Ah, the age old question of preservation...

So I have a nearly stock 1985 Trek 560. The only thing besides tires and bar tape that's not original to the bike is the rear brake lever. I have been trying to find a Suntour Cyclone non-aero brake lever to replace the missing one but with no luck. So here's my question: Should I replace the brakes with aero levers since one original is missing anyway?

I plan to ride this honey a lot and though I don't mind riding vintage, I wouldn't mind having a sleek cockpit.

Any advice from the Forum would be great.

I'm not a fanatic about having all original, it is nice if you can do it. Any bake levers you put on wont be original even if thay do match. Put the levers on that you like you are the one who is riding it after all.Plus your not changing anything that cant be changed again later on.

I've been going through the same quandary with an '87 Elance 400 I recently bought. I'm leaning heavily toward replacing the aero levers and incredibly narrow handlebar with Cane Creek aeros and a 44cm Cinelli, respectively. The added braking power from aero levers will by a major justification/rationalization. I intend to ride the bike, so I'm not inclined to keep things on it that might discourage using it. If I decide to display it as a museum piece someday, the OEM stuff can go right back on.

Build it the way you'll ride it.

While it is a fine, well built bike, it is not rare or a one-off. Swapping levers will not land you in the pits of hell, nor even earn you a stop in Purgatory. It won't even affect the bike's value.

And, if you do that, you'll enjoy it much more, so you'll ride it more often .

East Hill

Interesting thread. I had to go to Vintage Trek to verify that this bike doesn't have aero brakes and you are correct. I did that because I have a 83, and it was the first Trek road bike to have aero brakes. Go figure they would go the other way later! If you are concerned about originality, save the parts you remove in a box. That way you can console yourself that you can always return it to "stock". I'm going to do this with my 560. But I would set it up the way I'm going to ride it. Look at it this way, yours is a more expensive "custom build", that ought to keep the nay-sayers quiet. BTW I really like that old Trek.

I replaced the non-aero, Dia-Compe brake levers that were OEM on my '84 Univega with aero style. It is more functional and I think you will like it.

Thanks for all of the feedback on this one. I really didn't think twice until I saw the Vintage Trek site and the brochure for 1985 and realized that my 560 was as stock as the one in the pciture... down to the bottle cage, yellow cable housings and Cyclone pedals. Suddenly replacing one missing brake lever seemed to matter.

I think that I will go for upgraded aero brake levers and hold onto the one original, non-aero Suntour lever until I can find a mate.

Thanks again. Once I get the bike back together I'll snap a photo for the forum.