Alright guys, I found another Columbus-tubed one.
This one was listed cheap on the local CL as a Trek 912. Since there is no model by that number shown on the Vintage Trek website, I needed to take a closer look in person. The bike was being sold by the original owner, including the original sales receipt and owner's manual. I was disappointed to find out that the owner actually wanted more than twice the advertised price, insisting that his daughter had misinterpreted his instructions for listing it. The finish and graphics are in terribly shape, with no hint of any tubing decals anywhere. The owner didn't remember what kind of tubing it was made from, but it's a very lightweight bike. He paid extra for the Jim Blackburn rack, Zefal pump and toe clips. He also noted that he replaced the wheelset somewhere along the way. I was a bit skeptical about the model number despite confirming that's what the original shop sold it as on the sales receipt. It wasn't until the owner agreed to let me pull the steerer that I agreed to buy. We haggled a bit, and it came home with me.
The sales receipt is dated 3/28/80. However the G4F8 serial number corresponds to a 24" '78 TX700. This is why I was skeptical of the "912" model designation. Incredibly there's a dove stamp on the steerer. My guess is that the original shop received this as a bare frameset, and wasn't able to sell it for a couple years. The groupset is unimpressive, corresponding to those shown for model 412 in the 1980 Trek brochure. The shop that originally sold the bike is a reputable one, and well known locally. I would surmise they cobbled the model number together using the frameset specs and the parts they built it up with. Whatever model assigned to it, this is yet another example of the serial number on an early Trek not telling the whole story. I would call it a '78 TX770, based on info on the Vintage Trek site.
