[Opus51569]

I started a previous thread asking for feedback about possibly purchasing a vintage Trek I found on Craigslist http://forums.roadbikereview.com/retro-classic/help-identifying-older-trek-282984.html]

My wife and I took a little road trip today and I brought the bike home. I've started going over the bike and I am now pretty confident that it's a 1982 Trek 614. The 613 was the double. This bike is the triple version.

THE BIKE

Here are the specs from the original brochure, via the Vintage Trek website that are still present on the bike:

Frame: Reynolds 531 manganese/molybdenum (pewter with slate gray decals)
Forks: Ishiwata
Headset: Trek Micro-Adjust
Rims: Rigida alloy
Hubs: Sanshin Gyromaster
FD: Suntour Cyclone Mark II (friction shifter)
RD: Suntour Cyclone Mark II (friction shifter)
Cassette/Freehub: Suntour Mighty 6 (14,16,19,23,27,30)
Crankset: Sugino AT (50/45/28)
Brakes/Levers: Dia-Compe 500 G
Bottom Bracket: Nikko
Stem: SR custom alloy
Seatpost: SR Laprade

The saddle and pedals have been changed from the original spec. I'm not sure about the bars or the chain. The bars on the bike are randonneur style which may not be original (based on the catalog pictures I've seen). The chain will be replaced eventually regardless.

THE CONDITION

After going over the bike and starting disassembly, there's good news and bad news. First, the bad news.

1.) The rear derailleur is toast. The pulley cages are bent and the inner cage is cracked where it attaches to the lower pulley wheel.
2.) The derailleur hanger (forged) is also bent.
3.) The metal "dork disk" is bent into the spokes. The rear wheel will also need major truing.
4.) The freewheel isn't exactly "free". I doubt it has ever been serviced.

All these issues suggest that there was either a pretty significant impact at the derailleur hanger, and/or the bike over shifted landing the derailleur in the spokes. The spokes themselves, though, are all intact (though I suppose they could have been replaced)

5.) The original brake hoods (made of some textured rubber material) have disintegrated.
6.) There are numerous nicks and scratches and some minor rust spots throughout. I'll know more on this front when I get the bike stripped and give it a good cleaning.

The good news.

1.) Despite the derailleur and hanger problem, the dropouts seem to be unaffected. Nothing else seems to be bent.
2.) Despite the blemishes, the frame and forks seem to be in good shape. I haven't found any dents or other structural problems.
3.) The crankset looks remarkably pristine given its age. The brake levers (minus the hoods), brakes, shifter levers and the FD are also very clean and seem to be in good shape.
4.) I haven't disassembled the stem and forks yet, but they appear to be in good shape from the outside, at least.
5.) With the exception of the RD, the "bones" of the bike appear to be okay.

So, it's good news and bad news, but for a 30 year old bike I suppose it could be much worse. I paid $75 for the bike and I think I got what I paid for.

Next up: Where do we go from here...

 

[mtnroadie]

The bent hanger should not be a problem, I paid $40 for a Trek 330 (531 version) frame only a few years ago, after months of hagling down from 80, it was at a bike shop. It had a really badly bent hanger almost a 45 degree angle. I took it to the my LBS and they straightened it for me, no heat or torches, just bent it back into place. Also my drop out was a spread out and they bent that into place. Steel can take it.

If you have any issues getting anything out, stem, bolts etc... PB and patience blaster is your friend.

 

[Opus51569]

Thanks. Disassembly has been pretty easy thus far. I need to pick up a thin walled 15mm socket to start pulling the crank and try to get to the bottom bracket (it also seems to be the only way to get the 28t ring off the bike since the spider is in the way). Other than that, though, everything else is off.

Update: Just got back from the hardware store with the 15mm socket. Removed the cranks with no problem with the square taper crank puller. I got very lucky with the bottom bracket. The NDS cup and the lock ring came off with just a pair of channel locks padded with a rag. The DS cup threaded out almost by hand. I was dreading the threads being seized.

With the exception of the headset races, the frame is now nekkid and ready for a bath.

 

[strathconaman]

I built up a 1983 613 a few years ago. Rides like butter. You will love this project.

 

[Opus51569]

Where do we go from here...

If you've read this far...

Today, I finished stripping the bike down to the frame (see the previous post). I discovered that the bars may be original after all. They are labeled Sakae SR. I also bent the derailleur hanger back to it's approximate position. Searching though my collection of various bike odds and ends, I came across a piece of threaded rod that matched the pitch of the hanger thread. I put the rear wheel back on the bike (to keep the dropouts in place), threaded the rod into the hanger, and used it for leverage to bend the hanger back into position. I will likely need to adjust it if/when I find a new rear derailleur.

Then, I set about washing the bike. For the frame and forks, I started with some Liquid Wrench sprayed in the tubes to loosen up any internal surface rust. After 30 minutes or so, I washed the bike with Dawn detergent and water. Here, I made my first mistake. I found what I thought were scratches on the top tube, but it turned out to be paint transfer from something else. The detergent wouldn't remove it, so I grabbed a green Scotchbrite pad. I got the transfer paint off, but ended up dulling the clear coat where I scrubbed. Lesson learned. Once I finished with the rinse, I used the air compressor to blow as much of the remaining water out of the tubes as possible. Finally, I coated the inside with WD-40, using the straw nozzle to get into nooks and crannies, and turning the frame often as I worked, to let the liquid hit as many interior surfaces as I could. Once that was done, I wiped down the exterior with Pledge.

The components also got a bath in soap and water with a little Liquid Wrench for surface rust or really difficult gunk. All in all, the bike looks 100% better than it did when I started this morning.

As I worked I thought about what the best use for the bike might be. My original intent had been to find a workable old bike and convert it to a SS, possibly a "grocery-getter" or a "whatever" bike. I haven't ridden a SS bike since I was a kid. My other two bikes are 2009 and 2010 and are both compact doubles with Shimano 105. So, the thought of something simple was appealing.

When I saw the Craigslist photo, the bike looked to be in pretty good shape. At that point, I started to entertain the idea of stripping it down, cleaning, lubing, reassembling and basically restoring it to it's original glory. As I've noted previously, though, there were a few more things wrong with the bike than the picture indicated, and I haven't even started working on the wheels yet. Caveat Emptor.

Since I basically have no budget for this project, the idea of doing a full restoration is now likely out of the question. I would need to store the bike away and replace little bits at a time as finances allow. Frankly, I've never had that kind of patience. By the way, if you're curious, "broke" and "impatient" are two traits that don't necessarily compliment a love of cycling.

So, this brings me back to a SS conversion of some sort.

The Plan

Short term - I'll need to utilize things that I have on hand.

Step 1: Lube and reassemble most of the bike: headset, forks, stem, bottom bracket, crankset, brakes, seat post.
Step 2: For a SS, I plan to use the 45t middle chainring from the Trek. I haven't figured out how to resolve the chainring bolt issue, but I'll figure something out.
Step 3: I have a set of wheels that came off of another road bike. They are modern 700c rims, though. The rear wheel has a decent hop in it, but it should work for the time being. This will mean either wedging the newer wheels on, or cold-setting the frame to fit the 130mm spacing. I'll have to see how much of a pain it is to wedge, then I'll decide which way to go.
Step 4: Refurbish the pedals.

Assuming I can get all that to work, the only purchases I'll need to make will be a SS conversion kit, brake cables, and a new chain to get the bike close to a rideable state.

Long term- If I enjoy the bike as much as I hope.

Step 1: Stripping the old paint down to the bare steel and either painting it and/or clear-coating it.
Step 2: Purchase new wheels for SS.

 

[paredown]

There is something so satisfying about rescuing a neglected bike.

Post pics!

 

[Opus51569]

There is something so satisfying about rescuing a neglected bike.

Post pics!

It's definitely been a learning experience. I've been working on the brakes. Let me just say that the person who invented the adjustable centering screw was a genius . The Dia-Compes on the bike are the older side-pull and getting them centered has been a pain in the butt. I still don't have them right, but I needed to take a break.

I'll post pics soon.

 

[Opus51569]

I finally got the brakes adjusted. I had to get past the fact that with side-pull brakes, the pads don't have to contact the rims at the same time.

I decided to reuse some brake cable I had in my parts bin. I'm also going to try to reuse an extra chain I have on hand.

I ordered a set of spacers for the conversion to single-speed. They should be here on Tuesday. Once they're in I'll be able to finish up the assembly.

In the meantime, I discovered that both the pedals and the bars are likely original. Both are branded Sakae SR. The bars are "World Randonneur". The pedals look to be a touring version of the ones pictured in the 1982 catalog.

 

[pooa564]

PB and patience blaster is your friend.

 

[Opus51569]

The finished product... for the moment

With the spacers in place, the bike is now "finished". I won't promise not to keep tinkering with it, though... I'll post a ride report once I've got a few miles on it.

 

[BacDoc]

Nice job - could you post a pic of the drive side and crank. Always thought of building a SS from a Craig list or ebay bargain.

 

[Opus51569]

Here's the drive side. I used the original crank and just removed the large and small ring. I also flipped the chainring. The other side had a slight countersink for the chainring bolts that made them a fraction too long without the 50t ring in place. Flipping the middle ring allowed just enough bite for the bolts. If I have any problems keeping them tight, I'll likely have to buy some shorter bolts down the road.

 

[Fuzzboxvoodoo]

Very Nice!!

 

[Opus51569]

An update

It took some time and a bit of finagling, but I managed to get the original wheels back into rideable shape. I took the original Suntour Perfect 6 freewheel apart and used the 16t cog as the main drive cog. The 14t cog is threaded on to give it a bit of extra stability. Using the original middle ring, I'm now running 45X16 which is a bit beefier than I'd like. I think a 42X16 would be just about right. For now, though, it's working well. By moving the 45t ring to the outside position on the crank arm the chain line matched up nicely. I just needed to add some spacers to the chain ring bolts. The toughest part was cleaning the pieces of rim tape and gumwall from the original tires that had adhered to the rims. That took some patience and a lot of elbow grease. It's now sporting new Velox rim tape and Michelin World Tour tires.

I wasn't sure how the 30 year old spokes and Rigida rims would hold up under my Clyde body. So far, so good, though. I think having 36 holes definitely helps. After disassembling the hubs and giving them a good clean and relube, they spin really well. The rims trued up without too much effort. I'll definitely need to keep an eye on them, though.

I replaced the pedals with a set of platforms I had that fit my ginormous feet. I removed the Trek decal from the seat tube as well. It was peeling pretty badly.

The other major change is in the cockpit. I replaced the "7" stem with a higher rise to bring the bars up level with the saddle. I also swapped the randonneur bars with a set of standard road bars. The outward bevel on the original bars put my wrists at an uncomfortable angle. Since I was in the neighborhood, I swapped out the bar tape with some I had on hand. Yeah, I know, it's "splash" tape, but it had more cushion and at least the colors match.

So, here's the '82 Trek 614 now. Other than possibly swapping in a 42t ring, I don't have any other major plans other than to ride it a lot and update things if they start to fail... though it is kinda crying out for a Brooks B-17, don't you think? I'd just have to justify spending more for a saddle than I did for the entire bike.

 

[nick.m.rose]

Nice build on an awesome frame.

 

[Opus51569]

Even Newer Update

I've made a few changes to the Trek.

I went with a new Sugino 42 ring in the front and bought a new KMC chain.
I installed some tan hoods to replace the original gum rubber hoods to compliment the Dia-Compe levers.
I put on some Kool-Stop cartridges and pads to go with the Nashbar brakes. Stopping power is much improved.
I've been looking for some comfortable bars to fit the 25.4 stem. I finally located some 46cm bars, but they were 26.0. I took a chance that I could get them on the stem. It took some patience and a bit of tweaking, but they are on.

And today, I finally took the plunge and sprung for a Brooks B-17 in honey. I think it's the right thing to do. I'll post a pic or two once I get it installed.

Some decent bar tape, and I think the next iteration of the bike will be complete.