katmu

I've had my 620 for a couple of years now but other than maintenance so far I've kept it exactly the way it came to me. It sat in some guy's barn in Wisconsin for a couple of decades so as far as I can tell, it's mostly original. For riding locally it serves me well, but now I'm thinking about doing a couple of short tours to prepare for my longer tour in Ireland next year. I definitely want to change out the pedals and straps for some different platform pedals and hopefully find some fenders that might fit but beyond that I'm not sure what to do with it to make it more touring friendly.

I'm posting a recent pic of it. I just wish I could make the picture bigger.

Road Fan

In its day riders toured on it with 35 mm or 45 mm fenders and 25 mm tires, or maybe even narrower - it was the style. Nowadays most folks want 28 mm to 32 mm tires. I've used 28 mm tires with 35 mm fenders on a similar 1984 610, but had trouble fitting 45 mm Zefal fenders with 32 mm Pasela tires.

Gearing: the sky is the limit if you are willing to cold set the rear triangle to 130 mm.

You seem to have the long 45 or 46 cm chainstays, so you should have no problem fitting rear panniers without odd balance or heel-strike problems.

cb400bill

To make it a great touring bike, here is a list of things to consider. I'm sure others will be along to add to this list.

Overhaul all bearings and, if needed, replace cables and brake pads.
Install Brooks touring saddle.
Remove front reflector and add front rack and panniers.
Add some front and rear lighting.

katmu

The bearings, cables and brake pads were already done.

I was thinking about maybe a Brooks B17 S saddle. I have a small red light on the back already. For the front, are some lights better than others for riding in the rain?

Roadfan- I have had grocery bag panniers on the back and never had any issues with heel strike. Any recs on good 28mm tires for touring?

cycle_maven

If it were me, I'd cold-set the rear triangle to accept 135 mm freehub, and get some wheels built around Mavic A719 700C rims with 36 double-butted spokes on mountain bike hubs. Bulletproof. I'd still run the same derailleurs and shifters, but use 7-speed cassette in the rear. The original half-step crank is good, too.

Brooks saddle is nice, too. Front rack and panniers would be a good addition. I would get much better lights if planning on riding in the dark (which most tourers try to avoid- by the evening you'll be pretty tired and setting up camp in the dark is a major pain).

oldskoolwrench

I would suggest two items:

For 700 x 28 tires, Panaracer Paselas work really well; many here in C & V use them, including myself.

As for the second; I might draw some heat here for saying this, but so be it... personally, I would replace the Rear Derailleur and set it aside somewhere, like in your Parts Bin. The Huret Duopar was one of the widest range rear derailleurs ever made, but was lacking in long term durability as compared with others.
A current rear DR will give you smoother shifting and better long term durability, with regular use.

Any mid range Shimano long cage 9 speed rear derailleur would work just fine, like a Deore LX or comparable model.

Just my dos centavos...

wrk101

One cheap upgrade, I would install aero style brake levers. I think they are much more comfortable.

Did this year come with the Helicomatic hub? I know my 1984 did. If so, I would be changing the wheels out.

I put Cyclone GT generation 1 on mine, but unless you happen to have them in a drawer, a modern Deore would be a good choice as the Cyclone GT generation 1 is kind of spendy.

RFC

This is a great bike and well worth modifying / upgrading. My choice in order:

1) Bar end shifters
2) New, lighter wheels. No need to cold set to go from 126 to 130. And tires of choice.
3) Aero brake levers
4) Nine speed cassette plus new RD, i.e., older Deore XT
5) Cartidge BB

You should be fine with the FD and the crank, though I am not a fan of half step shifting, particularly with the advantages of a 9 speed cassette.

noglider 

I disagree with some of the equipment change recommendations. Some of them would be costly and provide a marginal improvement. If the derailleurs work well enough, leave them alone. Aero brake levers are not a bad idea, though.

Ireland is a very rainy place. If you put fenders on your bike, you will probably appreciate them greatly.

Wider tires might be nice.

Lights are a must, in my opinion. Dynamo lights aren't very popular here in the states, but they're very common in Europe. They are much, much more trouble-free than battery lights. See how I installed my lights for relatively little money.

You may want to consider SPD pedals and shoes. There are some pedals you can get that have the cleat fitting on one side and so-called platform on the other side. These make it possible to jump on without special shoes. I love them. I love my SPD shoes, too. I have several pairs!

I agree with the advice to get rid of the Helicomatic hub, if you have one.

badger_biker 

It was built for loaded touring and from that standpoint a front rack is really all you would "need". I would have no problems keeping 27" wheels but assuming it still has the Helicomatic rear hub you may want to make a change in wheels to allow for more gears and if you decide to change to 700c - more fender clearance and wider tire options. Assuming you make a change in wheels from my personal viewpoint this is what else I would do:
- replace RD with Deore that will handle indexing
- swap DT levers for barcons with indexing rear
- go with as wide a range of rear cassette as you can to get lower gears
- swap the inner chainring for a 24t
- add a Brooks B-17 or B-17N
- add the proper fenders, load the panniers and take off...........

Great bike BTW - couldn't ask for much better to tour on.

katmu

Any idea how much I might be looking at spending to do the hub and derailleur? Deore LX would be fine.

JAG410

Change saddle to Selle An Atomica. Get panniers and camping gear. Take a week/month off and go explore.

katmu

My old Breezer commuter had hub lights and I was always really happy with them. I will check into maybe a hub also.

I don't have a problem biking in SPD, but I don't like to do much walking in them so that was my main reason for platform pedals. I broke my left foot 2X in gymnastics and now have stress fractures, so that's my reason for concern.

bikemig 

The Trek touring bikes of the 80s were famous (or infamous) for not taking a reasonably fat tire and a fender. I don't think the style was to tour on a 25c-28c tire so much as some touring bikes didn't really give you a choice. I ended up touring on my 720 with a 32c and no fender as it wouldn't take both. The long chain stays are great for touring and many of this era Treks had long chainstays.

thenomad

You have a great bike there, don't be fooled into thinking you need any other frame than that one (if it fits perfectly). Because of the long chainstays on this particular model it's about a $5-600 bike as it stands, which is why ones I've come across that don't fit me perfectly have been sold easily. Besides a full clean and grease/bearing job from the frame up I think of the following-

If it has 27" wheels and you want to upgrade you're looking at a few things:

Wheelset : $200 minimum for a modern 130 spaced set but may want to invest more depending on your budget and use
Tires: Hear a lot of good things about Panaracers and Schwalbe - 700x28 or 32? Maybe $40+ each
Cassette: Should be able to find an 11-28 SRAM for $25 or so, maybe better to look for a 12-32 for the long cage RD
Derailleur: Jenson has new mountain Shimano LX RD for around $35

BRAKES: You'll need to have adjustment room in your rear cantilever brakes. Not all have the adjustability. If they are the original cantis you may be ok but if they can't be adjusted you'll need to look for new canti brakes to install like the shimano deerhead, or search the forum for some other specific models.

Saddle: Brooks or another personal preference you have many miles on. Sort of essential


Optional but I'd have them on my list:

Levers: I really like the feel of Cane Creek SCR5 aero levers. Way better than vintage or Tektro versions
Shifters: DT friction would work fine for all your changes but bar ends are really nice too
Handlebars: if you like them, keep them, if not then find a set that you do like since you'll be using them a lot
Front Rack: Get a lowrider rack that uses the included mounting holes in your fork.
Rear rack: Seems like that will work but there are nicer touring models, depending on the size of your panniers
Panniers: Good water tight ones all around

Fenders: Probably considered essential in IRL. Even just to keep your drivetrain and bearings cleaner

Good lights F/R, dynamo hub or battery, and good reflective accents. Little blinkies are cute but if I were spending 50-100mi a day on the road I'd have a car strength rear light (Dinotte?)



Of course, I'm just pontificating and you'd probably be able to throw on a backpack and ride it as is if you're tough enough.

bikemig 

Just what he said, . Nice bike; don't do more than you have to since it works pretty well as is.

dveneman

One thing I am not sure of. If the OP uses a 9s MTB cassette, will D/A bar end shifters work "well" in index mode?

loose spoke

Opinion:
If you like the low bar position, consider a Brooks Pro. The thicker leather holds its shape longer and the shape is optimized for bar position at or below saddle height. The B17 is for at or above saddle height in my experience and has much thinner leather. Quicker break in, but shorter useful life too.

loose spoke

Yes, it works perfectly. I have this setup on both my Miyata 1000 and Specialized Expedition with Shimano XT rear derailleur and MTN cassette.

RFC

Pontification is an important attribute and absolutely essential on this forum.

oldskoolwrench

On sale for a very good price, here...

EDIT: A little value engineering also... no skips under load on the drive train, right? Hold off on the wheels until after your IRL tour, unless the rims are in poor shape. Yeah, the Helicomatic hub (and parts) is obsolete, but if the freewheel is still good, why not ride it into the ground (hopefully encompassing your tour) and replace them afterward?

More funds for the Brooks, (and the R. Derailleur... hee hee)

Road Fan

No. Many had medium chainstays 43 cm. A few "racing" models had 39, and only the 620 from 1985, the 720 Tourings (not the 720 hybrids), and I think a 400L had this long 45 or more cm ones. I would not call than "many," but they are out there. Probably more Treks than any other brands of the day had 45+ cm, though I'm deficient in my knowledge of Japanese bikes of these days.

bikemig 

Just to be clear, I was talking about the touring models (not the sports touring or racing). And even among the touring models, not all had long chainstays. But some did and this made those bikes stand out as tourers. Certainly the top of the line Treks had long chain stays (the 720s).

Road Fan

Hmm, I like this. Overhaul both hubs, have a vintage shop soak out, blow out, and re-lube the Helicomatic freewheel, tension/true the wheels, and see if you can get another 2000 miles out of the wheels. My Helico gummed up and I just got rid of the whole wheelset, but the rims actually were just fine, as were the galvanized spokes.

Road Fan

Ok, no problem here. I thought you were trying to say that most Treks of the era had the long chain stays. That's all I was reacting to.