Chapter One:
I spend a lot of time thinking about
bicycles. So, it's strange when a bicycle just appears out of my
thoughts and into real life, which is exactly what happened with the
case of this bicycle. I found it in the trash outside of an
apartment in Brooklyn which was the brief home of a slightly less
brief girlfriend.
I did a double take, and I immediately
knew what it was. An old lugged Trek, from when Trek was a small
company and they were making every bike by hand in the USA. It was
missing a front wheel. But it looked mostly there. Luckily, I had
my car, so I picked it up and threw it in the back. Then we went
back into the house and found a guy spray painting a bike. He had a
Schwinn from the 1970s. I asked him about the Trek and he said it
was his. He was throwing it out because he got a Schwinn, which he
was painting green. Then he gave me a front wheel for the bike!
I brought it home and immediately
started cleaning it. I went to the local bike shop and spent $30 on
one new tire and tube. Then I rode it home. It rode great. The
brakes and shifters worked.
So, I started riding it in bad
weather. It became my Trash Bike. Then I bought snow tires for it
and it became my snow bike. I love this bike in the way pet owners
love a stray dog that follows them home and becomes their best
companion.
Chapter Two:
So, I have had the Trash Bike for
nearly 2 years. I still ride it every day. Most other people in the
world drive their car every day and keep a bike for fun on the
weekends. But for me, it's the other way around.
I've had a lot of little problems with
this bike that make it kind of a pain. Still, it's a great bike, and
overall the cost per mile is so low that it would be a waste of time
to calculate.
First, I changed the saddle. I added a
vintage Brooks that matches the patina / beausage of the bike. The
grips were awful too. They were old foam grips. I remember I used
to have similar grips on my Huffy Dirt Water which was my bike as a
kid and probably the worst bike I've ever owned. The grips collected
rain, which made them like gripping a wet towel. Awful. I changed
them to Spurcycle Grip Rings, which are super comfy and clever. Of
course, being a bad weather bike I had to add fenders. I was
thinking of Velo Orange ones, but plastic ones do just fine.
Then I added snow tires. Wow! What a
great purchase. They cost around $65 each, but were totally worth
it. If you are considering snow tires for your bike, go ahead and
get them. Biking in the snow is much, much more satisfying than I
could have ever anticipated.
Recently, tragedy struck. I realized
the front fork is bent. Of course, the original fork is gracefully
curved and lugged and beautiful. I bought a regular run of the mill
fork that doesn't match, but I haven't installed it yet. The
steering is wobbly right now, which is very bad.
The brakes also got all worn out. I
was running original Dia Compe cantilevers, which I really liked. In
fact, the old mountain bikes come with really long brake levers.
More like Motorcycle or Vespa levers. They're really satisfying to
use, and work great even with mittens. I bought some Avid brakes on
Ebay but they don't work as well as I thought. So I cannibalized the
LeMond and took a Paul Neo-Retro for this bike. Right now I'm
running the Avid in front and the Paul on the back.
I went back and forth on the Pauls. At
first I really liked the Pauls because they are like jewelry for a
bike. They're handmade and look great and custom, etc. But then I
couldn't get them adjusted as well as I liked. So, I really didn't
care for them any more. Then I learned a bit more about setting them
up, and messed with them quite a bit. I tried adjusting the old Dia
Compe brakes. Now, I'm back to loving the Paul Brakes. The setup
using a 15 mm wrench is super easy compared to an adjustment screw on
other cantilevers. I realized I had the straddle cable way too high
for a long time (which I had done to clear my Nitto rack). When I
set up the Paul brake on the Trash Bike, it was super easy and works
relatively great.
The other pain about owning an old bike
like this is that the rear spacing is 127 mm. No one makes hubs in
this size except – you may have guessed – Paul. I considered
ordering one and getting a custom wheel for the back, but instead I
just squeezed the old wheel from the Gary Fisher on to this bike.
The brakes are not lined up as well as they could be because the
chainstays have stretched. But the newer wheel is way lighter than
the older wheel, which makes a huge difference considering I often
ride 50 miles a week. I debated for a long time whether to get a
Sturmey Archer rear huh and wheel. Sturmey Archer makes them in 127
mm spacing. That could be in the cards for the future of this bike.
PROS:
Lugged frame
Sleeper performance and looks
Low bottom bracket
Long wheelbase
Thumb shifters are reliable as it gets
Lots of clearance for fenders, racks
CONS:
Can't find a lugged 1” 26” fork to
replace the original.
127mm rear hub spacing
Absolute zero bling factor for non-bike
people
IMPORTANT SPECS:
1984 Trek 830.
Color: Red Cherry Maroon
Brakes: were Dia Compe – now Paul
Neo-Retro in back, Avid Shorty 4 in front
Wheels: were no-name hubs with Alex
rims, now Mavic / Shimano
Tires: Nokian Mount & Ground 1.9”
Studded Snow Tires
Fenders: Evo plastic
Saddle: Brooks B67(? Vintage)
Handlebars: Bullmoose (Nitto or ritchey
style?)
Grips: Spurcycle Grip Rings
Rear Rack: Nitto Mt Campee 26” (love
this)
Lights: Knog Blinders
Luggage: Ortlieb
Alternatives:
Surly Troll - very close in spirit to this bike, but with newer parts
Surly Long Haul Trucker - test rode one and loved it. very common in hip areas.
Kogswell P/R – I've always wanted one
of these but they are no longer produced. Email me if you want to sell me one!
Rivendell - I want one bad but they're expensive!
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