bikemig 

The title pretty much sums it up. I own a 1982ish Trek 720. The bike is beat up cosmetically but it is in fine shape otherwise. I have all the parts for the build. Should I refurb it and ride it into the sunset? Or should I buy a modern comparable touring bike (surly LHT, velo orange campeur, soma saga, kona sutra, etc.)? I love my old bikes but some things have gotten better.


I toured across the country on this bike in 1997. The bike works great but I'd like to be able to run fatter tires and I wouldn't mind modern gearing either (but this is not a deal breaker).

So I decided it's time for a poll to help me make up my mind, .

Here's a pic of the old bike (it badly needs a paint job if I decide to keep it) (it's currently set up as a single speed with mismatching tape as a kind of pathetic anti-theft look, ):

LuckySailor

Well, there ya go- 100% of the polled people say you should keep it! hahaha. I don't know, there was a kid yesterday that was considering a building a touring bike or buying one- I'd pick up this one if I was considering another build. Problem is, I don't think that it really has any value to anyone except a tourer, or a vintage collector.

grolby

I don't know if you should sell it, but a newer bike is worth considering. I had a similar era Miyata 210 (not nearly as nice a bike as the 720!), and I was pretty amazed by how much better the LHT I replaced it with was. The main issue is that those old skinny-tubed bikes get pretty floppy when fully loaded, a modern bike with stiffer tubing handles a lot better with a load. There's also the matter of lower gearing, bigger tires, etc, but it was the improvement in stability that I noticed the most. On the other hand, the 720 will ride much better than an LHT when it's unloaded, so if you just ride it around a lot or tour light, it's going to better for that. Not to mention being a beautiful classic. If I were going to be doing a loaded tour, though... honestly, I would buy an LHT or similar, but I would also keep the 720.

clasher

If ya like working on vintage bikes I'd just fix this one up and ride it. To me it doesn't look like it needs a whole repaint. If you don't like doing your own work it would make financial sense to buy a bike that meets your needs. If you want to paint it that'll probably tip the financial cost in favour of a new bike unless you happen to be have a booth and spray guns at your disposal already. The cost of new wheels, derailleurs, and other parts adds up pretty quickly... that bike is old enough that modern cantilevers might not work (the spacing of the posts seems to be the issue I had with my miyata 1000) but there are lots of NOS cantis that work fine. My miyata 1000 was a lot of work but I enjoyed it and it set me back about 600$ since I used most of the original drive train and parts, only bought used bars, levers and a pair of NOS LX cantis to finish it. I went on a few short tours last year with a friend and she rode a new LHT. We both had a blast and nothing bad happened to either of our bikes.

tarwheel 

The old Trek 520s are still very nice touring bikes. You should be able to get the frame powder-coated for a reasonable price, particularly if there are local companies. If you do repaint, add any braze-ons that you might need at that time -- if it doesn't have mounts for fenders, racks, pump and waterbottles (but looks like it does).

Components may be worth upgrading after all these years. You may be able to find a nice used 8 or 9-speed triple group for a good price. However, if you fine with the existing components, you should be able to get by with new cables, brake pads and general tune-up. Canti brakes might be worth replacing if yours doesn't stop well. Tektro 720s have incredible stopping power, particularly with Koolstop pads, and are very inexpensive.

Many of the newer touring frames are probably built with tubing that is heavier and less attractive than your Trek. Most touring frames available for less than $1,500 are tig-welded, and some are very heavy.

WestPablo

It's chromoly steel, man! Keep it, powder coat it, and do the upgrades!

likebike23

It's funny you are posting this now as I'm also considering selling my 1983 Univega Gran Turismo. My main issues are the fit/feel, tire clearance, and drivetrain. I've been moving toward bikes that accept wider tires and I have to admit that I prefer indexed shifting to friction. The Univega is more like a sport touring bike by today's standards, and I've got a bike that fills that role better. I also have a Nashbar aluminum touring bike that I built up that is a more capable tourer and fits/rides great. So the Univega is kind of the odd man out. So, I say sell it to get what you really want/need. The only caveat is that if the Trek fits/feels perfect that you should keep it as a great feeling bike is sometimes hard to find.

Vintage_Cyclist

Get a new one and turn the 720 into a randonneur!

Bandera

Miguel,

Your 720 was "The" touring bike "back when" and you have a history w/ it, sunset say I.

There is nothing on today's market that will ride like your 531 standard gauge long wheelbase 720, a rando build would be nice as Vintage suggests. Modern drivetrain, brake pads & fresh wheels you'd have a light, smooth, well mannered elegant long distance machine. A fresh paint job and into the sunset you go, with style.

-Bandera

bikemig 

I didn't think you could get 10 people on BikeForums to agree on what time of day it is.

I'm a little shocked . . .

tarwheel 

The thing is most of us have shopped for new touring bikes and the pickings are slim. The bike industry has pretty much abandoned touring, or perhaps it's the cyclists. I actually shopped for an older touring bike like a Miyata for a long while but never found a decent one in my size for a fair price, so I ended up ordering a Bob Jackson World Tour from England. The bike often touted on this forum, Surly LHT, has a geometry that is a very bad fit for me. The Soma Saga is a great fit for mr at a comparable price, but it wasn't being sold yet when I got my BJP.

fietsbob

N+1. want fat tire capacity .. ?? get a 29er to go with it ..


call it a Gravel Grinder and it will be current again .. undamaged steel frame of good quality whats to hate?


NB people will steal anything if its bolted down it will be cut.

hueyhoolihan

i guess i have to say keep it, in as much as i went to the trouble to buy a '79 720 frame/fork off CL from some guy in NYC and had it powdercoated and bought a bunch of new to me shimano 600 stuff and built a set of wheels for it. OTOH there have been some improvements in the past 25 years, but depending on one's outlook on life they may seem marginal.

mostly i think i wanted it because at the time i got into cycling as an adult, i was destitute and longed for a full reynolds 521 trek frame and fork and had to settle for their entry model.

BigAura

As much as I love the aesthetics of old lugged steel, for me a touring bike should, first and foremost, be about utility. Anything more than S24O and I'd go with a modern rig.

clasher

If ya don't want it, I'm sure selling it in the C&V forum will move it quickly.

CB HI

Since he was the first to vote, he formed a Consensus of one out of one.

Cougrrcj

Ride the Trek! What's not to love about Vintage Steel???

I've decided to retire my '75 Fuji S-10S from 'regular' ride duty after 45,000+ miles and turn it in to a dedicated touring bike. Why? Because I can, it fits me like a glove, and we're very old friends that are comfortable with each other! In reality, all I need to do to it is get a stronger rear rack and mount the fenders I bought for it last year. I had already hung a triple crankset on it 30 years ago. Is it the ideal tourer? No. But I intend to have fun anyway!!

staehpj1

I won't vote because the choice is to tied in to your personal preference.

I will say that I'd replace it but if I did L'd be going the opposite direction. The bikes you propose for replacing it tend to be more truck like than your current bike. If I were replacing it I'd be going to something more sporty. Since you want fatter tires it seems likely that you want to go in the opposite direction that I would go.

For me, going lighter on a sportier bike is just a lot more fun. Going, with something like and LHT and a heavy enough load that the LHT makes sense would suck a lot of the joy out of touring. Again that is just my personal preference.

I'd say go with what makes you happiest. Oh and I doubt you will get much for the old bike so I'd say keep it even if you get another, if you like it and have room for it.

unterhausen

get rid of those pedals, they are past their sell-by date. I voted get rid of it, but I really just meant for loaded touring. I think a new bike will work better for loaded touring. That's a nice bike though, I probably wouldn't get rid of it.

cyccommute 

Yes! Absolutely replace it. It's not any more of a boat anchor than a newer touring bike would be but if everyone of us rode around on 30 year old touring bikes, bicycle companies wouldn't make any more touring bike. Wait! We do and they don't. If we tourists replaced our touring bikes with a bit more regularity, we might be looking at more and better offerings. Put a damned crowbar in your wallet and buy a new bike!*

It's not cyclists but the industry...and for good reason. The bikes are too well built and too rugged and we hang on to our touring bikes like a dog with a bone.

There are thousands of mountain bikes sold for each touring bike. Do you ever wonder why? It's because the technology changes quickly and the bike improve constantly. While a 32 year old touring bike is still considered "cutting" technology and a worthwhile investment, a 30 year old mountain bike is (justifiably) considered to be a out of date, mostly worthless hunk of junk. Heck, a 2 year old mountain bike is (almost justifiably) considered an out of date hunk of junk.

Touring bike, on the other hand, are Buicks. Very ho hum. The Trek 520 touring bike isn't that different for the early 80's 720 that bikemig owns. There have been a few upgrades but it's still a Buick.


*In the interest of full disclosure, it took me 20 years to replace my touring bike

ClemY

Man does not live by one bike alone. If it is only 32 yrs. old, it is much younger than a few of my bikes. I have updated a few of my old bikes over the years. They are now 9 spd rear with 3 front. Your brakes look like they could use an update and if your crank is setup for something like a 42-52 for the old 14-28 5 spd you can do a lot better. I have gotten some nice 94-58 cranks sets from ebay. I like big tires, but my touring bike currently has 700x32c Vittoria Randonneur Hyper tires, about as big as I can go. They ride well and seem pretty fast and they seem fine when I ride with 40 lbs of gear. If you want a new frame to take wider tires, no problem. Determine what you need and then shop places like Craig's List and ebay for hardware bargains. I just got a few Shimano RD M750 rear derailleurs inexpensively because I like them on my 9 spd setups. Just don't cheap out on the wheels. They can really make or break a trip.