halfspeed

Well, now that we've all seen what a brand new high end tourer looks like, here's a "new" =bargain= tourer.

It's a 1985ish Trek 620 that I bought as a complete bike on ebay for $149. Some of the original touring components had been replaced by a bad mix of road and just plain wrong bits. I didn't mind that too much since I planned to modernize the drivetrain anyway. What's left from the bike as I bought it is the frame, fork, headset, cranks, BB, seat post, bars, levers and brakes. I built new wheels, put an 8 speed Shimano drive train on it, regreased everything that moves and installed a Technomic stem. Here's the setup as it is now:

Frame: Trek 620
Headset: Stronglight A-9 (BTW, this is an awesome threaded headset and still available. Needle bearings never index and the races are completely replaceable without a headset press.)
Seatpost: SR fluted
Crankset: Shimano N600. 50-39-28. It originally had a 45 in the middle but I replaced it with the 39 I had in a parts bin.
Pedals: Speedplay Frog
Saddle: Maroon Brooks B-17.
Shifters: Ultegra 8 speed barcons ($40 at nashbar)
FD: Original Sachs/Huret Pilot
RD: LX
Hubs: LX
Rims: CR18
Spokes: Sapim 14/15 swaged
Tires: Panaracer Pasela 32mm.
Cassette/chain: SRAM 8 speed.
Bars: Belleri
Stem: Nitto Technomic
Brakes: XT cantis
Levers: Shimano (non-aero!)
Fenders: Planet Bike
Rack: Jandd
Panniers: SciCons ($50 at icycles!)

All told, I think I spent about half what it would have cost for a new LHT build.

Original information: https://vintage-trek.com/images/trek/85TrekTouring.pdf

I plan to do some three to five day loaded tours on it next season. I haven't decided if it will go to RAGBRAI or if I'll take my regular road bike. It got above 40 degrees yesterday so I was able to give it a ten mile test ride. I just need to check my wheel build to see if they stayed true.

darrencope

Nice! Looking good!

How much did you spend on it (if you don't mind saying?)

halfspeed

Around $500 not including shipping, cables and housing, panniers or parts I had in my shop. (I had the rack, pedals, middle chainring, tires, bottle cage and assorted bolts and bearings.)

I hit some good deals here and there. Wheel parts came in at only about $130. (Rims $50, hubs $30, spokes $40.)

I could have saved some money by doing the following:

Keeping the Selle Italia saddle (in new condition) that it came with: $64
Keeping the downtube shifters it came with and running in friction mode: $40
Using one of my old SR stems instead of the new technomic: $31
Keeping the front wheel it came with: $65

Istanbul_Tea

halfspeed-

Beautiful ride! The older Trek's are great riding cycles that I think rival some of the vintage Italian bikes in ride and workmanship. I had a 1985 Trek 520 and it was not only beautiful but rode very nicely too.

Open roads & tailwinds!

Rogerinchrist

B U T ful!! Where did you find a plum colored saddle? The big ring looks kinda big, a 52? My '94 came with a 48, and thats plenty for me. I think the new ones run 52s too. Really like that blue color, simple yet sharp. Any idea how much it weighs set up like in the photos, rack, fenders & such? Mine is almost identical, slightly smaller frame=30 pounds even.

Enjoy it!!

halfspeed

I got the saddle at permaco.com. Unfortunately they're out of that color right now. The big ring is a 50T. It's a bit big but it will do for now. I haven't weighed it and I'm not sure I want to. The paint is a nice metal flake and is mostly in good shape. It has the kind of chips one would expect on a nearly 20 year old bike.

It is now my "new" Trek b/c my other Trek is a 1978 TX500.

Rogerinchrist

Congrates on the "new" steed.

mustardfj40

Nice bike!!! Personally I think that is the best way to build a touring bike, _very_ nice older bikes can be bought for cheap at swapmeets or yardsales, these bikes usually has accomodations for seat racks, fenders,... clean up the frame, repaint and build it up with older bulletproof NOS parts.

/td

halfspeed

Hey, thanks. With all of those pictures, I can't believe I forgot to upload a photo of the custom component. I've attached it below. It's a precision, hand-cut PVC fender stay. It's lovingly crafted from the finest Home Depot stock and fastened with elegant stainless steel washers, bolt, and nut. Note the exacting clearances between the bolt and FD cable. This is a totally rustproof fender stay that should last a lifetime and become a true heirloom. In some ineffable way, it adds to the magic of the ride.

markw

Nice ride. Built the Surly myself. The Trek 700 frameset (1986 vintage $15) I have is going to be an SS. I'll warn you, the paint the used is hard to get off, if you want to repaint.

Wingman115

Hey Mark I noticed that you live in Lakeside, I live in Chula Vista. If your interested some friends and I do local rides some mountain bike some road and we've done some short tours if your interested drop me a email.

mattlevan

Sounds like a great ride.. but I've stopped by a little late! Do you mind posting the pictures again, I'd love to check out what the two-wheeler looks like! I'm considering shipping my uncle's '83 blue Trek 520 from PA to CA to rebuild it into a touring bike, but who knows? I'd love to hear about the ride and see it!

Thanks

ducunee

Steel frames rust inside out. Check inside bottom bracket and steering tube.