mountaindave 

Posted in the ISO thread too, but casting my net wide.

This is a long shot, but I'm looking to track down the first Trek Rough Terrainbike in the largest frame available: 1983 Trek 850 24". A close second would be a 1984 850 or 1985 Trek 850 or 870 in the same size. Frame only is fine, but handlebars would be nice, complete bike even better.

Thanks in advance,
David

Sedgemop 

I'll keep a lookout over here. See a decent number of early Trek mountain bikes in southern WI. I've seen a couple 22" '83 850's, but never a 24". Good luck, man.

wrk101

Save a search on eBay. I've had three 1984 Trek 850s over the years, none that large. Nicely equipped too, so if you find a complete bike, thats even better. The early Trek MTBs were special, numbers were reused over the years and appear on bikes that share nothing in common.

I'd also check FB marketplace. Start with Denver. I've found a lot of nicer vintage MTBs there, including two of my three 850s.

The search function in FB marketplace is horrible. My "trick" when planning a road trip is I do a simple search for bicycle or bike, change the location to larger cities along my route. Its how I scored a nice Diamondback Mean Streak in Des Moines. I was on a road trip to TR National Park. Met the seller at a gas station. I regularly see nice bikes on FB marketplace at attractive prices sit unwanted for several weeks. Sure, stem and bars were a disaster, but the bike itself was in very nice condition overall. Asking price was about 1/3 what the pedals alone were worth.

Fortunately, I am agnostic on size, brand and model, which opens up a lot more deals.

mountaindave 

Thanks.

According to the Trek serial number database, a little over 500 of them were made. Not good odds, but they exist somewhere. Hopefully not in the landfill…

mountaindave 

Thanks for the tip. I have an eBay search saved already. I didn’t think to check FB, but it’s become a big resource as well. I have family in the Denver area, so it’s doable.

Sedgemop 

Historically, this has been a good resource for finding early and less common Treks.

Madison swap 2023 date announced - Jan 21

mountaindave 

Thanks for the tip! If you see such a bike - I’d happily add some beverage money on top as a finder’s fee!

Sedgemop 

Yeah, man. I'll be on the lookout.

Sedgemop 

One size smaller than what you want, but here it is anyway. Decent price if you could get original parts with it too.

'83 Trek 850

mountaindave 

That is a very thoughtful and beautiful build at a decent price. I appreciate the note. Sadly, a bit too small.

Sedgemop 

You still looking for one of these? Paint is rough, but looks mostly original.

'85 24" Trek 850