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1984 Trek 620 info.

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1984 Trek 620 info.

Old 07-09-19, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by The Golden Boy
That’s interesting I guess it goes to how much either small or large regional differences are (the Greenbay isn’t far away- and I used to check CL for Oshkosh and Appleton), OR it has to do with how much the “vintage” bike hobby has changed in the past 5-10 years. If I could have gotten a clean $80 84 Trek 620, I’d have been tripping over myself to get up to the Greenbay.
The vintage landscape has changed a ton. Bikes that would sell on the first day are sitting. Of course, this is a regional observation on my part.
Here's my story on the above bike by the picture alone. Seller is either cleaning the garage or moving (note the storage bins and full garbage can) and dragged this bike out of the corner where it has sat for 5 years plus. Off to ebay where he sees a couple 620's with a buy it now at $500 so he figures his is worth $375. Problem is, I bet this bike needs all consumables. I've peeled away my share of dried up and cracked tanwalls to know those are tires are probably original and shot (see the white around the rim on the rear tire.) Also, whats up with the front part of the top tube ? Paint issues ? Add in questionable derailleurs and hubs. He doesn't even bother to hit it with a garden hose. In my experience, if a bike doesn't look so hot in a picture from 10 feet away, it's gonna look worse in person. So yeah, I think the seller is nuts at $375. At $200, plus a tank of gas, plus consumables ............ well to each their own. If the frame and paint were perfect, I could buy in to the idea. I have a feeling this one is rough. I drove 5 hours round trip once for a bike. A minty Prologue for $150.

Last edited by sdn40; 07-09-19 at 10:13 AM.
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Old 07-09-19, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
I always figure when buying an old bike that I need to factor in the cost of new consumables which nearly always includes new tires.

New wheels are a big expense but if this is a daily rider, then it is a worthwhile expense. Plus with a new 27 inch wheelset, you can run a shimano 7 speed freewheel on the back, eke out an extra gear, and improve your shifting as the modern tooth profiles on freewheels are very good.

Biggest hassle of riding in NE are those dang goat's heads so maybe tire liners make sense or get a pair of schwalbe marathon 27 inch tires,

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...rathon-27-tire
I run Mr. Tuffy liners in all the family bikes. Huge difference in the amount of flats we get now. 5 bikes in our family and we've only had 1 flat since I installed the liners this spring. That was from a big thorn in the sidewall of my son's BMX bike, he rides everywhere and refuses to watch for thorn patches.
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Old 07-09-19, 09:39 AM
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Originally Posted by riverdrifter
Touring bikes are very hard to find where I live. The few I see are asking premium
prices. This seller wants $375 / negotiable. I offered $200 and got no response. I'm not going to drive 2 hours if he won't come down quite a bit.
You're going to drive two hours for a bike that doesn't fit you? Why?

My wife rides an '83 620 (similar to this one, except for type of brake caliper). She's 5' 8" with longer legs, and her reach fits well on a 54 cm.
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Old 07-09-19, 10:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
You're going to drive two hours for a bike that doesn't fit you? Why?

My wife rides an '83 620 (similar to this one, except for type of brake caliper). She's 5' 8" with longer legs, and her reach fits well on a 54 cm.
Should fit him well. He said he was 5'-8". The next smaller size is 19" and the next larger size is 22.5".
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Old 07-09-19, 10:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
You're going to drive two hours for a bike that doesn't fit you? Why?

My wife rides an '83 620 (similar to this one, except for type of brake caliper). She's 5' 8" with longer legs, and her reach fits well on a 54 cm.
I'm not sure if it fits or not. I think it will be close though.
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Old 07-09-19, 10:46 AM
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This is how my 51 cm Jamis is setup now. It feels pretty good, maybe a just a tiny bit small sometimes.

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Old 07-09-19, 10:49 AM
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^^^^ I don't think I would have much post showing if this bike didn't have such a radically sloping top tube.
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Old 07-09-19, 10:54 AM
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When it comes to vintage Trek and you really want one, you have to ask “where can I find another for a lower price”. And Craigs being Craigs, well you know someone will pay the extra just to have it. Trek commands that premium for good reason.
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Old 07-09-19, 11:45 AM
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Originally Posted by riverdrifter
^^^^ I don't think I would have much post showing if this bike didn't have such a radically sloping top tube.
If you're 5-8 with a 30" inseam meaning pants inseam, it should fit well. I'm your size and I set the saddle at 27" from center of crank to top of saddle measured along center line of the seat tube. A 21" or a 54cm size frame fits me about perfect. In the case of a 620 the next size smaller or larger would be 19" or 22.5". While you could ride these, they would not be ideal.
When are you going to get it?

Last edited by Hobbiano; 07-10-19 at 06:33 PM.
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Old 07-09-19, 11:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Hobbiano
If you're 5-8 with a 30" inseam meaning pants inseam, it should fit well. I'm your size and I set the saddle at 27" from center of crank to top of saddle measured along center line of the seat tube. A 21" or a 54cm size frame fits me about perfect. In the case of a 620 the next size smaller or larger would be 19" on 22.5". While you could ride these, they would not be ideal.
When are you going to get it?
I'm going Sunday to get it.
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Old 07-09-19, 12:00 PM
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Do you know what height you have the saddle set on that Jamis? Center of crank to top of saddle.
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Old 07-09-19, 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted by hobbiano
do you know what height you have the saddle set on that jamis? Center of crank to top of saddle.
28"
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Old 07-09-19, 12:30 PM
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When I was younger, I had mine set at 28-1/4". Over the years I gradually lowered it to 27". Whats going on here? Am I shrinking?
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Old 07-10-19, 09:24 AM
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One more photo. Still can't tell much.

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Old 07-10-19, 11:35 AM
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Appears to be an original Jim Blackburn SS-1 rack, with integrated rods that bolt right to the seat stay braze-ons. According to T-Mar, Jim worked with Trek to get the braze-on spacing just right. I toured Ireland in '85 with a pair of overloaded CyclePro panniers on an SS-1 on a 613, including a monstrously heavy Nikon F2 Photomic. Rock solid; it feels like an extension of the frame.

Red band on the front hub - Normandy? Poss. Maillard Atom. Trek was on a French hub kick at the time, as suggested above.

Photo angle gives a better sense of frame size; this might fit you well.

I stand corrected on the crankset (thanks @The GoldenBoy ); Sugion AT was probably an alternative for those who didn't want the half-step gearing.
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Old 07-10-19, 12:04 PM
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Originally Posted by riverdrifter
One more photo. Still can't tell much.

Looks like a keeper. And if it has a Helicomatic hub, get new/different wheels. It has nothing to do with the Helicomatic design, which is nifty, the bearings are undersized and most of the bearing races are soft. They all don't fail, but too many do to recommend keeping them. Sugino cranks are awesome, polish up quite beautifully, these are great bikes to rebuild, double check wheel size. It might be 27" instead of 700c, which can be a thing.

Edit: I looked it up, if it is still stock, it's a helicomatic hub, and 27" wheels. Which can be cured with a wheel swap, but 700c wheels are slightly smaller and brakes can not align well with the smaller rims. So either be warned or use it as a bargaining chip to negotiate the price down. Also, if it is a Huret rear derailleur, make sure it is all metal construction. If so, you are all good and have a cool derailleur if it has plastic pieces it will definitely fail, can't tell from the picks. Again, be forewarned or use it as a bargaining chip.

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Old 07-10-19, 12:53 PM
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Here’s a shot of my ‘84.

That’s absolutely, no doubt about it, an ‘84. The ‘83 had caliper brakes, and the ‘85 was blue.
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Old 07-10-19, 02:11 PM
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Wasn't there just a thread recently (past 1-2 weeks) about getting that ^^^^^ style of cantis to work with 700s, on posts intended for 27"ers? IIRC, it was successful, with some tweaking.
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Old 07-10-19, 02:44 PM
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Originally Posted by madpogue
Wasn't there just a thread recently (past 1-2 weeks) about getting that ^^^^^ style of cantis to work with 700s, on posts intended for 27"ers? IIRC, it was successful, with some tweaking.
I've heard of people getting DC-960s to work on a 27 to 700C conversion- @crank_addict was one.

I just like fancier brakes.
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Old 07-10-19, 08:53 PM
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Originally Posted by madpogue
^^^^ It specs with a Helicomatic (only applies to the rear), and a Huret DuoPar rear mech. AFAIK opinions vary about both, but they're both somewhat "odd ducks"; not exactly household words down at the modern LBS. Definitely negotiating points.

The crank should be a Shimano 600 with half-step gearing. The Sugino is a downgrade, but you might like the "normal" triple better.
I'm not sure I really even understand what half-step gearing is. I'm sure I have a normal triple now 52-42-30, on my Jamis. I live in the flatlands, is half-step gearing more for mountains? The Trek is from the flatlands too, so maybe that's why it got swapped to a normal triple?
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Old 07-20-19, 02:35 PM
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I finally worked out a deal on this Trek 620 and I'm heading home with it now. I'll post a NBD tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for all the input!
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Old 07-20-19, 03:15 PM
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Originally Posted by riverdrifter
I finally worked out a deal on this Trek 620 and I'm heading home with it now. I'll post a NBD tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for all the input!
That's a cool bike. Oddly enough I just picked up an '83 Trek 620 today.
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Old 07-20-19, 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
That's a cool bike. Oddly enough I just picked up an '83 Trek 620 today.

Oh wow, that's awesome!
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Old 07-20-19, 04:31 PM
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Originally Posted by riverdrifter
I'm not sure I really even understand what half-step gearing is. I'm sure I have a normal triple now 52-42-30, on my Jamis. I live in the flatlands, is half-step gearing more for mountains? The Trek is from the flatlands too, so maybe that's why it got swapped to a normal triple?
Half step gearing is complicated but it lets you eke you more useful gears when running 5 or even 6 on the back than if running crossover. Sheldon Brown has a good explanation:

"In the days of 4- and 5-speed freewheels , 8- and 10-speed bikes were commonly set up with chainwheels that were very close in size, for instance, 46/49, or 47/50. When used with typical freewheels of the era, the difference between the two front gears was about half as large as the difference between adjacent gears on the freewheel. (One reason for this was that early front derailers couldn't handle much more than a 3-tooth difference reliably!)

With half-step gearing, the larger shifts were made with the rear derailer, and the front was for fine tuning. This allowed an 8- or 10-speed set up to have a reasonable range with fairly close spacing of the gears."

My Olmo Gran Sport from 1960 came stock with half step gearing but then the gran sport front derailleur can't handle a big jump. The bike has a 49/46 up front and a 14-26 5 speed freewheel. Shifting through the gears involves a lot of double shifting which is a pain.
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Old 07-20-19, 05:40 PM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
Shifting through the gears involves a lot of double shifting which is a pain.
It's not so bad with bar ends or with 'on the bar' shifting. But having to reach down and double shift... yeah, that would get old really quick.

What is nice about half step gearing with a 5 or 6 speed rear end- it's easy to find that gear you want to be in- with a regular triple- the next comfortable gear could be in a different chainring, on the other side of the cluster.
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