Hi-

I'm hoping that you bike historians out there can help me. I recently bought a 1983 Trek 730, beautiful maroon color with grey seatpost sticker and grey head tube, off of Craigslist. There's no model 730 in the 1983 Trek catalog, but the bike's serial number is 090597, which, according to vintage-trek.com, makes it a 1983 730. According to vintage-trek.com, there were only 50 model 730 bikes made that year, 25 of them 24 inch, and 25 were 22.5 inch. Mine's a 24 inch.

It's got Campy hubs, Suntour cyclone m-II front and rear derailleurs, Suntour shift levers, Aerox cranks, Gran-compe NGC 500 brakes, Shimano PD-TT00 pedals, Sakae Road Champion bars, GC (I'm assuming this is for Gran-compe) brake levers, a Tange headset, and the frame is complete Reynolds 531c (all three main tubes, stays, and fork). And it's in quite good condition. I can't find any scratches or dings on the paint, which still has it's original metallic shine, although in two places the stickers are a bit ripped. The tires, chain, bar tape, and brake hoods all need to be replaced, but other than that it looks to be in very good condition. I'm assuming that everything is original. Oh, but the seat is a very uncomfortable plastic one, I don't know if that'd be the original or not.

Can anybody tell me why there were so few 1983 730s made, and any other information that might be relevant? I'd really like to know more about it. I'm also interested in how much it's worth. Thanks so much.

-Jonathan

EDIT: Upon a closer look in better light, there are some scuffs on the paint, and one or two very small nicks that have a bit of rust in them, but overall I'd still say it's in great shape for a 24-year-old bike.

If it's not in the catalog, than it was probably a frame only that year.

Sounds like a nice bike. Vintage Treks do have a following, but prices are not stratospheric yet. I'm sure someone would spend several hundred dollars for that frame, given that it's full 531.

You might try contacting Skip at vintage-trek.com. He's very friendly and responsive. I have a '79 Trek 530 which doesn't match any of the brochures, and investigating that, I learned that early on Trek was a very relaxed framebuilding outfit that operated much like custom frame builders today. It wasn't at all like the modern Trek of today, where standardization rules. Apparently, my frame was either a custom build or something that was built with spare frame parts. It may be they had frame parts leftover for 50 more 730s from 1982, and simply finished them up in 1983.

I think CampyGuy's theory may be right, given the eclectic mix of components on your bike.

I contact Skip Echert at vintage-trek.com, and here's what he had to say:

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Hello Jonathan -

Thanks for your note and the kind words. Interesting bike and a good
mystery.

There was a 730 in 82, offered as a frameset only. With components, it is
the 736.

The first thing to check is the SN (090597). You probably have rechecked
it, but you may want to have another look. They can be hard to read. Clean
it well and use lots of light at various angles.

It may be that the 730 frameset had some residual interest and Trek brought
it back. In the paper serial number listing, the entry for the run of 8
bikes below the two runs of 730s is noted with "Track bikes for 7-11 team -
T.S.I." It may be the 730 runs were for 7-11 as well? Hmmmm

Are the Campy hubs Record or Nuovo Tipo? If Record, they may be all that is
left of the original full race components. Nuovo Tipo were used on the
1982 730. Yes, the mix of other components does suggest parts were removed,
if it was originally sold as a complete bike.

Still a mystery.

Cheers,

Skip
Vintage-Trek.com
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Now I have two additional questions:
1. What is the 7-11 team?
2. How can I tell if the hubs are Nuovo Tipo or Record? Will I need to post photos? The tires are 700cx28. Do typical racing rims support tires as wide as a 28? And does the fact that they're 700c's mean that they were added later, since most bikes back in '83 used 27inch wheels?

Also, can somebody post the hierarchy for Reynolds 531? I found it once on this site but can't find it again, all I remember is that 531c was in the middle of five (I think) different qualities/weights of 531 tubing.

Thanks,
Jonathan

7-11 was the US' first pro team, had such luminaries as Bob Roll, Ron Keifel, Andy Hampsten (who won
the Giro d'Italia), Eric Heiden and a few others.
If the hubs are large flange Nuovo Tipo had circular cutouts, while Nuovo Record had oval shaped cutouts.
If they're small flange Tipo hubs did not have the oil clip in the center of the hub body while the N. Record did.

hope that helps,
Marty