Originally Posted by Poguemahone
Now, now. Most used Treks aren't worth more than a hundred bucks, because most Treks are mass produced stuff. But (and this is a very big but) the vintage steel lugged road bikes by Trek certainly are or should be. I'm with Lotek on this one fer sure. I'll maintain that the the 410/412 model, which usually goes for about 100-150$ on ebuy, is one of the great steals still to be had. I've got one which I have upgraded, and boy is it nice to ride. It's even pretty darn minty in the paint and decal department. However, the cost was sub 100$. The Treks pre-1984 are all pretty darn nice, be they Ishiwata, 531, or Columbus, but the first is completely undervalued.
Fwiw, I used my first paycheck from a Silicon Valley computer parts manufacturer to pay $350 for a Trek 412 in 1983 from Palo Alto Bike Shop. It was a nice ride, but I collided with another cyclist on the Stanford campus, and bent the top and down tubes. The fork didn't budge (which isn't the way it's supposed to work). Eventually, it got stolen when I locked it up at a CalTrain station (or maybe I didn't lock it up?), but it sure was a twitchy ride after that collision.
Neal