JohnDThompson 

It was intended to hold the fuel bottle for your camp stove. There are additional mounts on the down tube and seat tube for water bottles.

JohnDThompson 

The Simplex is original. The first run of 720s used Huret "Jubilee" front derailleurs, but these suffered serious breakage issues on the assembly line -- literally dozens of them ended up on the scrap pile. Thus the Simplex front derailleur instead.

Bradleykd

Ah, that's actually quite clever then! All I could think of was that first drink, and while gagging on the taste of road grime and hose ****, trying to get the bottle back in without the tire eating my hand. lol

Sedgemop 

Same problem here. That's my size too.

badger_biker 

Actually I don't believe this model has bosses on the seat tube. A little odd that Trek took the jump to the under down tube mounts before adding the what is now the norm second set on the seat tube. Probably didn't want to mess with that classic seat tube decal :-)

jpaschall - you are a lucky guy to get that beauty for a song. The 1985 model was always my grail bike but I love the older style graphics on yours. Enjoy that luxurious touring bike ride!

jpaschall

Correct, no seat tube bosses. And yes, I have been on a high all week. Good looking bikes rarely crop up in my city, so I was obviously stoked to see a big, cantilevered Trek.

JohnDThompson 

It should have them on the seat tube as well; I don't recall any of them going out with under-the-down-tube mounts but no seat tube mounts. And the panel on the seat tube shouldn't be a decal; it's actual paint in contrasting color with the old individual letters T R E K applied over it and separate yellow bands above and below. I still have a bunch of those bands in my sticker collection.

RandolphCarter

Nice grab!

Like others mentioned, you'll want to ditch the Helicomatic rear wheel. It may still be rideable for a while yet with 5000 miles on it, or it may do what mine did, and always chew up bearings while you can never quite get the bearing load dialed in after a repack.

jpaschall

Hmm. Well that's strange! Definitely no seat tube bosses, and the seat tube panel is a decal. The panel on my 1982 613 is also a decal. There is paint to match the panel on the headtube though.

JohnDThompson 

That is odd. I must have missed (or simply forgotten) that spec change. Given that is the case, your conjecture that the seat tube bosses were left off to avoid problems with the seat tube decal is probably correct. I suppose it saved a few bucks or something...

Sedgemop 

Wow, didn't know that about the panel being paint. Thanks for always shedding some Trek light.

Flog00

I can't believe that you actually talked him down from $100.

I would have felt guilty only paying full price

jpaschall

Got the bike 97% Disassembled last night. Frame is pretty grimy on the inside, but I see minimal rust (perhaps a little in the headtube). Got my first look at the Stronglight needle bearings. I have no idea how to judge their wear, so I will post pictures this afternoon. The headset was bone dry, so the friction I was feeling there could have just been due to that and not wear on the bearings.

Given that I intend to ride this bike for the rest of my life, would it be a good idea to replace the headset now? I've read that it's difficult to find replacements for the needle bearings. I have found some for sale on ebay, should I just grab a couple sets now?

I'll take pictures of the disassembled bike and parts this afternoon, along with some more questions. The paint is beautiful, with minimal surface rust. To remove this surface rust, how abrasive of a scrub can I use?

Flog00

The Imron paint on the old Trek's is amazing!

bikemig 

The stronglight A9 headset in its various versions was an amazing headset. It was relatively cheap, light, and incredibly durable. I'd grease it up and ride the heck out of it. You can't damage the bike as long as the headset is properly adjusted. If the headset turns reasonably freely and there is no play, you're good to go.

jyl

The rust isn't on the paint, I assume, but on isolated spots where the paint has chipped off? In that case, I'd use sandpaper on a pointed stick to carefully remove the rust on just those spots. I wouldn't use anything abrasive on the paint itself. Maybe some car polish and then car wax.

Or are you saying there are little pin ****** of rust all over the paint?

The Golden Boy 

My secret headset plan is to keep looking for an Avocet needle bearing headset- failing that, I'd go with something fancy and unique. For as unique as the Stronglight is, I can't tell the difference between the A9s and the other headsets I have.

jpaschall

There are very few scratches/chips. It's just small spots where there seems to be a little rust build up on the paint itself. It may just be really stubborn grime/dirt/whatever, but with the WD-40 and rags it is stubborn. Looking for something safe, yet more abrasive to get it off.

bikemig 

A needle bearing headset like the A9 can take a lot more abuse than can a conventional ball bearing headset. Rivendell sells a tange/ird headset with needle bearings on the bottom. Here is a good discussion on the advantages of needle bearings, Headset Tange/IRD NeedL BlastR Roller Drive

The point is that these things don't wear out. I grew up in a city with really bad roads (New Orleans). When I was wrenching in a shop, I'd see customers come back with beautiful and expensive campy headsets that they had trashed with very few miles. I'd replace them with an A9 and the customer never came back because the headset had gone bad. These things really work.

jpaschall

Here are some pics of the top bearing, the bottom bearing is in similar shape.

Flog00

Clean them up, use a good grease. They'll be fine.

jyl

Try rubbing compound from an auto parts store - the stuff that you'd use on a car, then polish and wax, also using car stuff. Some car guys use a clay bar but I've never tried that.

JohnDThompson 

They should be fine. If there's wear, you're more likely to be able to see it on the races than on the rollers. Here's what mine looked like after 20 years on my commuter bike with no maintenance for that entire time:



A little bit of discoloration on the lower races, but nothing else. I swapped upper and lower races, repacked, and put it back on the road.

jpaschall

Yes, the races do have a bit of roughness/pitting to them and some discoloration. Any options for replacement races?

JohnDThompson 

Both upper and lower, or just the lower? Usually, it's the lower race that takes all the load; the upper race just serves to maintain proper alignment. I'd just swap upper and lower positions (so the former, unloaded top races now carry the load on the bottom). You could try polishing out the discoloration/roughness but no need to get too carried away. Unlike hubs and bottom brackets, headsets' normal operation doesn't require constant rotation.