Hello, I'm new to the forum but I love old Treks.

I was looking at this one that just got listed on Ebay. I wanted to bid on it, but somebody hit the Buy it Now for $1100. I thought the $750 starting bid was high. Am I missing something?

Yeah, that bike was worth it. It appeared to be in mint condition with all the original components too which are mostly Campy, and if the paint is the original paint then all the more so. The components alone if sold separately would fetch more then that! I don't happen to like the color so I would have never bought it, but it was in nice condition.

Very nice bike in great condition...but...it drives me nuts that someone would post this very expensive bike and not even wipe the dust off.

Sorry, I bought it. This has always been, if not my grail bike, my grail frame. Seemed kinda spendy to me, I was thinking to just to try to snipe it, but then I started adding up the value of the components and got worried that somebody else might hit the buy it now.

Not as fun as getting a huge good deal, but the value is there, IMO.

Here is one of the ebay pics:

Good for you! Buy it now is one of the most overlooked options. If it the bike you have always wanted, in the size and color and condition, why not click the BIN. I have seen many BINs get bids (eliminating the BIN) and end up going higher. BIN ends all the drama.

Now $1100 is a serious price. At the same time, it will just buy you one model up from the bottom at your LBS.

I'm over in Japan at the moment, been buying some stuff on the auctions here. Yahoo Auctions is the big player in Japan.

Two things that they do differently that I think work well:

1) Until the bidded price exceeds the BIN price, the BIN option is always available. Once you hit the BIN price, the auction ends there..

2) Any bid w/in the last 5 minutes of an auction extends the auction 5 (or 10, can't remember) minutes from the time of the last bid.

#2 really makes the whole deal more like a real auction than Ebay does, what with the sniping strategies and all. Yahoo Auctions Japan, you really do just duke it out until the best man wins.

I like the idea of this as both a buyer and a seller. It does make it feel like a true auction with the going once.....going twice......Sold!

Good luck with the 770, it looks pristine. And thanks for replying to trek_lover's post. It shows how small the C&V world is when you can get both sides of a story, even in an international forum like this.

As another Trek fan, I agree. It will be worth it. Plus, the value is not going down anytime soon.

Don't be sorry, that's an awesome bike, well worth it as long as you have the dough and it fits you. Post more pictures when you've received it. Good luck!

I scheduled that one through the plant. :-)

I wasn't a fan of the investment cast seat lug when they introduced it but it has held-up well over time. I've never warmed-up to the plug and play dropouts they added to lower end bikes that year. This lug did speed-up production.

Great pick up!

I had spotted that bike, and even saved the Ebay photos of it to help with the rejuvenation of the one that I picked up last November.

Congrats!

Here is a "As Found" pic of mine. She's a little rough but should clean up nicely and work great.

That picture so much brings out the actual color of this bike than the ebay picture I posted. I fell in love w/this model when I lived in Hawaii in the latter half of the 80's. You'd see the occasional car/truck painted this color and it reminded me of the Bougainvillea in my yard, in the Hawaii sunshine, it would almost burn a hole in your retina...

Thanks for the insider info, it's always interesting to hear those details and opinions. I just came into possession of a beautiful 1982 700 series, a bike I didn't know was a grail bike for me until it popped up on craigslist

Congrats on the great score robatsu, I can't wait to see better photos of this bike when you get it!

Agreed. I've often seen items far exceed their BIN price if bidding starts on it. Better to pay a bit more than you initially think and hit the BIN than try to win what could be a crazy auction.

Is it now for sale again?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Trek...item4d0ec5531a

That is a great bike in fabulous condition. And there's no substitute for excellent original condition. Mine was found on CL a few weeks ago, an aqua '84 instead of the "blazing bougainvillea" '85. I was shocked at the difference full 531 mains, forks, and stays make. First one I've ever ridden.

I'm way late to this conversation, but i think you got a steal! Those bikes don't come around that often, and in that shape! are you kidding. It was top of line in '85 and cost $1,200 28 years ago. I'ts one of the finest production steel bikes ever produced in this country. Congrats on grabbing it. I never saw it and I would have considered even though I have a fully restored "85 770 already because yours is original.

I have a 531 Trek frame that came to me for $75... in rough but restoreable/rideable shape. There is a big gap between pristine top-of-the-line C&V bikes and much more affordable but pretty much equally lovable bikes in need of a bit of maintenance or paint.

It may be sour grapes talking, but Trek fans can have a lot of rewarding fun on a pretty tight budget if they wish.

That said, there is nothing wrong with the more rarefied segment of the market. $1k for a fine bicycle of any vintage is worth it.

Now I wonder what the frame differences are between that and my '86 500. (besides the angles) Are my stays and forks not also 531 ?

Agreed that there are plenty of nice Treks for less but the 700 series was the top of the line and all the 700 models are considered pretty desirable.

Picked up my 760 (less fork, wheels, and crank) for $65. Wouldn't sell it for $760. Very nice ride. Late to the party, but hey another chance to post a pic

That pink 770 is one of the hottest bikes I've seen - LOVE it.

The "series" is going to tell you what the frame is.

Generally, until 1986, a 500 series frame is going to be a quality Ishiwata or Reynolds CrMo throughout or may have Mangalloy fork and stays.

The 600 series stuff is going to have 531 main frame, but CrMo or Mangalloy fork and stays.

The 700 series stuff is 531 throughout.

The 900 series stuff is Columbus throughout.

In 86, they started mixing and matching 531 with different CrMo- but still, the only way you were getting 531 throughout was a 700 series frame.

Looking at the 86 catalog- the 500 had a 531 frame, but Tange CrMo fork and unidentified CrMo stays. My 86 400 Elance has a 531 frame, but Tange CrMo fork and stays.

This is the kind of thing I keep in mind any time I spend more than $100 on a bike. Used steel bikes are an incredible value when you do the retail comparison.

A little late, but a great bike. I will have one of those to sit next to my 970 one day, along with a 170.