Originally Posted by
habes78023
Treks went from the three digit series to four digit series meaning aluminum, or then a four digit starting with a 2 meaning carbon fiber. They actually still made these around the same time. They then evolved to more higher numbered series and models like the Madone and Domane are now what they would call road models.
In short, Trek doesn't make a steel road frame like that Trek 400 anymore. They started phasing out steel road frames a while ago. They do still make a steel touring bike, but that's really not going to be anything like the 400 your dad liked. That would be a Trek 520, which is a good bike, just not exactly the same.
Perfect, thank you for that information. I assume that's why I was having troubling googling my way into that info as the lineage wasn't exactly straight. I understand now, so steel road bikes were discontinued (which makes sense). And the newer bikes are so different, he's likely going to have to try them out to see if he likes them.
Originally Posted by
habes78023
Like other posters mentioned, I will also suggest you look for another old Trek road bike (or just another brand vintage road bike in general), they aren't super expensive, they are easily available (I could look at my local craigslist right now and find 3-4 that are great picks) and they will be much closer to that Trek 400 than something new. That being said, if your dad is looking for a new new bike, then he should probably just go to a local bike shop and test ride some. Window shopping is fun and all but he won't really be able to know what he likes by just looking online. He also may find that a more upright, commuter type bike actually better suited for what he likes to ride.
Ok. I'll try both plans. I think going to the bike shop is a good idea regardless to see which kind of bikes he does like as a steel roadie would limit my ability to find used.
Originally Posted by
habes78023
You also should remember, we are the Classic and Vintage forum, so we do know a lot about bikes, but we really like the older stuff for various reasons and aren't all that likely to say that the new bikes these days are all that comparable to the older stuff.
That's ok. I figured as much when I posted. My assumption is that this group was the most plausible to knowing the lineage of a bike from the 80s to help point me on where I should start looking. It's pretty obvious to me my S10 to Colorado analogy really doesn't apply here as the differences in the newer bikes versus older bikes are so significant that the bikes deserved new names.