Not new to cycling but this is my first vintage road bike. This is, I think, a mostly original 1985 Trek 410. The main change I've found so far (besides saddle, pedals, tape, tires) is a SunTour accushift rear derailleur and levers instead of the campy friction shifter.
My question: besides normal bike stuff like tire pressure and brake pad condition, what should I know about riding and maintenance?
by Minimum-Reference370
9 Comments
Lube the chain occasionally.
For old treks you can look up the serial number here: http://www.vintage-trek.com
Should tell you model, year and even size and month it was made.
For old bikes make sure you can move the seat post and stem. If they are dry or rusted, clean and add grease. If they are stuck, good luck.
Always good to check the hubs and bottom bracket are not loose or show some resistance which could mean they need regressing.
* Accushift indexing was bad even when brand new, skip it completely and run friction. You then also get to skip the compatibility concerns surrounding making Accushift work with current stuff.
* There’s a lot to be said for modern bars that are built to give you a continuous “shelf” between the bar and the hood, rather than the dip of classic bars. The levers you have won’t fully play nice with this, but it can still work okay. Honestly I think there’s also a lot to be said for just not screwing around with 40yo al bars and stem that have been through who knows what, especially if you’re going to make this a rider. Others will grump at that.
* Assume the worst about the condition of the grease in the BB, HS, and hubs and overhaul all of it if you don’t want them to crumble.
If you are new to vintage road biking, and live in a hilly area, with the downtube shifters on your rig, “anticipatory shifting” is the keyword I took from a group ride years ago. When you go to start up the hill switch gears down a little before you are really needing to, as taking one hand off the bars at that point is a serious momentum killer – LOVE your bike btw! Have fun!
I’ve got almost the same frame and color. Mine is just a 660
I have that same bike. Campagnolo was the upgrade. I think the bas model was Shimano
Service the bearings (wheels, bottom bracket, headset) once a year and the components will outlive you.
Nice bike find. Suntour rear derailleurs are nice.l IMO . I’m not positive they were all Campy standard. I just bought one and, yes, it has Campy, but with brifters and one was broken. Enjoy.
Ive always thought measuring the chain to check for stretch , but noone talks about that here.