Everyone's gotta start somewhere, right? Picked this '89 Trek 420 up today, afaik it's almost all original parts on it. Needs a cleaning, new bar tape/plugs, wheels oughta be trued/tensioned, but for the most part it's in good shape. Paid $200....thumbs up or down?

Trek Yellow..jpg

Tom

If YOU like it thumbs up.

If buying it for a rider for yourself probably a fair price. If you can do the required work yourself definitely. I don't know what that is under the Trek logo on the downtube but I'd remove it. I'd recommend blue Bike Bibbon Professional for an inexpensive tape that IIRC would match the blue good. Clean it, take a tad of polishing compound to the frame (I like Turtle Wax green), wax it and you'll be GTG. Check the tires, tubes, brake pads, and cables as well. Those are maintenance items that may need to be replaced and are inexpensive to do.

Nice bike, if its a rider then it a good price. I think that the downtube attachment is a flickstand.

Where I live it is a good price. If it's in great shape even good enough to make out well on a flip if you do all the work yourself. It seems that when a buyer that is looking for a Trek touring bike finds it in their size they REALLY want it, the 720 more so bit I flipped a 420 and it rode great.

quick update....the saddle cover's coming off, unfortunately. Dunno if that's a big issue or not. I really need to get a bikestand - trying to levitate the thing and reinstall the back wheel (when you haven't done it in 25 yrs) is a trick or two.

About all I got tool wise is a universal allen wrench set, pliers and screwdrivers. The flickstand thingy and rear rack are coming off, as is the computer wire on the fork. Frame's a nice sturdy little beast - I can see why lugged steel frame Treks and the 520 in particular are so desirable.

Yep, bought it to ride (a lot, hopefully)

Tom

aaaand update #2....

Took the plastic zipties and stuff off. Didn't have the proper tool to remove the allen head nut securing the rear rack to the seatstays. Decided since its a Blackburn rack, good enough to stay. I think the seat cover can be reglued?

What's the usual recommended stuff to clean a frame with that'll cut oil/grease/road grime without talking the decals off? Can I use WD40? engine degreaser? No? how about simple green?

Is there a 'poor man's' stand I can jerry-rig? And what other tools would you folks recommend I invest in?

No riding so far, don't trust the wheels and it's HTH out there!

Tom

yeah reglue the seat and leave the rack.

wd40 and a rag work great to clean, as does simple green with the former a little better for a nice shine.

a poor man's stand is flipping the bike over.

i recommend you get all the tools you need, as you need them. right now you need a multi-tool, cone wrenches, and the appropriate bottom bracket tool/spanner. you need to clean/repack/regrease everything right now before you ride.

Lemon oil furniture polish is a decent cleaner. I had a Trek 560 of about this vintage that I sold for $250 a couple of years ago. These are nice bikes. Here's a pic of the bike and a pic of a stand that I got at the LBS for about $15. Sorry I don't have a better picture of it. It's pretty handy and stores easily but it's not as stout or as stable as the fancier ones.