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Trek 1200 Rebuild or Trash

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Trek 1200 Rebuild or Trash

Old 10-06-21, 02:09 PM
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MartyF
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Trek 1200 Rebuild or Trash

I have a Trek 1200 that was made in the mid 90's. My shifters are Shimano ST-3304 and ST-3300. Here is my question. Is it possible to replace the current shifters with newer versions or would I be better of buying a new bike?

Thanks,
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Old 10-06-21, 02:29 PM
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Trying not to write a book on your options but easiest thing would be to get these Microshift Shifters for 8 speeds which come in double or triple options (I believe that's what your bike has) R8 Drop Bar Shifter 2x8 | microSHIFT Shop around for best prices. The 3300's have been long out of production and buying something that old used would be a crapshoot at best. I wouldn't want to spend too much on upgrades for that particular bike but just the brake/shifters would be worthwhile IMO as long as the rest of the bike is in good shape.
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Old 10-06-21, 02:40 PM
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You absolutely can replace the shifters on that bike with newer ones, but whether or not is worth it is debatable. What is wrong with the current shifters? Keep in mind that new shifters would need to be compatible with your current 7 or 8-speed rear and double or triple front configuration, unless you're planning on a more extensive update project (derailleurs, cassette, chain, etc.).
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Old 10-06-21, 02:44 PM
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Depending on the freehub on the rear wheel, it might be possible to go to 10 spd with a Microshift R10 brifter set for only
slightly more than the R8 and swapping out to a 10 spd cassette. Depends on the free hub, certainly should be possible with a 9 spd
set up which may have better compatibility with your freehub. Still looking at $180-200 for this and depending on
chain age you might need a chain with a new cassette. Assumes you have a double CW currently. Cost of conversion
starts getting marginal when you go much further unless you can find local take-offs (co-op?). IME in the 8spd era,
Shimano 8spd brifters had short life spans compared with 10-11 spd era brifters ie well under 10k miles. 9spd brifters
were better but not a lot.
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Old 10-06-21, 05:33 PM
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Crankycrank, Thank you for the response. the bike is actually a 3x7. I'm attempting to just replace the brakes/shifters.
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Old 10-06-21, 05:36 PM
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Eric F, thanks for the advice. Current shifters need some adjustments. I'll give adjusting that another shot before replacing.
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Old 10-06-21, 05:42 PM
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sch, Thank you, your knowledge of bike repair is far beyond my comprehension,
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Old 10-06-21, 05:52 PM
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well, 7 spd is a different animal than 8 spd so further upgrade options are more limited but not closed out.
see: https://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html#bodycompat for some further info and discussion. At this point
your best bet would seem to be fix what is there and not replace much beyond maybe cables and housings.
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Old 10-06-21, 05:56 PM
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Originally Posted by MartyF
Crankycrank, Thank you for the response. the bike is actually a 3x7. I'm attempting to just replace the brakes/shifters.
Well in that case. Drop Bar Shifters 3x7 | microSHIFT I'll also ask what is wrong with the current shifters? If not working have you tried flushing out the mechanicals with solvent or is something broken for sure?
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Old 10-06-21, 06:04 PM
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Shimano St-A070.
​​​​​​https://thebikehub.com/products/shim...RoCDC8QAvD_BwE
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Old 10-06-21, 09:45 PM
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That's a reasonably nice bike. If you haven't already, it's probably worth a shot to to aggressively douse the internals of the shifters with wd40 while attempting to shift. Often this is enough to work things loose so that they function. Still, those are getting awfully old, and a lot of the shifters from that era can't be easily revived.

If you measure the distance between the dropouts in the rear you can determine if you can easily run more cogs in the back. 130mm will run up to current 12 speed stuff, 126mm is 7 speed only (more or less). If it measures at 130mm, you might consider switching to at least 8 speeds. You'll just need to change the shifters, cassette, and chain--you can keep the derailleurs and crankset (well, chainrings might start shifting poorly around 10 speed).

For real 7 speed stuff, I'd go Microshift any day over currently available Shimano 7 speed shifters.
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Old 10-07-21, 02:11 PM
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WOW, Thanks for all the advise. I'll try to persuade the current shifters to cooperate. If not I'll probably get a set of Microshift SB-R373s.
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Old 10-07-21, 02:47 PM
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I've had good lick with this stuff for freeing up sticky/stuck shifter internals...

A few shots straight into the shifter guts, and then work the lever until thigs get moving.

Unless you know there's a problem with the shifters, I would start by replacing the cables and housing. If this isn't something you're familiar with, your LBS can do it for a pretty reasonable price.
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Old 10-07-21, 08:08 PM
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Originally Posted by MartyF
WOW, Thanks for all the advise. I'll try to persuade the current shifters to cooperate. If not I'll probably get a set of Microshift SB-R373s.
If you do the flush, wrap a rag around the hood to keep the solvent away, getting it on or under the hood can cause it to deteriorate. Hoods of this vintage are very difficult to find replacements for.

Keeping it 7 speed is the easiest action. In addition to the rear drop-out spacing issue, the current hub may not be designed to take more than 7 speed.
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Old 10-15-21, 05:33 PM
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Just wanted to thank everyone for the advise. A little lubricant, patience, and adjustments on shifters and it's good as new. All the advice and pointers saved me at least $200.

Again, thanks everyone.
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Old 10-15-21, 06:43 PM
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As to whether they're worth it... that's pretty much up to you. With the current bike market, I think that equation has changed a bit.

Here's mine, but I bought the parts before the market got crazy, paid just over $200 for the groupset.
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Old 10-15-21, 07:43 PM
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Originally Posted by MartyF
WOW, Thanks for all the advise. I'll try to persuade the current shifters to cooperate. If not I'll probably get a set of Microshift SB-R373s.
That is absolutely what I would do first!
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