Trek 728 Top Tube Cable Guide Rust
09-28-18, 04:02 PM
#1
Full Member
Thread Starter
Trek 720 Top Tube Cable Guide Rust Issues
First of all sorry for the lack of pics, but it's been raining for days. Will load them when the weather cooperates. I just scored a Trek 728 for the princely sum of $40. I believe it must have been sold as a frame & then built up by the original owner because it has down tube shifters instead of barcons, some super-wide touring handle bars, and a Hurret FD & Shimano Sora Long Cage RD.
Anyway, the frame is somewhat rough, with rusting along the top tube, particularly at the cable guides. The bike fits me, & it was begging to be saved & put back on the road. Suggestions on the best way to address the rusted guides would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance!
Anyway, the frame is somewhat rough, with rusting along the top tube, particularly at the cable guides. The bike fits me, & it was begging to be saved & put back on the road. Suggestions on the best way to address the rusted guides would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance!
Last edited by OutnBack; 09-29-18 at 09:24 AM.
09-28-18, 07:38 PM
#2
Extraordinary Magnitude
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Waukesha WI
Posts: 13,646
Bikes: 1978 Trek TX700; 1978/79 Trek 736; 1984 Specialized Stumpjumper Sport; 1984 Schwinn Voyageur SP; 1985 Trek 620; 1985 Trek 720; 1986 Trek 400 Elance; 1987 Schwinn High Sierra; 1990 Miyata 1000LT
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First of all- the important statement.
"Pix or it didn't happen."
Second of all... Congratulations!
The 1982 Trek 720/728 came as the bare 720 frame or as a built up bike- with the proverbial "eclectic mix" of high end parts as the 728. As I'm aware, both the 720 and 728 were prohibitively expensive bikes- I believe it was @Salamandrine who said his shop sold 10 Specialized Expeditions for every 720 they sold- mostly because of the price. The 728 was only available in 1982- from 83-85 the 720 was the built up bike. I've seen 720s that have been built up with totally period correct components, but not the ones listed for the bike- that leads me to believe the bike was unofficially available as a frameset.
However- keep in mind you're talking about a 36 year old bike- since there's rust on it- it sounds like it's either been well-used, or neglected- in either case, that may have necessitated replacing parts. It's pretty unusual for a well ridden bike to have the original components still on it after a few decades. You can compare what's on the bike to what the catalog shows on the Vintage Trek website: https://www.vintage-trek.com/images/trek/Trek3.pdf
You'll get some great bike forums results about rust removal with this search string in the Googles: site: bikeforums.net rust removal oxalic acid
You can also pull up YouTube videos with a similar search string in the YouTubes.
The 1980s Trek 720 was always a really special bike- from the premium tube set, to the Made In The USA handmade quality and the Class A, cutting edge components; the 720 is just a special bike all the way around.
Really looking forward to pix!!!
"Pix or it didn't happen."
Second of all... Congratulations!
The 1982 Trek 720/728 came as the bare 720 frame or as a built up bike- with the proverbial "eclectic mix" of high end parts as the 728. As I'm aware, both the 720 and 728 were prohibitively expensive bikes- I believe it was @Salamandrine who said his shop sold 10 Specialized Expeditions for every 720 they sold- mostly because of the price. The 728 was only available in 1982- from 83-85 the 720 was the built up bike. I've seen 720s that have been built up with totally period correct components, but not the ones listed for the bike- that leads me to believe the bike was unofficially available as a frameset.
However- keep in mind you're talking about a 36 year old bike- since there's rust on it- it sounds like it's either been well-used, or neglected- in either case, that may have necessitated replacing parts. It's pretty unusual for a well ridden bike to have the original components still on it after a few decades. You can compare what's on the bike to what the catalog shows on the Vintage Trek website: https://www.vintage-trek.com/images/trek/Trek3.pdf
You'll get some great bike forums results about rust removal with this search string in the Googles: site: bikeforums.net rust removal oxalic acid
You can also pull up YouTube videos with a similar search string in the YouTubes.
The 1980s Trek 720 was always a really special bike- from the premium tube set, to the Made In The USA handmade quality and the Class A, cutting edge components; the 720 is just a special bike all the way around.
Really looking forward to pix!!!
__________________
*Recipient of the 2006 Time Magazine "Person Of The Year" Award*
Commence to jigglin’ huh?!?!
"But hey, always love to hear from opinionated amateurs." -says some guy to Mr. Marshall.
Commence to jigglin’ huh?!?!
"But hey, always love to hear from opinionated amateurs." -says some guy to Mr. Marshall.
Last edited by The Golden Boy; 09-28-18 at 07:44 PM.
09-29-18, 02:33 PM
#3
Full Member
Thread Starter
First of all- the important statement.
"Pix or it didn't happen."
Second of all... Congratulations!
The 1982 Trek 720/728 came as the bare 720 frame or as a built up bike- with the proverbial "eclectic mix" of high end parts as the 728. As I'm aware, both the 720 and 728 were prohibitively expensive bikes- I believe it was @Salamandrine who said his shop sold 10 Specialized Expeditions for every 720 they sold- mostly because of the price. The 728 was only available in 1982- from 83-85 the 720 was the built up bike. I've seen 720s that have been built up with totally period correct components, but not the ones listed for the bike- that leads me to believe the bike was unofficially available as a frameset.
However- keep in mind you're talking about a 36 year old bike- since there's rust on it- it sounds like it's either been well-used, or neglected- in either case, that may have necessitated replacing parts. It's pretty unusual for a well ridden bike to have the original components still on it after a few decades. You can compare what's on the bike to what the catalog shows on the Vintage Trek website: https://www.vintage-trek.com/images/trek/Trek3.pdf
You'll get some great bike forums results about rust removal with this search string in the Googles: site: bikeforums.net rust removal oxalic acid
You can also pull up YouTube videos with a similar search string in the YouTubes.
The 1980s Trek 720 was always a really special bike- from the premium tube set, to the Made In The USA handmade quality and the Class A, cutting edge components; the 720 is just a special bike all the way around.
Really looking forward to pix!!!
"Pix or it didn't happen."
Second of all... Congratulations!
The 1982 Trek 720/728 came as the bare 720 frame or as a built up bike- with the proverbial "eclectic mix" of high end parts as the 728. As I'm aware, both the 720 and 728 were prohibitively expensive bikes- I believe it was @Salamandrine who said his shop sold 10 Specialized Expeditions for every 720 they sold- mostly because of the price. The 728 was only available in 1982- from 83-85 the 720 was the built up bike. I've seen 720s that have been built up with totally period correct components, but not the ones listed for the bike- that leads me to believe the bike was unofficially available as a frameset.
However- keep in mind you're talking about a 36 year old bike- since there's rust on it- it sounds like it's either been well-used, or neglected- in either case, that may have necessitated replacing parts. It's pretty unusual for a well ridden bike to have the original components still on it after a few decades. You can compare what's on the bike to what the catalog shows on the Vintage Trek website: https://www.vintage-trek.com/images/trek/Trek3.pdf
You'll get some great bike forums results about rust removal with this search string in the Googles: site: bikeforums.net rust removal oxalic acid
You can also pull up YouTube videos with a similar search string in the YouTubes.
The 1980s Trek 720 was always a really special bike- from the premium tube set, to the Made In The USA handmade quality and the Class A, cutting edge components; the 720 is just a special bike all the way around.
Really looking forward to pix!!!
09-29-18, 03:04 PM
#4
Master Parts Rearranger
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Portlandia's Kuiper Belt, OR
Posts: 4,403
Bikes: 1982 Trek 720 - 1985 Trek 620 - 1984 Trek 620 - 1980 Trek 510 - Other luminaries past and present
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Eh, not perfect, but ridable. I'd see if I could use steel wool or whatever to sand away the rust on the seat cluster, try some touch-up paint or similar, and ride it. Trap any chance of external rust happening as I/we assume you store this indoors somewhere where the outside elements can't ravage it any further. I have a Trek 412 that I just got as a frameset (more or less) and it has some internal and under-paint rust. It's mostly relegated to the TT, like yours. I'm taking the chance--there's a lot of steel. But then, maybe I'm the fool and should just ride my other bikes? That rust on your 728 personally wouldn't stop me, and I've ridden a similar situation with an old 531 Raleigh.
09-29-18, 03:28 PM
#5
Senior Member
I'm going to say repaint is worth it for this one. There are quite a few rust spiders under the paint that you won't get to without stripping.
Overall the rust at this point looks mostly cosmetic, but it's just getting to the point where it might not be. I know it only cost you $40 (score!) but this was the grail touring bike of the time. It's worth investing in. Powder coat? You could soak it in evaporust and touch up, but personally I'd go for the full strip.
This comes from not wiping the sweat off your bike at the end of the ride. BTW.
Overall the rust at this point looks mostly cosmetic, but it's just getting to the point where it might not be. I know it only cost you $40 (score!) but this was the grail touring bike of the time. It's worth investing in. Powder coat? You could soak it in evaporust and touch up, but personally I'd go for the full strip.
This comes from not wiping the sweat off your bike at the end of the ride. BTW.
09-29-18, 04:43 PM
#6
Full Member
Thread Starter
I'm going to say repaint is worth it for this one. There are quite a few rust spiders under the paint that you won't get to without stripping.
Overall the rust at this point looks mostly cosmetic, but it's just getting to the point where it might not be. I know it only cost you $40 (score!) but this was the grail touring bike of the time. It's worth investing in. Powder coat? You could soak it in evaporust and touch up, but personally I'd go for the full strip.
This comes from not wiping the sweat off your bike at the end of the ride. BTW.
Overall the rust at this point looks mostly cosmetic, but it's just getting to the point where it might not be. I know it only cost you $40 (score!) but this was the grail touring bike of the time. It's worth investing in. Powder coat? You could soak it in evaporust and touch up, but personally I'd go for the full strip.
This comes from not wiping the sweat off your bike at the end of the ride. BTW.
09-29-18, 04:46 PM
#7
Master Parts Rearranger
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Portlandia's Kuiper Belt, OR
Posts: 4,403
Bikes: 1982 Trek 720 - 1985 Trek 620 - 1984 Trek 620 - 1980 Trek 510 - Other luminaries past and present
Mentioned: 221 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1556 Post(s)
Liked 2,024 Times
in
989 Posts
I'm going to say repaint is worth it for this one. There are quite a few rust spiders under the paint that you won't get to without stripping.
Overall the rust at this point looks mostly cosmetic, but it's just getting to the point where it might not be. I know it only cost you $40 (score!) but this was the grail touring bike of the time. It's worth investing in. Powder coat? You could soak it in evaporust and touch up, but personally I'd go for the full strip.
This comes from not wiping the sweat off your bike at the end of the ride. BTW.
Overall the rust at this point looks mostly cosmetic, but it's just getting to the point where it might not be. I know it only cost you $40 (score!) but this was the grail touring bike of the time. It's worth investing in. Powder coat? You could soak it in evaporust and touch up, but personally I'd go for the full strip.
This comes from not wiping the sweat off your bike at the end of the ride. BTW.
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