reddigari
Since you are only sixty miles away from me it might be worth your while to consider contacting me and making an appointment to get some advice and help with your projects. Our local Co-Op just had a 56cm Raleigh donated with a full Campy NR group that will go for around $500. But the co-op thing is just an aside. I think after 40 years in the industry I have a bit of insight, and enough in the skills department to have been the shop manager for the Bicycle Garage Indy for it's first year in Castleton. Lemme Know, Smiles, MH

[QUOTE=reddigari;23537774]at 5'9", a 54cm frame would work great... a 52 MIGHT fit, and a 56 might be too big...upper torso fit is the critical thing.. seat height and stem/bars then come into the picture... they are both adjustable.. i'm considering a shallower Drop for my old Trek... i'm now old too, and bending that far gets to be fairly painful at speed. the old cinelli bars are cool, but just not a good fit for me, now... besides.. i've shrank 2 inches over the decades and from injuries, so... yep, i need a different fit!
and Co-Ops are great resources..well worth a visit, as madhonk mentioned.
guess what i own/operate.

a co-op.

PS.. i used the trek site's "registration" page to decode the serial number/size, then the Trek Archive site i linked earlier to get the paint and other info... i used the brochures in the archive to find info on this '85 520 in my workstand right now... i think my 930R is in there, actually... been a LONG time since i posted there.

Thanks for the info! I will follow up on your advice in a few days - right now, after my Friday's bike ride, one of my knees has been acting up. Frustrating. Also, when you say 'your co-op', where is it and what is the URL, etc? Cheers

reddigari ,
I am in Bloomington, and the Bike Project V is the co-op. Smiles, MH

[QUOTE=maddog34;23537916]Hi again: I hope you can resolve this question for me...as I posted in my most recent post, instead of starting from a frame, I thought I would first restore a cheap used road bike so I can learn the intricacies. And trust me, I have already begun to run into hurdles (for moi)! The firs thing is the rear drop out...there is a weird 'disturbance' at the end of the chain stay, where the hub and derailleur are attached...I have a couple of photos of what appears to be a split. The other side looks fine. My doubt here is is it worth proceeding with the restoration or is the frame "bad" one. The bike certainly is old as dinosaurs. The second issue is the wheel and tire size...it is a 27 x 1 1/4 (32x630). I am torn. Thanks for any input.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6b51047184.png
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...addc4f55a2.png

[QUOTE=reddigari;23540232]Was the paint already chipped off? There might've been a torquing force applied to the inside of that dropout/chainstay, and it caused what you see?

That is a strange defect - looks like maybe the dropout got bent, and when it was bent back into shape the stay peeled away because the bronze hadn't flowed into the joint. A five minute fix for someone with oxy-acetylene, if that's the full extent of the fault, but it would burn the surrounding paint. Also 27x1-1/4" is an obsolete size with limited choice of wheels and tyres. Often we'd recommend switching to 700C but your brakes don't look deep enough (needs an extra 4 mm reach). Neither of these is a reason not to sort the bike out, but it's not necessarily something you'd want to keep, so don't invest heavily.

The cracked rear drop out looks fatal to me. Are you sure this is a Trek 1000? This looks like a steel bike to me, and Trek 1000's were aluminum.

Thanks for the advice. Your reasoning about the bent dropout certainly makes sense! I will try to find a welder or take welding lessons or go by the local bike shop. Oxy vs. arc job? Would it make a difference?
As for the tires, the wheels/rims are in good shape - probably replacements, so I could replace them; on Amazon, 27 - 1 1/4 tires and compatible tubes are quite profusely advertised, although I am not sure which one to choose. .
The brakes, I actually like them! They look like solid aluminium, made in Japan.

You are right, this is not the Trek 1000. That frame turned out to be too small in size plus the task of starting with just the frame looked too daunting and, more imp, too expensive, given my naivete in the field.. so I picked up a vintage $20 steel road bike and was planning to restore it for experience before a "from scratch" project. So you think the crack or the split is fatal? That's scary! A weld job can fix it, no?
Again, thanks for the responses and the time!!!

[QUOTE=MilhouseJ;23540262]Yes, the paint was already chipped. Your conclusion as to the possible causes agrees with one other on this page...The question I am facing now is whether give up on this bike b/c one person thinks that defect could be fatal or have it welded and continue with the project.

Needs to be brazed, not welded, and would benefit from being heated to red heat and bent back into position. You can bronze weld with TIG, but MIG or stick isn't really suitable.
Centre-pull calipers are effective, better than the side-pulls of the time, I used some in a recent build. Most of those tyres are probably not great quality, although someone here posted a list of better quality 27x1-1/4" tyres still available, they are out there. Tyres are important, they affect the feel of a bike.

[QUOTE=reddigari;23540340]This issue isn't fatal, but the picture of the stamped dropout suggests this is a lower-end bike (which is perfectly fine). However, it requires a repair by someone specialized in brazing, which can be costly and time-consuming. It might be easier to consider looking for another bike.

Regarding 27" tires, while there are fewer options available, you don't necessarily need to replace the wheels or rims. All of my bikes have what are now considered obsolete tire sizes, but these tires are still available at local bike shops or online. For 27" wheels, I recommend the following tires:

• Fast road tires: Continental Gatorskins
• Great all-around, including gravel: Panaracer Paselas
• Good value vs. performance: Kenda K35 or K40

There's really nothing costly or time-consuming about this. Wire brush and flush with acetone to remove contaminants. Then wipe on some flux, heat until red, squash with pliers or tap with a hammer to close the gap, run in some bronze. As long as you get it all fluxed and hot, capillary action does the work. This is not like brazing thin-wall tubing, where you have to finesse the flow of filler through a lug while taking care to not overheat the tube.

you may be mistaken... that looks to be cast/forged/machined...
and the bike is being used as a learning aid, not some high level restoration project.
and no one "Specializes in Brazing"

here's an example of a "Stamped" dropout.. Stamp mills shear pieces out of a plate. Note the mono-planar nature of the Stamping
https://live.staticflickr.com/286/20...54c84af5_z.jpg

Here is the update: I took the frame to a local welding guy (unfortunately before I saw the post from Grumpus). The charge was $20 to press that split part back at the end of the chain stay and some welding. It does not really look very smooth but the split is not showing and it all looks and feels solid; the paint is gone though...but that's for another day. I have already started taking apart all systems. Will clean them as I go replacing some items like the cables, cable housings, bb (looks like a square taper thing), etc. The cassette seems to be in good shape, so I will just take it out and check the hub for fluid movement and repair it as needed...The headset area looks daunting, as everything is so rusty and crusted over. I will do that last, I think. Will keep updating this space with progress and or questions.
Like you said, this is all just an exercise and may end up donating the bike to "Recycled Cycles" and they will determine if it safe for use afterward.
Thanks to all.

the first (trek 720 MTB) bike i "rebuilt for sale" ended up costing twice what the bike eventually sold for.. but i had collected information, a box full of specific tools, and bought multiple parts/supplies that started me toward where i am today.... and the whole started when i was searching CL for a replacement front wheel or rim for my old Trek road bike..... my specialty bike tools and parts, in their entirety, fit in a small fishing tackle box, twelve years ago..
now i have the largest orgainized collection of good used parts in NW Oregon, by a wide margin. In the next 5 years or so, i'll go online with the venture.

I’d rather light my hair on fire than rebuild an old frame of no particular value, with no vintage style, and no sentimental value.

$150-$200 on your local Facebook marketplace and you’ll be so far ahead of anything this frame could ever become.

I hear you. I could go out and buy a bike in good form as you said, but my current goal is to know the innards of a bike, to know how things are put together. But I don't want to spend a fortune doing that. Hope you see that...

Building it piece by piece, from scratch, without either a very specific knowledge of what you need, and / or a large parts stash, or a very accommodating co-op will, in the current economy, cost you about double what acquiring a complete version of the exact same bike.

I rebuilt a modernized an old Cannondale Criterium last year, replaced literally everything except the serial number. I spent about $500 on parts, not counting some of the stuff I had on hand, or the $150 I spent on paint.

I can buy complete, ready-to-ride 1990-early 2000s road bikes, including ’Dales, for $250-$300 off Marketplace right now.


Get a complete bike, strip it all the way down, then put it back together; true the wheels and install fresh inner tubes, put on a new cable kit and learn how to set up the brakes and adjust the shifting. New grips, saddle and pedals if you want to make it more “yours”

starting with a complete bike also means that everything should go right back together. Bikes are relatively simple, but it’s the little details that determine what’s compatible, and trying to piecemeal parts together with no base experience in what does or doesn’t fit often means having to buy the same parts more than once, because you didn’t know it wouldn’t fit.

"Get a complete bike...": That's precisely what I am doing right now, having given up on that Trek 1000 frame, which was too small for me. The current "bike" is a $20 vintage Rampar bike, which was functional. I am taking it all apart so I can do what you are suggesting. In doing so, I discovered the "frayed" read dropout end...:)

"...but it’s the little details that determine what’s compatible, and trying to piecemeal parts together with no base experience in what does or doesn’t fit often means having to buy the same parts more than once, because you didn’t know it wouldn’t fit." Right, that's why I plan to reuse as many as the old parts in this old bike and gain knowledge as I go along.

Novice rebuild lesson 1. Just noticed as I undid the wheels and tires that the rear wheel is much heavier (not counting the cassette of course). The material feels different and heavier and the width is 2 to 3 mm wider than the front wheel. Other than a possible replacement during the bike's (possibly 40+ years lifetime), could there be a technical reason? It has to bear more weight and do more stuff? Both front and rear had the same 27 inch gum wall tires.

rims are typically pairs from the factory... the hubs, sans freewheel/cassette, are not much different in weights.. spokes are also consistent, front and rear.
the Rear wheels are typically the first to be replaced. Crashes change that order.
test the rims with a magnet... and mirror-like chrome rims mean Steel rims.
rust is another way to determine rim material.

another thing that creates a fairly dramatic difference in weight is Slime filled, thick, "anti-flat" Tubes.. i toss them regularly.
Rotating mass is the first thing you feel when you pedal a bike... reducing that mass makes riding much funner!

"rims are typically pairs from the factory"...does it mean the two are identical OR they are of different heft and hoo-ha but are "matched" somehow? Thanks

the rims are typically the Same brand and model, from the factory, on road bikes, and almost all other bikes too.
the hubs would also be the same brand, front and rear
same for spoke gauges and style.

speaking of spokes... here's a primer on them... and there is a 5th material too... plain steel with a zinc coating... they are found on lower end new bikes, and the "black spokes" so popular theses days are usually steel-zinc too.
steel-zinc spokes love to rust to the Plain Steel spoke nipples they are most often paired with.. the rusted/stuck nips make the wheel impossible to true up.
Aluminum nipples are a great idea, but VERY finicky, and easy to ruin.
best spoke/nip combo for daily use is Stainless Steel, and Brass/Chrome plate Nipples.
Double butted spokes are the most durable, since the thinner mid section takes the load, and stretches in response to extreme shock like a pothole... a straight gauge spoke tends to load the ends (j-bend and at the threads), and that is where they tend to fail.
https://www.elite-wheels.com/technol...d-maintenance/