scratches are red at the front and white, from the undercoat, at the rear.
At the shop Mr S straightened the rear and front forks which were out 1mm or so. He did that with a Campy tool... many here will probably be familiar with it but I was impressed by its simplicity and at how Mr S simply muscled the forks this way and that until the 2 ends of the tool were aligned. He did say that they might be off-centre, or both twisted the same way in relation to each other but not with the frame. He reckoned it'd become obvious when I mounted the wheels. No problem if they are twisted, he says. I can imagine all it'll take is a grunt here and a grunt there.
I've been trying to touch up the chips in the paint on the forks. I took the fork to a paint shop and got what I thought was a good match. At some angles it is but at others it's obviously not. I'm going to redo them, this time making sure I only get the paint in the chips and not on the good paint adjoining. I might even try to mix some paint to get a better match. Or do I just say, '**** it! Let the bike's history speak...' or something like that...
Apart from the chips and scratches the paint is very good and clean. It comes up beautifully following a trick Mr S showed me, if trick is the right word. He uses model aeroplane rubbing compound to bring out a beautiful shine in the paint.
I found 730 written on the fork tube, obviously at the time of manufacture as it's under the paint. That's a satisfying find as it confirms that the frame left the factory as a frame set and not an assembled bike. The catalogue for 1982 shows a frame in the same colours with a note saying 730 was available as a frame only. While the bottom bracket is Cinelli the fork crown is Haden and the brazed-on gear cable guides are Campagnolo.
I'm going to take my time assembling this frame. I have a Campy groupset for it but for starters I want to wait until the Merician gets here as I might use the groupset on that instead.
Other info: the frame has a Tange Industries headset, as notchy as hell but apparently the races are okay and Campy bearings will fit fine. I'll probably go with it for the time being. It has a sealed unit bb of uncertain make which Mr S managed to free up and make it 'No, problem'. The SR shifters are an NOS pair I bought on eBay a few weeks back. I really enjoyed fitting them as the brazed posts were a little too big for the stops and needed the paint taking off with Emery cloth. I'm getting sooo anal.
Oh, and I spent a while rubbing the rust off the fork ends to expose the Campy script and coated them with a clear rust inhibiting paint recommended to me by the paint shop guy. He reckoned it was tough enough to stay there even with repeated wheel changes.
02-09-08, 04:37 PM
#2
Senior Member
Sweet!
My wife's road bike has the same frame. One small warning: note the non-recessed brake bolt holes--IIRC you will need 'standard' reach brakes (her bike is not nearby at the moment to check).
Everything else is standard English thread/126 rear spread/campy shifter mounts like any other racing frame of the era.
My wife's road bike has the same frame. One small warning: note the non-recessed brake bolt holes--IIRC you will need 'standard' reach brakes (her bike is not nearby at the moment to check).
Everything else is standard English thread/126 rear spread/campy shifter mounts like any other racing frame of the era.
02-09-08, 04:51 PM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
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Congrats Trek-Man. I was just thinking yesterday that I'd love to trade my '85 400 for something earlier and racier. The 400 was my first road bike and I've had a few different since but man is it reliable and all-round good. As a 6'3" 60-62 rider, I'm vicariously thrilled at your new pairing. Have fun with the build!
02-09-08, 05:00 PM
#4
juneeaa memba!
Join Date: Oct 2003
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the main difference between the 7xx and the 9xx was the tubing; reynolds and columbus, respectively. I'd bet that Trek just wanted to keep English fans and Italianophiles both happy; I've ridden both back to back and I can't tell the difference. This is an excellent ride and I'm sure that you'll be happy with it.
Congratulations on Mr Sugiyama, as there are fewer and fewer people in the retail industry that can make candlesticks work...
Congratulations on Mr Sugiyama, as there are fewer and fewer people in the retail industry that can make candlesticks work...
02-09-08, 06:31 PM
#5
Batüwü Creakcreak
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Aw man, I love these old treks. Beautiful frame! I have a 84 trek 760. It's got really nice 531P tubing.
I've finally decided that I'm going to be moderning the drivetrain of my 84 760. I can't wait.
(Shameless Plug)
The superbe(pro?) parts will probably be for sale if anyone's interested in a restoration of sorts.
(End Plug)
I've finally decided that I'm going to be moderning the drivetrain of my 84 760. I can't wait.
(Shameless Plug)
The superbe(pro?) parts will probably be for sale if anyone's interested in a restoration of sorts.
(End Plug)
02-09-08, 10:02 PM
#6
十人十色
Thread Starter
Sweet!
My wife's road bike has the same frame. One small warning: note the non-recessed brake bolt holes--IIRC you will need 'standard' reach brakes (her bike is not nearby at the moment to check).
Everything else is standard English thread/126 rear spread/campy shifter mounts like any other racing frame of the era.
My wife's road bike has the same frame. One small warning: note the non-recessed brake bolt holes--IIRC you will need 'standard' reach brakes (her bike is not nearby at the moment to check).
Everything else is standard English thread/126 rear spread/campy shifter mounts like any other racing frame of the era.
