Originally Posted by
Charles Wahl
Seriously, as someone said above, why bother with a bike that has had questionable treatment that's admitted, especially if you're not there to investigate it first hand? Who needs the aggravation? There's very little going on in this thread that's conclusive WRT the subject bike.
It is interesting to me that as a framebuilder, I see common frame alignment issues as no big deal just like an out of true wheel isn’t a big deal. They are both - with the right tools and knowledge - an easy fix. It is standard practice for me to align frames when I repaint them. I know from years of experience that most frames that come into my shop have alignment problems of one sort or the other. Only some Japanese or better custom American frames don't need messing with. Collector's come from a different perspective and can see misalignment as more of problem - if they know how to look for them at all. I belong to the club that believes good alignment makes some difference.
Originally Posted by
zandoval
For my own part, and being completely aware that there's a lot of love for them, Treks are one of those whistles I don't hear, like Colnagos. I've had a few pass through my doors, been very negatively impressed by the paint/corrosion protection of the 80s examples (unaccountable chipping and rusting), don't think their graphics are "all that". In that vein (Ford vs Chevy), I've always found Specialized models to be more attractive, and seemingly better made.
Early Trek frames were painted with Dupont Imron if I understand correctly. This is a polyurethane enamel that hardens by chemical reaction like epoxy. It requires a hardener to be added before spraying. Dupont isn't the only company that makes this kind of paint. It is the toughest paint there is. It was designed for airplanes. Dupont also made Corlar primer that was designed to be used in combination with Imron. This is by far the best primer ever. It sticks to bare metal like crazy and is hard to get off with chemicals or sandblasting. They stopped making it because it wasn't convenient to use. It was hard to stir and the activator had to be added an hour before it could be sprayed. Furthermore there were environmental issues with it as well. I've repainted a lot of 70's/80's steel Treks and their paint was difficult to get off. There is the possibility that in some cases it wasn't mixed correctly or not handled right after the primer was applied (for example with greasy hands) and before the top coats were put on.
I've never been fond of Trek's graphics and overall appearance of their bicycles either. The workmanship on their frames including alignment did not come up to the precision of the better Japanese brands. However this model of Trek is really nice for those not wanting a racing frame designed to be ridden in fast group rides. I've enjoyed riding this model thousands of Kilometers in Ukraine. While I was ridding it in the boonies, we would go by wells where people of the town had to get their water and see outhouses because of course those that live in these villages don't have running water available. I had 2 competing thoughts. The 1st was that I'm a really lucky guy to be able to enjoy riding such a nice bike in a foreign country where most people could not begin to afford one. And this was before the Russians have been destroying everything they can destroy. And the other competing thought was that the Trek I was riding was nice, it just was not nearly as wonderful to ride as the custom frame/bicycle I made for myself (even though "it was just my size"). For that matter neither is any other production frame. Those that are looking for the ultimate ride shouldn't be trying to find it in production bikes (unless looking for an all-out racing bike). I believe I can hold both of these ideas in my head at the same time. To enjoy and appreciate what I have because it is good (and much better than what others can have) but at the same time know it isn’t the ultimate. If I was looking for a good bike at a modest price, this would be one I’d be trying to find. Well unless I could find a similar Miyata.
Last edited by Doug Fattic; 10-02-22 at 02:06 PM.