I just received this in the mail today. Serial number shows a 1979 Trek 710 (H3E9). It needs some attention, but it should turn out to be a nice bike. The rear wheel is bent. Brake levers and calipers are Suntour Superbe, crankset is TA, rear derailleur is Suntour VX and front is SUntour Cyclone. I believe the hubs are Phil Wood.



I was planning on replacing the TA crankset with a Suntour Superbe that I have, but this one is growing on me. Any thoughts on either one?



The front hub has surface rust, but it appears to spin ok. Any suggestions on cleaning it up?





The paint looks decent and I think it is original, but then I saw this seat stay. The right stay says "REK" while the left says "TREK." It doesn't look like it was filled in or painted over. Maybe I am wrong and this has been repainted?

WHOA! Great find and good luck on the project. That's funny, the "T" in TREK missing on the seat stay.

I love the TA crank. Beaucoup chainring possibilities.

aluminum foil on that front hub. and nice 'rek man.

awesome 'rek; looking forward to seeing the build. I picked up a 1979 Trek 510 last year which has the same frame geometry but it was a less expensive bike back in the day as it was built from ishiwata 022 tubing. I have to build it up one of these days!

You got a great deal on that, I was watching it and went back to buy it and it was gone. Nice grab!

Yes original paint Phil STEEL hubs in as good a shape as my 1978.5 910 congratulations

I've got a '81 in the same color. Amazing paint. Very tasty choice of components on the part of the builder. Is your seat post binder bolt 3/16" like mine?

+1 Keep it! You can throw in a granny gear and have a sweet half-step plus granny setup! (That's the gearing that will soon be on my own '79 Trek 710!) I have a Sugino AT, but would love to have a TA. You would need to find a longer BB spindle, however.

I would find a Cyclone RD match for the FD. Not that Vx is bad, it's just not as sexy as Cyclone.

The paint looks original. I think you just have a very interesting seat stay cap - makes it a collector's item!

I like that rack - is it custom? Blackburn?

yeah i was like: is it like in stamps? is it now worth 10,000$ because its the super rare missing T frame?

I don't know what brand the rack is. The bike is at my office. So, I can't check now. I looked at it briefly today, but all I saw was a small "ST" mark. I think a similar mark was on the flange of the hubs. If I can't find a name, I'll post a pic of the mark.

I have a Superbe RD and FD. I was thinking of using those. Maybe I will find a Cyclone instead.

If I swapped the TA crank for a Superbe crank, would I need to change the spindle? Can I use the same crank puller on the TA given that it is French?

Killer bike. I'd keep it as built. Top shelf components there already.
-J

I love the early Trek paint. I think this will look great once it is cleaned up a bit. Yes, it is a 3/16" binder bolt.

Ha! I might part with it then...

There were Suntour Superbe pedals included as well. It also has a flick stand that seems to still be usable. The last flick stand I got on a bike fell apart because the rubber was so brittle. I guess this was stored better.

If you plan to keep it in in the half-step setup, you can likely run a short-cage Superbe RD without issue.

If you run a new crank, you will need to check the chainline. You might get away with some info from velobase or even Sheldon's BB size database (looks like you'll need a shorter BB for the Superbe).

If you try to remove the TA crank, you will definitely need a french threaded puller. There are two types, one for Stronglight (23.35 mm), and one for TA (23mm). You will need the latter.

If you don't want the TA cranks, I know a guy...

Not sure about keeping it as built... ... but whoever built it definitely knew what they were doing and chose this setup intentionally. This didn't just get thrown together haphazardly.

First off, beautiful, stunning bike! I’d say the paint looks original, because it looks identical to the paint on my 720. I wouldn’t change any components, the set-up is boss as is, and set up by someone who cared. Just clean it up and ride it!

What [MENTION=131041]mountaindave[/MENTION] said about needing a TA puller. If you have the old style Park puller, the reverse side works with TA cranks. This likely has a TA BB; I'd be tempted to pull the BB out and keep it with the crank, either to keep or sell. The BB might work right with a superbe crank or it might not. There is some trial and error here.

Given how versatile the TA crank is, I'd vote to keep it with the bike. This was more of a touring style bike and the TA will give you lots of options (think wide compact) for gearing. The superbe crank not so much.

I conveniently have the old style Park puller... And that's a good suggestion if OP decides to swap cranks.

I vote keep the TA. A nice Trek with a TA crank, Phil hubs, and Suntour derailleurs was the ultimate touring bike set up at that time. While Superbe cranks are very nice, swapping out the crank would ruin the vintage grail status. Sorry.

Also, the 50.4 cranks are extremely flexible. Could be set up for triple or whatever ring combo you want.

The old Park double sided pullers had one side that fits TA cranks.

Love old Treks! I would keep it as is.

This is my 1979 Trek 510, which has the same geometry as your 710 but is made of ishiwata 022 tubing. I picked it up last summer and this is how it came to me. The build, while not as nice as yours, has some similarities to your 710. The bike came with a lot of suntour vx stuff (pedals, derailleurs), simplex shifters, and shimano brakes and hubs.

The crank is an SR apex 86 bcd crank which is a copy of a stronglight 99 crank. Like the TA that came on your bike, this was a "compact" crank long before compact cranks became a thing. The neat thing about a crank like this, or your TA, is that you have lots and lots of gearing choices (the smallest inside you can run on an 86 bcd crank is 28 teeth, on a 50.4 bcd like your TA you can run as low as 26 teeth).

Nice ride. LOL. Good thing I didn't facilitate for you. It might have ended up in my fleet! Best of luck on the resto!!

Possibly. I suspect the TA spindle will put the Superbe chainrings a little further out than they would with the "proper" spindle, but maybe not so much to be a problem.

No. the TA crank uses a 23mm extractor while the Superbe uses a standard 22mm extractor.