'83 TREK 970 inbound
 

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Since I have a good friend in the Spokane area, I sometimes browse the Spokane Craigslist, and a couple days ago this popped up. The seller had it listed as a Trek 570 and frame material as aluminum, which I'm sure were just accidental. I'm no vintage Trek aficionado, but I knew enough to recognize that the red with the yellow panels paint job represented one of the good ones. That being a 1983 970. The seller had made some changes throughout the years but had taken very good care of the bike, since buying it new from Bonita Schwinn Cyclery in '83. He also absolutely loved the bike but wasn't riding it anymore and was ready to pass it along to someone else. After a few email and text exchanges, especially one to confirm the original fork was still in hand, we came to an agreement. I ended up paying what he had it listed for, but the seller has kept everything that came off the bike and is including it in the sale, so I don't feel I over paid.

Before everyone that is familiar with this model starts chiming in, I know these were sold equipped with a full Super Record parts group. This bike seems to have had it's original equipment jacked at the shop, maybe moved on to another frameset or possibly this bike was sold at a discount with a less expensive group ...I can't say. It does still have the Campy shift levers, Record hubs on Mavic G-40's (I'm not sure what the correct rims would have been) and Cinelli bar and stem. The parts group he purchased it with is Sun Tour Superbe, minus the parts I already mentioned. He later replaced the fork with the Rock Shox Ruby because he said the road vibration was starting to bother him and also a triple chainring set up when the climbing legs packed it in. So in the parts box I'm getting the Superbe 52/42 cranks, front and rear derailleurs, assorted freewheels, some tools, another Cinelli stem and he mentioned another derailleur. He also included the Turbo Trainer, but I told my friend who's facilitating this for me, to keep it or donate it.

After somewhat getting to know the seller over many lengthy texts, we found that we had several things in common. Both former Navy, and both from the aviation community. He seemed like a really great guy, and my friend confirmed it, as they talked for about an hour when he went to retrieve the bike. I really wished I had been able to pick this up from him myself, I think I missed out. He asked my friend a lot about me, and he told him what a bike nerd I am. He even texted me after and said that he would look through his old cycling gear and send me anything he thought I might be able to use. Very cool guy.

So it may be a little while to have this in hand, but I'm really looking forward to checking it out. I'm not sure if I will immediately try to put it back to the stock config, I'm thinking I will just swap out the fork and loose the triple ...we'll see. I'll keep you guys posted with pics and all.

Oh, also, just before my friend arrived to pick it up the seller texted me to ask if preferred the saddle in the pic (a Terry) or the Brooks it came with. Guess which one I chose.

Forking
 

I’m glad you got the original fork, that thing looks bizarre with a sus fork. Nice find!

I know.
Hopefully I can find someone building up a 90's Paris-Roubaix tribute bike to take it off my hands.

velomateo

Pretty cool and although I agree with not digging the fork, it looks fairly svelt for what it is and I might be inclined to give it a spin just to see.

Also, those trainers make good workstands IMO, especially when you want to test the drivetrain under load. I have one I'm going mount to the top of a small roll around tool box. ;)

Yes, I agree. I mentioned that to my friend, in case he wanted a dual purpose trainer.

The Ruby could find it's way on to my beater/townie, but if anyone has interest in it ...hit me up.

Shocking!

That's pretty cool, I'd definitely try that fork first. I mean why not?

Maybe I'll give it a rip around the block, but it's 100% not staying on this bike.

That’s a Terry Liberator. They are great saddles and look cool with the red inset.

I'm more of a Rolls or Turbo guy, not into the Terry saddles. Honestly, I thought they were female specific.

Originally and mostly so? but they can help with a myriad of problems for all. I know a couple people that used them for serious perineum pain and problems, eventually took them off the bike, the Terry's kept them on for far longer than it could have been. :twitchy:

Exactly! I have a few of them on a few bikes, Turbos on others and a few others. Haven’t mounted a Brooks yet.

For the OP, Terry has male-particular models as well.

I doubt I will mount the Brooks either. Just figured that if I end up selling it off, there's more to be made with the Brooks than with the Terry.

Box showed up yesterday, five days later than projected, after several delays during shipping. I was relieved to see the box showed no signs of damage upon arrival and the bike was safely packed inside. My friend who assisted in pickup and shipping contacted me thru FaceTime during the packing process, it was fun to be able to have my morning coffee and armchair quarterback the pack job.
Bike looks great overall, it’s dirty but I’m sure it will clean up well. Here’s a pic of my starting point. I forgot to take a pic of all the spare tires, parts and even vintage shoes that came with. Serial number confirms it’s a 56 cm, although the seller had it listed as a 54. I still think it should fit me fine, even though I’ve been sticking to 55’s over the last few years. I was surprised at how light it felt once I assembled it and gave it a lift. I expected it to feel a bit tank-ish with the combination of the triple cranks, Brooks sadddle and Rock Shox, but it really didn’t feel that bad.


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Nice bike! Please post a pic after you install the proper fork.
Thanks, Tim

That’s job one Tim. Will do.

Original fork vs the Ruby.


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I love finding these.
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Congratulations!!!

At first glance- that fork is an abomination- but when you put this in there- it makes sense. I have nerve damage in my left hand- the weight of me riding on it, road vibration, squeezing levers, shifting- all that stuff causes all kinds of goofy pains and discomfort and swelling. I know another guy with similar nerve/muscular damage who got to the point he couldn't ride with his hands and went to a recumbent- He couldn't shift or brake or barely bear his own weight anymore. I know there's going to be a time that my drop bars are going to be swapped out for flat bars and my mileage is going to go way down... but it's a good feeling to still be able to do what you can.

The Golden Boy can I interest you in gently used Rock Shox Ruby?

Realized today that when the fork was changed out the shop cut down the pivot bolt on the front brake. Since it wasn’t having to go all the way through the fork crown, just the fork brace, they shortened it to about the same length as the rear bolt. So that will need to be sorted.

The bike arrived with an odd bottom bracket installed. The seller had included the original 113mm Superbe spindle, but that was it.
The bottom bracket it came with used sealed bearings and was a Vx model, labeled BMX. It used adjustable cups on either side.


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So, wanting to install the original Superbe 2x cranks I used the spindle the seller provided mated to a set of Campagnolo Record cups and bearings, to create a bit of a hybrid. It spins smoothly and retains the proper JIS (ISO) taper for the cranks


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No, but thank you very much!!!

What year did Superbe switch from ISO/Campy to JIS taper? Did it coincide with the 144mm to 130mm BCD change?

That I couldn't say, and my knowledge is not that extensive.
When I realized the bike came with the odd BB and that I wasn't going to be able to just swap the spindles, I went to Velobase for the BB specs. That's where I got spindle length (113mm) and JIS taper for early Superbe.

Edit: After further research, it appears there is some conflict between the Superbe BB-100 specs and those for the CW-1000 crankset. The crankset info states "Square Taper (ISO)", where the specs for the BB say "Square Taper (JIS)". So at the very least, I have the correct spindle for the crankset :).

velomateo Are you planning on keeping that Sugino crankset? If not, and it's 170mm, let me know!

I'm not sure I'm going to keep or sell it yet. It needs a good cleaning, but it's in nice condition, and yes they are 170's.
Both my modern drive chain bikes run a 52/36 crankset, and when paired with a 30t cog in the rear I can manage pretty well on the local climbs. I may pickup a 36t inner ring and run this as a double. I got two Cyclone GT rear derailleurs in this deal as well as a 12-30 freewheel, so I'm almost there already.
If I decide not to hoard this, I will notify you before it goes up on eBay. It won't happen until I get the 970 out on the road for some evaluation miles though.
Cheers

New brake pivot bolt found on eBay, was perfect replacement for the shortened one on the front calipers. It was billed as a Dia Compe, but it may have been Suntour all along.

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Exact same style right down to the JAPAN stamp. It was too long, set up for a “nutted” mount style, and needed more thread but was easily brought up to spec in about thirty minutes. Brakes cleaned up with a simple rag wipe and reassembled with fresh grease.
I ordered a set of Campy style Soma hoods, since locating Suntour hoods seemed impossible. They fit perfectly, nice and snug, and look great. The levers really almost look like new now.


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Waiting on some headset parts that were supposed to arrive today, but didn’t. Maybe the mail carrier will stop by later, since the tracking info said they were out for delivery.

Wanted to post up a few pics and wrap up the build on the 970, since this thread has been dormant for a while. Originally when I started the build I installed the SunTour Superbe cranks and derailleurs. These were original to the bike as purchased by the original owner. After some thought though, I decided to go in a different direction. I already have a couple bikes with a 52/42 drive train, and the 970 has really generous tire clearance, so I thought it would be fun to set it up a bit more capable with a 52/36. So with that decision came a few hurdles. First was the Cyclone rear derailleur, the cable bolt was missing and proved a little difficult to locate a new one at a reasonable price. I considered buying another derailleur for parts, but found an eBay seller offering just the bolt and nut. He wanted a lot for it, but accepted my heavily discounted offer.

Next was the cranks. The Sugino AT triple cranks were cleaned up and converted to a double with a new (used) Sugino 36t. The bottom bracket was a challenge though. Finding information for the correct spindle length online was impossible, and I ultimately settled on the trial and error approach. In the process I purchased a very nice (and also expensive) IRD Tenacity bottom bracket. I was really impressed with the finish and quality, but alas it was too short. Hopefully I will find a use for it down the road. In the end the solution came from my parts stash. I had an old White Industries bottom bracket with a 117mm spindle that did the job. This bottom bracket has a unique design that allows the spindle to move to adjust the chain line. Once in position there are set screws that secure it in place. I currently have it working with a 6s 12-24 freewheel, but also have a 13-28 for steeper days.

I also sourced a new 970 chain stay decal from VeloCals, as well as a pair of period Mavic decals - since one was missing off the front rim. New Rolls saddle, new cables in grey, 700x28 Panaracer Gravel King smooth tread tires and Newbaum's clothe bar tape. Keen eyes will notice that I installed the tape from the top down, rookie move I know, first time using this stuff. I thought about attempting to pull it off and re do, but I was afraid I would just end up ruining it, so I'm going to leave it for now and see how it works out.

Now some pics...

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:love::love::love:

That's a great looking bike.

Sanitary.

--Shannon