bob_white

I saw this on local CL:

Selling a vintage 1995 Trek 520 Touring bike.

The 520 is treks longest running series and any tourer knows this bike is a classic.

The frame is in very good condition. The stickers are a bit worn but there is no dents or rust
Parts are not original.

Shimano 105 brake levers
Suntour shifters (3x7)
Mystery Shimano crank
Shimano RSX derailers
New back wheel/tire

dweenk 

I wouldn't pay $340 US for it with non-original parts, mis-matched wheels, and stem shifters.

mstateglfr 

- If the rear wheel is good quality and you dont care that the wheels mismatch, then ignore that problem as it isnt a problem.
- Calling the crank a mystery is funny. Its a Shimano crank...there are only so many options that it could be. If its in good condition and the gearing ratio works for what you need, then no big deal. Based on the 1 pic, the large chainring looks removable so its an aluminum crank of some sort.
- RSX components will work fine, assuming they are in good condition.
- The SunTour stem shifters are really odd- Suntour doesnt index with Shimano so the shifting will most likely be inconsistent as the chain will shift properly in some combinations but not others.


Assuming the rear wheel is good quality and the crank is aluminum as guessed, the only issue is the shifters and those can be fixed relatively easily for anywhere from $40-150 depending on what style of shifting you want.

Make sure the seatpost and stem are adjustable and not stuck.

If I wanted a touring bike and the wheel really was in solid condition and this bike fit me perfect, I would go to $250 as a high. The bike could easily be changed to a 3x9 with some bar end shifters off ebay and a new chain and cassette which would total $100 or less.
Its an excellent frame and starting point, but the bike as original had components 10x better than whats on there now. Plus it may(probably) need a full overhaul of the bearing points and new tires.

ramzilla

Definitely an interesting bike. Should have cantilever brakes & maybe even a Reynolds 531 frame. Most of those old triple chain ring 520's came with Deore RD & other Shimano stuff. Have no idea why it's got an 80's vintage Suntour stem mount shifter. (However, those were about the best friction levers ever made). I'd go take a look at it. Seems like it's priced too high though. If it was closer to $200 US then, it would be a more exciting deal.

elboGreaze

I worked on one of these for a neighbor a while back , had bar end shifters , Deore dr's , True Temper cro-mo . Nice bike , I was impressed by the ride quality .

Spaghetti Legs 

$200 US max if you really like it.

zukahn1 

Since this an early 90's model looks to be 93 based on paint it would have a Tig welded Tru Temper frame set and should have full Deore components with nice Matix touring wheels. In slightly rough shape with lesser none original components I couldn't see going over $200 for a 90's TIG welded Trek even if it's the touring model. As presented it would make a nice around town commuter, but you would have to spend $200+ in parts and labor to gt it back to being a nice touring bike.

oddjob2

It's Toronto, home of the loonie and high bike prices.

If it all works, $300 US would be ok.

A new 520 disc retails for $1700 Canadian.

bertinjim 

Oddjob's right - Toronto, home of the loonies. Vintage bike prices there have their own little subset of the universe. That being so, go CDN $400.You will need to replace the shifters for indexing and the crank is an alloy RSX triple. Had RSX on a CDN Peugeot and it was very nice kit.

bob_white

Passed on the bike. The seller wasn't interested in dropping the price. I don't really blame him though. The situation in Toronto is terrible, some of the prices I see on Kijiji/CL are just depressing.

Michaeh

Hi, long time lurker, seldom poster.

I'm the owner of the trek 520. It's really hard to gauge a price as touring bikes are quite rare in the classified in Toronto.

I just set an arbitrary price that is in line with most vintage bikes in my area with the understanding that every buyer likes to negotiate $50-100 off. Plus every POS vintage bike is selling for 250-300.

Not sure why everyone is so quick to point out to change the friction shifters. They shift great. It's not that hard to figure out how much to move the bar to get to the next chainring. why is index shifting necessary in a touring bike?

I never said I wasn't interested in dropping the price as you never asked. You offered $200 for the frame (or maybe it was frame with everything minus just the wheels). Maybe I was suppose to counter offer at this point but didn't realize. It just seemed like you weren't overly interested at this point so I didn't bother.

As I have 3 bikes in a small living space, I'm trying to declutter so having an extra pair of wheels just doesn't make sense.

Anyways it's hard to find a proper touring bike in the classified. May I suggest checking out bike on wheels which has a fuji touring bike for $1260 if you're on a budget but want a brand new bike.

Good luck with your future tours.
Michael

Scottybigs 

Seems like Toronto overall is really a sellers market, and not great for buyers. I snagged a complete 1989 Trek 520 in great condition here in Halifax for $75--that stuff happens our here, but down in the GTA? Forget about it.

You may do better if you keep tabs on the Classic & Vintage Sales thread. Most of the folks on the forums here are willing to sell good frames+bikes for a reasonable market price, rather than part a bike out on eBay.

I don't blame @Michaeh for that asking price either, because as he's pointed out he can get that in Toronto pretty easily.

mstateglfr 

no dog in the fight, but i figured I would respond to these two thoughts.

- the price isnt arbitrary if its set to be in line with most of the similar bikes in your area. And if its comparable in quality/condition and the other bikes sell, then your price is very reasonable.
- the reason why everyone pointed out the shifters is because the bike came with great barend shifters and now has incompatible stem shifters. Stem shifters are not appreciated by most cyclists as they have historically been used on entry level bikes.
- while indexed shifting isnt necessary on a touring bike, or any bike for that matter, it is a feature that is expected for anything made in the last 3 decades. I think it is reasonable for buyers to devalue a bike when its been changed from indexed barends(or STIs) to friction stem shifters.
- the stem shifters are incompatible with the drivetrain for indexed(you mention they are 3x7).

With that said, you are in an absurdly expensive location for used bikes regardless of quality/condition, so you may still be able to force a buyer to pay high even with the low end stem friction shifters.

zukahn1 

To add the deal breaker for me would be the RSX touring groupo without the nice brifters that typically are paired with these parts, the entire point of the RSX group was it was one of the 1st have nice brifters with boss mounted trim adjusters, if it had these to match the other parts it would be pretty good deal for 400-450 CAD in Totonto. Without them your looking at about $75-100 for something equal, in brifters or bar ends plus the hassle of install with new cables bar tape and maybe freewheel/cassette and chain.

Michaeh

Wow $75 for a trek 520, that is a sweet deal. $75 could probably get a rusted ccm Canadian tire cruiser. Never realized Toronto was such a sellers market till this thread.

As of 5 mins ago , someone has brought and picked up the bike (not the op). Hurray for Toronto. Let the good times roll

bob_white

Hey, I'm glad everything worked out. No hard feelings, that's life on Toronto! Love this city anyways.

oddjob2

The only thing cheap in Toronto is Chinese restaurants.

Real estate, gasoline, and liquor prices are absurd.

ramzilla

I got a complete original 1988 Trek 520 for $100 about 4 years ago in Atlanta. It's a beautiful Reynolds 531 model w/downtube shifters. Easily worth 3x the price except for one problem. The seat post was stuck hard. I had to put the seat post in a big vise and, I put so much force on it I almost broke the frame. But, the stem snapped free. I've still got it. Converted to an upright city bike with trigger shifters on handlebars. A super sweet ride. Wouldn't take less than around $400 for it now.