How bad is this tubing? Is it Treks name for generic Cro Mo?
Were these frames terribly heavy?

True Temper is one a few things, I think, trek didn't buy. several bikes were made from true temper tubing. like other brands they had good and great tube sets.

some of the trek True Temper bikes were pretty nice

Trek didn't brand their tubing TruTemper. TruTemper is an American tubing manufacturer (they make most of the world's golf club shafts!), and lots of mid to high end bikes were and are made with TruTemper tubesets. They did supply Trek with tubing back in the 80s, and I wouldn't be surprised if Trek spec'd their own formulation or model designation of tubing. For example, my Trek 560 has TruTemper "RC-1 gold label" DB tubing. But if you google it, all you come up with are refs to Trek bikes, nothing else.

It is probably tubing supplied by TrueTemper, a very well respected american tubing manufacturer that made everything from "generic" 4130 CrMo to some very advanced thinwall heat treated steel tubesets. If it is butted tubing, it is good stuff. What model #?

Here is the catalog, knock yourself out.

Hey, chromoly is chromoly. Just like everyone else, True Temper made a whole range of thicknesses for different applications. I doubt anyone can tell it apart from any other chromoly of the same diameter, thickness, and buttedness.

From what I've been told its an 85 or 86 Trek 300. A co-worker wants 50 bucks for it, I have not seen it yet and don't know much about early Treks but I told him to bring it in on Monday so I could check it out.

$50 for a Trek 300 would be a screaming deal where I come, even if the bike is in poor-fair condition. I hope it's your size, and in great shape.

Our Burley Tandem is made from True Temper tubing, and while it's heavy (because it's a bike built for two, with tandem specific larger diameter tubing) it rides great.

MyTrek 330 is true temper 4130.It's sublime.

I had a Trek 400 made of True Temper RC-2 tubing. I must say it was a great ride.

Whats the difference between the True Temper tubing and Reynolds 501?

I've had two Schwinn Traveler's made of True Temper main tubes (23" 1989 and still have a 25" 1986), both hefty for road bikes (the 1989 weighed in at ~26lbs), but I loved both of them.

I've had two Trek 400's made of True Temper (24" 1989 RC and 24" 1992 RC-2), and while they were lighter (I think the 1989 was 24lbs and change), I didn't really care much for either of them.


The 1989 wasn't too far off the mark. If the BB wasn't quite so flexy, and if I had junked the Suntour Edge group (clunky ratcheting front shifter, Ovaltech rings), maybe it would have grown on me. The 1992 was just unremarkable.

My reaction to both the True Temper frames I've put serious miles on (1988 Trek 400T, 199x KHS Comp):

Meh. Not bad, but not GREAT.

$50 would be hard to pass up unless it's totally clapped out.

+1. There is basically no difference, mechanically speaking, between Reynolds 531 DB and TT 4130/40 DB. They are within 1% of each other when you run the numbers.

Yeah, I have a feeling it was the long chainstays that caused my disfavor with the Trek 400T. Dunno what it is about the KHS Comp. It's not as nice as my old Bianchi Grizzly with Tange Ultimate Ultralight Prestige/Superset-2. Also not as good as my Mongoose with Tange Super-Lite.

I might just be a Tange fanatic. I liked my Tange Champion (#2, I think) Univega Super Special almost as much as my Columbus SL Pinarello.

Same with the 1992 400. It had the "sport" geometry, not the "criterium" geometry. It did comfortably fit 700x32 Pasela tires though.

The 1989 400 shared it's geometry with the 660.

I managed to jam some 38mm Continental 'cross tires in mine. That was a fun ride! Bar end shifters would've helped in the rough stuff, tho

I have two bikes made with True Temper double butted chromoly, a Trek 400t and a Cyclops crit bike. They ride nothing like one another.

The geometry, construction, and fit of the bike are much more important than the tubing manufacturer and you won't really know how those will work for you until you go for a ride.

At $50 there's no reason not to get it and see how you like it. If you do, awesome. If not, you'll find it very easy to sell it for what you paid for it (or more).

As most are pointing out: the tubing is not nearly as important as the geometry and build quality (and even then some sloppily-built frames are great rides).
That said, there's no real difference in alloy composition: all the TT tubing seems to be Chrome/Molybdenum/steel (chrome-moly) and so's the 501 Reynolds tubing (as distinct from 531 and some other Reynolds tubing that is Manganese/molybdenum/steel).
So you need to compare apples to apples. 501 came as both double butted (main tube dimensions 0.9/0.6) and single butted (1.0/0.8)...so compare this to the TT catalog provided by turgrul and see what TT tubesets are the same dimensions, there's your match. (at a glance, and rounding up and down to the nearest MM, RC seems a match for DB 501, doesn't look like there's a SB 501 match in this catalog)
Interesting to note that Reynolds does not list any other tubes than the main 3 in specs for 501, so the remaining stays, forkblades, and headtube might be anything from plain steel to 531, completely up to the builder.
The bulk of 501 seems to have been purchased and used by Peugeot, but there were a few others, too.

1995 Trek 930:



I HATE this bike, but not because of the tubing.

My '89 660 is True Temper. My only comparison to Reynolds is with my 531c Gazelle. The Trek is very slightly heavier and a bit stiffer than the Gazelle, but I think the stiffness is due more to the shorter chainstays than the tubing.

I have two 1989 Trek 660's, the top of the steel line that year, and both are True Temper. Nothing low end about them.

There's nothing wrong with True Temper tubing. Early 80s Treks were made from TT's first foray into bicycle tubing -- IIRC instigated by Trek looking for a domestic supplier. Unlike the more expensive seamless Reynolds 531, Columbus SL/SP or Tange Champion tubes, it is a seamed tube but cold drawn after the seam is welded to create the butting and obliterate the weld seam.

snap the trutemper or tange with your finger nail and it makes a sweet 'TING!' Now spin around and try the same on your schwinn varsity 'thunk'

I like my bikes like I like my shovels...