JMargolin

After a good month of CL searching, I found my new-to-me vintage steel Trek road bike on Monday! The selling price was $175 in Chicago. I intend to use this for my 23-mile round-trip commute to work. I have a number of questions I am hoping the forum can help with. I have done nothing with the bike yet except give it a wash and lube, and adjust the seat and handle bars.

So, here are some observations and questions; I am giving myself a budget of around $200 for upgrades:

1. Getting the fit right. The bike is the 24” model. As you might have noticed by the small amount of seat post visible, it is a bit on the large size for me. I have about an inch of clearance above the top tube. (The 22.5 inch model was too small; really, I am between sizes on these Treks.) The previous owner swapped out the handlebar stem with one that is much shorter and can be raised much higher than the original stem. I raised the handle bar stem a couple of inches maybe, but when I am riding on the brake hoods, the angle is not comfortable for my neck. I have been placing my hands above the brake hoods so I won’t be too far from the brakes. So, one option is to move the brakes to the horizontal part of the bar, and then just lower the stem again.

2. Fixing the paint and chrome. You will see in the pictures several chips in the paint, and also some clumsy attempts to retouch the paint. Do you have any suggestions about what paint is a match to this model and can you point me to some guidance about doing the touch ups? Also, on the headset, there is some slight pitting and rust. What to do about that--if anything?

3. Advice about the tires and fenders. The previous owner put some 23s on the bike. I think I would like to run some 28s. However, they probably won’t play well with the racing fenders that are currently on the bike. What sort of tires and fenders would you recommend?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!



My 1987 Trek 400T, 24" model. Stand-over is 33.5", and my inseam is 24"!


The headset helps this fit me much better.


See clumsy attempt to touch up the paint.


An example of some of the paint chips.


Slight pitting and rust on the headset.

tkamd73 

1988 Trek 400t

Nice bike! I restored an 88 400t a couple of years ago, yours is in much better shape then mine was. Wouldn’t worry about the size, if you have an inch of clearance standing over it, it fits. From what I can see, you just need a new stem, tape, and tires. 400ts came with 28s, I’m betting the fenders, you probably need them for commuting in inclement weather, will still fit. I personally would ditch the fenders for a light rain suit. Headset will clean up nicely with some Quickglow, as for paint checkout your local auto parts store, and get some micro-brushes. The paint and chrome on mine was a lot worse, have fun. Great riding, very comfortable bike you have there.
Tim

jlaw

That's a nice bike. 531 steel?

Fit: Yes, try moving the brake levers further up the curve and you can also turn the bars up slightly so that the 'ramps' behind the levers are parallel to the ground. This will make the drops not parallel to the ground, but you're probably not riding them anyway if the current set-up bothers your neck. The stem is already a short reach and is protruding substantially from the headset - make sure you're not above the minimum insertion line.

Or, you could try a pair of these - pricey, but may allow you to ride multiple hand positions comfortably:

https://www.somafab.com/archives/pro...or-2-handlebar





Paint and Chrome: hit the rust spots with some steel wool. This will take the curse off the chrome corrosion and you can leave it as-is. On the painted surfaces finish-up with a couple coats of clear nail polish. This bike had a history before you and may have a future after you - no need to hide it.

Tires and fenders: That's a tough one - looks like you haven't got much clearance with the existing fenders - and I think fenders are a must for a commuter bike in Chicago - and larger tires also.

The wheels look like 700c. The only way to gain room for bigger tires and fenders is going to a 650b wheel - you could probably fit fenders and 38mm tires. I have done this on a 1985 Trek 410 - similar to yours - worked very well. But, this will well exceed your $200 budget - wheels, tires, long-reach brakes, new cables, maybe levers - $500 or more - but if you're serious about commuting (23 miles per day is serious) you will benefit from the added comfort and control on rough roads.

Trek 410 with 650b

SurferRosa

I hope that's a typo.

Those white tires look wider than that. I'd go with 25s and use the current fenders.

As far as fit and brake lever placement ... before retaping the bars, move the levers up. Works for me.

JMargolin

Beautiful bike there, Tim--very inspirational! Was there any reason why you recommend replacing the stem? That part is new and it seems to be what I need to get the fit I want on the bike.
Jlaw, thanks for the advice on the fit--I will try the hack you suggested. Who knows, maybe someday I'll splurge on the Soma bars, which look really cool. What kind of bars are on the red Trek 410?
Regarding the paint and rust touch ups, I think I will go with Jlaw's suggestion of putting a clear coat of nail polish on the chips, to keep out rust (at least for now). There are a lot of them! I will give the Quickglow a try if the headset doesn't respond to the steel wool.
I know the tires seem bigger than 23s, but that's what it says on the sidewall. I may need to get a new set of fenders if I go up to the 28s. I had never heard of the 650b size before--I will keep that in mind!
--Jonathan

tkamd73 

I just think the 7 shaped quill stems look better on vintage bikes, the Nitto Technomic on mine will go a lot higher, and come in a lot of different lengths. When I first got back into biking at 62, I was inspired by a Grant Petersen article about making old racing and touring bikes more comfortable, wider tires, raised handle bars, etc. So I started out with the bars above the seat quite a bit, and it was a lot easier on my neck, and such, but as I put on the miles, I started lowering the bars to seat level, with no neck pain. Now I’ve since lowered all my bars to below seat level, and am on the drops more, without any neck pain. However, I think stem length and style, are a personal choice, do what’s best for you, and is most comfortable. Have fun with that bike!
Tim

JMargolin

Yes, typo! My inseam is 34"!

3speedslow

Of the 3 Trek 400’s I have, I’m keeping my red one. Easy decision as they ALL ride great!

those flutes on the seatpost are going to channel water down the seat tube if it’s a commuting bike.

jlaw

The bars on the 410 are from Velo Orange - 'Daija Far Bars' - are a short-reach bar with a drop that has an incline - nice and wide at the bottom of the drops which helps me breath better when recovering from a hard effort. I can comfortably ride the tops, the ramps, the hoods, the inclines, and the very bottom of the drops - much more user-friendly IMO than the standard drop bar.

$55

https://velo-orange.com/collections/...-bar-handlebar


650b conversion of 70's/80's 'sport/tour' frames has been a thing for many years. This helped to start the wider tire revolution. Not all frames are suitable for doing this. For example. racing frames with steep geometry may not be a good choice. However, your Trek 400 is a good candidate. Nowadays there is a decent selection of wheels/rims/tires for the 650b (584mm) size.

Here are some guidelines for 650b conversion:

650B Conversion Guidlines

The Golden Boy 

Sweet bike!

It's crazy that the Trek 400 Elance was just above entry level for Trek at this time period. The main frame is 531 and the fork and stays are True Temper CrMo- that was what a 600 level frame had been prior to 1986. The components are really good- The MT-60 and Z206 were the derailleurs used on the Schwinn Voyageur.

I don't think your idea of "clumsy paint touch up" will match with most anyone here. That's a closer than 5 foot touch up.

There's no chrome on this bike- most everything is alloy- and most stuff is either anodized or painted alloy. There's some stuff you can shine up- but the majority of it, you'd have to strip the anodizing off before polishing.

I have an 86- differences are the paint scheme (with silver head tube and lug windows) and mine was a double - so there were a few component tweaks.

The 86 400 Elance was the first bike I lusted after- mine is relatively clean- and I've taken to building it up using the components I want to use on it.

I had 32s on it, but I did change the wheels to 27" to be able to use short reach 6400 series brakes. Because I like them. I think you should totally be able to fit 28s and fenders under both the fork crown and the brake bridge- 32 might be a really tight squeeze.




1986 Trek 400 Elance by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr



1986 Trek 400 Elance by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr



1986 Trek 400 Elance by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

seedsbelize 

24" Treks are the schizz. I have two of them, and have about the same amount of seat post showing as you do. I agree that a traditional stem would be much more attractive. Mine both have short stems too. 60 - 80 mm. Enjoy the heck out of it.

I moved the brake levers further up when I re-wrapped the bars. 1980 Trek 414

bark_eater 

I have the same bike (400t) with chipped up paint, particularly the fork. I've stared at the Duplicolor touch up paint colors a couple times at the auto parts store, but havent convinced my self which color to go with. The bike had nail polish on all the chips but no prep work done. It came right off with acetone.

SurferRosa

So are these.

philbob57

When the bike was new, if it had 1" of clearance, it was the correct size.

alexihnen 

Some sweet rides - I had the all blue 400 in college and will have one again when I find one at an OK price.

ryansu

+1 on using the Nitto Technomic stem to get the bars up higher that should make things easier on the neck, I have them on a couple bikes and really like them.