I was bored during the rainy days this week and felt like trying to restore something...

1987 Trek Elance T400

Too bad that it's 5cm too small for me, but Mrs Bigwoo will be stunned....

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Sweet! I'm waiting for something to come up like that and restore it for my wife.

beautiful bike. interesting cable routing

Thanks guys....

thenomad,
It's always a good thing to keep them interested in your passion by presenting a 2-wheeled gift to them. It gives you some leverage for bringing new one's home!

Tolfan,
It seems like Trek played around w/ cable routing in the mid-late 80's.....Not sure if there were any problems w/ this design, but I like it for now....I definitely like going through a tube more than going under/over it...And popping out of those pretty "Trek Investment Cast Lugs"...

I predict a spike in new Trek lovers after this thread...

Got to love those old Treks!

My 1985 400 and the wifes 1988 400T

Are Treks any good?

yum!

Are you referring to the rear derailleur cable routed through the chainstay? That was standard on Trek steel frames in the mid-late 80s.

Nice bikes. This is the latest incarnation of my first new bike purchase, a '95 750:

I've converted it from a hybrid to a fast commuter which can be a fully loaded tourer.

Mark, Mrs. bigwoo must have some very long legs to ride with that saddle position. IMHO the Elance 400's were some of the nicest-riding vintage Treks. Did it come with the clear cable housing or was that from some secret stash? Very nice work, it should rain more in Denver.

I've always liked older Treks, also cool to me that one of the nicest U.S. made bikes is from my home state!

Thanks skylar and Sickmtbnutcase for the encouragement,

Oldfatguy, you are killing me

Bruce Enns, Nice pair! That blue w/ gold lettering is possibly the most classic Trek color scheme ever, to me anyways...

23skidoo, Wishfull thinking on my part Richard. I raised the seat to take her out for a spin and make sure nothing was going to fall off I was still pretty scrunched... Mrs hasn't seen this yet because I work in the "MANCAVE" ....
The cable was from a guy a while back who had a boatload of new/close-to-new Trek stuff from the 80's that he listed on ebay. He was a former wheelbuilder at the Trek Waterloo,WI shop and apparently has a small personal Trek warehouse/museum full of stuff from every Trek model ever made pre-94.... Must be nice!

I sent him a bunch of boring questions and photos and he was kind enough to tell me every component or variation that would have come stock on this model. I made a list and then gathered for a few months..... Kind of a bummer that I don't see many lugged Trek's anymore... There was a dark Royal Blue color from the 80's that I have never found in my size...

FYI everybody, I will probably never try to do this again because of the time it takes to track down a NOS seat binder bolt, NOS factory bar tape, etc........ I'll just appreciate a nice old patina and used parts from now on. I guess that "new bikes" aren't for me...It rides FREEKIN' AWSOME though....

I'm not big on NOS (too much time to find) but I do like a more period correct approach for some bikes.

You must have started something Bigwoo as I'm about to pick up an '87 Trek for my brother. I'll see the shape of it and determine if i want it for myself or if i should let him have a go at it. he he.

Lately I've been tempted to pick up a nice light steel frame to mess with on weekend rides. It'll let me really compare the feel of steel to aluminum.

I love old Treks from the 80's and late 70's. For years were both my choice of new bike, then solid value on used bike. Even the cheapest, lowest end Trek from that period is something that has good bones and can be a fantastic ride, since during this this period, Trek's focus was on producing good frames that could be configured to a user's taste/needs.

The internal cable routing through the stay was pretty common. Something you should do is get a "step down" ferrule for fitting the cable housing to where it emerges from the stay. Not always strictly necessary, but keeps things clean and keeps the cable from rubbing/sawing on the hole.

Classic Americana there. I just wish it was 10 years ago when you could pick these things up for pocket change....

yeah. especially a 6.9 madone. Don't tell anyone on the road forums though.

That's a beauty. I reminds me of what I love about mine ('87 560 Pro) - the lug work! Especially the seat stays to seat/top tube junction. I think Trek had great design and build quality in those days.

OK, so it was an '86 I just picked up.

Looks "similar" to your frame but yours is in wayyy better shape. I hope to get mine as nice looking as yours!


(sorry for clogging up the CV forums with my latest)

Nicely done, BigWoo. I recently finished making a 1983 Trek 640 suitable for my needs:



Neal

Great example of a classic steel Trek. I'd gladly trade my modern AL Trek for a steel one with that lugwork.

[QUOTE ]FYI everybody[/B], I will probably never try to do this again because of the time it takes to track down a NOS seat binder bolt, NOS factory bar tape, etc........ I'll just appreciate a nice old patina and used parts from now on. I guess that "new bikes" aren't for me...It rides FREEKIN' AWSOME though....[/QUOTE]

I didn't even try to find a NOS seat binder bolt. Figured it was near impossible. Just got something that worked.

1985 660 that I finished last week. Just got a 1988 660 (blue w/ magenta letters) that is going to need some work like the one thenomad just got.

Better than many, worse than some.

I have one in my garage thats has bad black paint with Light action long cage rd, 600 hubs. 50 cm. To small for me so i need to clean it up and move it out. Its 3rd inline.

I have 2 trek frames in the project que and one just finished... I haven't been able to find a french bike in the entire state of Arizona but I sure won't look a gift trek in the mouth.