Korina

Vintage Trek says '98:

steine13

I'm posting about my Rockhopper again -- now reborn as a winter commuter. There's not much left other than frame/fork/crank and the bearings connecting them.
See https://www.bikeforums.net/22744230-post8447.html for a post with the original setup.

Here it is in front of some random place on my ride home -- underneath is a picture showing the handlebars better. These are quite pleasant to ride, if a bit narrow, but the mirror mounting is an issue; the gloves get in the way.





I'm a big fan of this setup -- a Shimano dynohub up front in a cheap wheel build costing $80 for hub/spokes/rim thanks to rosebikes.com in Germany. The Lumotec Eyc headlight is also theirs, and recommended.

The front cantis had to go to mount the light; the rear is now a coaster brake with the 3speed Nexus IGH. This weekend I'll be mounting the shifting apparatus. Until now, I've been going with the big chainring and the hub stuck in 1st gear.

My commute is only two-and-a-half miles one way, and this setup is about perfect. We haven't had any snow since Christmas, but the front tire is a studded Schwalbe, and the rear will be swapped as soon as winter gets here in anger. The only way this could be more practical is if I had used a dyno/drum brake hub in front -- Sturmey Archer makes one but it's a bit dear at $140.

Altogether I'm happy with the setup and I think I'll just clean the bike and swap the tires and keep riding it like this in the summer, rather than putting all the Suntour X-1 stuff back on.

cheers -mathias

daywood 

Thanks for this! I have one of these in silver that I also thought was a ‘94 because it looked like they were discontinued after that. I hadn’t considered they’d reintroduce them a few years later. Looking in the ‘98 catalog, they show a silver one that looks just like mine, and I see that the other color offered is Ice Inkwell, which is probably the blue on the OP’s bike.

ADguy 

So… I found the ‘98 Trek catalog, and yeah, the silver 920 looks exactly like my blue one.
then I took a SN pic, searched and read several pieces on deciphering the various different SN formats without much luck. Photo below.



Looks like the frame was produced late April/early May, but could not confirm the year, which is presumably represented by the letter P.

Looking more closely, you may notice another barely legible stamp running 90 degrees to the P along the non drive side bb edge which reads:
930 16 5, which represents the frame’s model # and size. I’m guessing a leftover frame repainted in the 1998 color scheme.

Maybe that’s why they brought back the 920 in ‘98?

Wright Bros

I have a '98 920 I bought new as a couple year left over. It's a great bike that I've upgraded over the years. Trek brought the 920's frame back in '99 as the 930 with suspension fork and I'm pretty sure that was the last year for the frame.

ADguy 

I was stoked over the triple butted tubing, as well as the overall condition. Looking forward to getting it ready to ride again. It’s going to a granddaughter in VA, who’s outgrown her older sister’s handmedown. I found a beautiful Trek 850 last year for the older girl. The two of them will have a very cool pair of vintage Treks that can take them through HS & college!

victorm

Korina

@steine13, I love short commutes; it's so easy to make them longer. Have fun!

melville

Very appropriate on a Breezer as they were made by Breeze & Angell.

Repack Rider

1983 Ritchey Annapurna. Custom built for me, once even had my name on it. This bike has taken me a lot of places, including Canada's Northwest Territories. Plug on the stem is carved from lignum vitae, the world's hardest wood.

CrowSeph

I'am late for this tread?
here my rockhopper from 1990.
In the photo you can't see the new grips and the bullmoose handlebar, just a few changes that make me love it more,

botty kayer

2008/9 may not seem vintage in terms of age, but as this MTB has 26 inch wheels, a 3 x 9 chainset and a stem that has some length to it, it sure seems retro by modern MTB standards.

I've just been to collect this from the suburbs of London, a bike designed in Yorkshire, England, and built in Tennessee by Lynksey, a classic in its day and the last of an era, just before 28ers took over the world. I lusted after this when it was released but soon after started on road bikes and have been down that rabbit hole for the last 15 years, but am now back in the MTB scene pretending like 29ers never happened. There's a list of probably boring reasons why I wanted a 26er over a 29er, and this is an absolute gem that's in as new condition, reckoned to have only a few 100 miles on it since being built up new, and the group set is spotless.

I was also given another set of more XC wheels, some XTR hubs on Mavic 717 rims, so I plan to put on some slightly narrower 2.1 Racing Ralph's on them for fast urban assault riding around London, and use the meatier 819 rimmed wheels for the trails. Rest of the kit is good, Chris King headset, Fizik Gobi saddle, Thomson stem and post, but think the only other thing I'll change is to get a dropper seat post.

I've not been able to go on a proper hack on it yet as I cycled back with ruksak and an extra wheelset on my back, but can't wait to get this out and give it a good thrashing. A 2008/9 On One 456 titanium hardtail with 140mm fork travel, same bullet stays as on my 1996 Litspeed built Merckx titanium road bike.

cyccommute 

Honestly, a 1990s mountain bike is the historical equivalent of an 1882 Columbia ordinary. A 1980s mountain bike is the equivalent of a draisienne. I have a couple of late 90s to early 2000s, 26” wheeled, 9 speed mountain bikes and I’m not interested in anything to do with 29ers but I do realize that I’m a fossil.

Those bikes, with the exception of a Specialized Epic, get ridden regularly.

Smokinapankake

I suppose I could add my own "modern vintage" MTB here as it is now 20 years old (built in 2003), my Curtlo Epic Mountaineer. 20 years in electronics is a lifetime, so I figured this could at least be vintage-ish, right?




26-er, 3 x 9 drivetrain and the 1st gen XTR hydraulic brakes. Built with some clearanced 2002 bits like the fork and derailleurs to save some cash. Handbuilt, fillet brazed, and especially steel all scream vintage. Along with the 71/73 geometry..... Once this arrived on my doorstep (June 2003) I stopped reading mountain bike magazines and looking at new bikes. For like 20 years. Best money I ever spent!

I guess you could say I never "got into" C&V bikes per se, but that the bikes I like became C&V without me noticing!

curbtender

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...EEzhgRed-NdwdP

SkinGriz

Crazy, lignum vitae is used as a bearing for the propeller shafts of container ships.

It’s wood that doesn’t float.

Cycle Tourist

This has been reconfigured as a touring/commuter bike. I'm a touring rider and find almost all bikes can function as good touring bikes. This one is a little slower but more rugged and reliable than any other.

nlerner

I went electric with the Bridgestone MB-3:

Korina

@nlerner how does it ride? And details! I'm always wary of front hub motors, probably irrationally.

nlerner

I commuted on it today, and it pretty much rides as it did in non-electric form, very planted, comfortable, good for lousy roads with those wide tires. But now it zips up to 15 mph really quickly when you pedal (it’s just pedal assist—no throttle). The battery actually ran out of juice on my way home, so was non-e for most of that ride. It was fine; I have this bike geared low in it’s 1x8 configuration.

The wheel is from https://www.swytchbike.com. This one is my second. The other is a 700c on my wife’s Raleigh mixte though I had it one one of my commuters all last winter. Installation is quite straightforward.

DiegoFrogs

That actually doesn't look like a turtle shell on a frog! You may be giving me ideas...

It's a bit strange, having gone entirely from conventional front hubs, leaning heavily towards dynamo hubs for the "never needs batteries" aspect, and now considering the complete opposite!

'02 nrs 

tmnguuyen 

This bike had a blue accent theme when new. I had a set of Campagnolo barcons with the blue sleeve laying around. I thought i'd tried a drop bar conversion. It came out pretty good.. Shifting well, the cantilever brakes are not working so well, need more troubleshooting. What do you think?
Thanks

tmnguuyen 

I went electric with my tandem too per the Mrs' request.

Schweinhund

Put a normal centerpull bridge cable and brake bridge on and that'll help with your adjustment