Found this 1984 trek 520 for $125 just curious is it’s a decent choice and if I can make it work and have room for growth with something this old
by International-Youth7
Found this 1984 trek 520 for $125 just curious is it’s a decent choice and if I can make it work and have room for growth with something this old
by International-Youth7
4 Comments
that’s a popular frame to build on. it’ll be great
For light bikepacking setup, why not. You’ll need to replace some parts but it’s feasible.
It’s not imperative but changing to v-brake is a really appreciable safety improvement if you ride a bit loaded or on long down hills.
For bycletouring with bigger pannier, you’ll need larger tires and the frame just doesn’t accept it.
Nice. You just need to figure out that flat, and you’re good to go.
For a starter touring set-up:
– Plastic fenders
– Cheap rear rack (with good stainless bolts), better if it has mount for a rear light
– used Ortlieb panniers or other, not too expensive panniers with a trash-compactor bag for a liner.
– battery LED lights, ideally something that bolts to the rear rack
For a total of a few hundred bucks to have a great touring bike, optionally:
– You’ll want to rewrap the handlebar, so I would change to aero brake levers. I would also change to some V-brakes at this point because I don’t like cantis. Tektro RL520 levers and Deore M610 brakes are good.
– Convert from downtube to bar-end shifters.
– Install the widest tires that fit under your fenders. I say splurge for Marathon Plus, but Paselas are good, too.
– Install a double-leg kickstand, the kind that folds up to one side (for luxury)
Check out my Trek 610 build:
https://www.reddit.com/u/SmartPhallic/s/QUMkVl3tJR
It’s a great frame and great era of bikes. Maybe hit up Velo Orange for some key parts, the sensah stuff is actually pretty good for a new groupset. Wheels will probably be the single most expensive thing.