I picked up this mystery trek at the bicycle co-op last night. The previous owner not only removed the trek decals, but beat the hell out of the paint and put some random stickers on the frame. He also had what I assume was his name on the top tube in ugly black plain font. I removed most of the stickers but some of his name is still left.

Hopefully from the information below someone could clue me into the model and what tubing was used.

Anyway, as you can see from the photo's it has Shimano 600 brakes, levers, hubs, front and rear derailuers, Sachs shifters and 7 speed freewheel, a sugino crank with 110 BCD (weird huh?). The tires and sakae pedals were from my spare parts bin but the Selle Italia flyte saddle is original. I'm taking the clips off as they're too small for my feet. The seatpost is 27.2 and the bars are Cinelli's but I'm not sure what make the stem is.

What strikes me as odd is the fact that the front and rear rim don't match but the hubs do. Also, there are signs of wear like chain slap on the the right chainstay but the freewheel looks almost unworn. The only thing I can think of is the rear wheel was lost or destroyed and the original owner had a new one built up but with a Mavic G 40 rim instead of the original Saturae C 20. The fact that the front hub was in severe need of an overhaul and the cones were pitted while the rear spins wonderfully confirms my suspicion. Also, the non-drive side spokes are tied and soldered which is even stranger to me.

Not only that but there are 2 lockrings on the bottom bracket. Is this a sachs bottom bracket or maybe an early cartridge version?

So does anyone know what model this is? Also, is it 531?

I plan on keeping the bike original aside from the tires, a new paint job in the future may be possible.

The serial number will help pin down the year. If the year has "brochures" on www.vintage-trek.com, it really narrows things down.

Looks like an 86 660. If the rims are Saturae and Mavic, they've probably both been replaced at one point or another. IIRC those had Matrix (Trek house brand) rims.

Freewheel and shifters may be recent changes. Bike was originally 6-speed.

Not sure what to tell you about the crank. I remember Trek's 600EX kit for 86 included Specialized cranks (144 bcd), BB, pedals, hubs, headset, stem, and bars (made, respectively, by Sugino, Sugino, MKS, Sanshin, I forget, Nitto, and Nitto).

Frame should be 531 throughout, although that may be a Tange fork.

Hope this helps

Mel

Thanks guys, the serial number is 246242, which according to that site puts it at 1986, you were right melville!

Also the crank is a Sakae. It seems like none of the components are original! I wonder if this frame has some serious miles on it and just had everything replaced over time with wear?

Hey!

When I spoke of the 1986 600EX package I may have been thinking more of the 1500 model. To create more of a price spread between the 531 bike (660) and the bonded Al bike (1500) the 660 may have used more Shimano and less Specialized stuff. I'm a little foggy on the specifics.

Bikes that show hard use and changed parts often have been raced. The missing decals may have been a security measure, particularly in Philly.

Neat score, nonetheless. My size and color, too!

Later

Mel

It is a 1986 560. Go to the serial number page on vintage-trek.com, scroll down to Table I, and you'll notice that 1986 is underlined. Click on it, and it'll take you to a list of all serial numbers produced that year. Scroll down until you find 246242, and it tells you that it's a 560. Nice find.

spikyho is ready to move to Philly where all the good cheap bikes are.

Thanks digitalbicycle, I missed that link.

It wasn't -that- cheap, $200 but the money goes to a non profit that teaches kids bike maintenance and safety so it's kind of half donating to a charity, half getting a sweet new ride.

Bike Church? If it is they are a great local resource. I have given them 11 bikes this year (Kids & Adults) that were all fully functional that I pulled out of the trash here in the Philly suburbs. The stuff people throw away is mind blowing!

That's the one! I've been volunteering there for 2 years or so and we really appreciate the bikes, thank you for bringing them. Donated bikes are our main source of income.

If you think the suburbs are bad, swing by UPenn at the end of spring term (it's called Penn Christmas); I have a friend who dumpstered a laptop with a virus on it. Wiped the hard drive and installed windows = free laptop.