Bad Lag

You are going to -

• Sand down the brake pads a little to refresh the braking surfaces.
• Oil the chain.
• Pump up the tires.
• Go for a short shake-down ride (stay close to home in case a tire fails).

3alarmer 

...Imron is a two stage epoxy type paint. So no, not really. Metallic silver is one of the most difficult colors to match, IME. You are either off on the color itself (there are many, many shades/values of silver). or you will be off on the metallic flake, which has been added to the paint. The flake comes in a variety of sizes and textures. I have one frame in silver where I repainted the entire bike, because I like the frame and got tired of the dreadful looking touchups.

You might be able to get some help at an auto paint store that does custom color mixing, but it costs something like 20 or 25 bucks per can, and it's not guaranteed. It will still be a single stage paint.

xiaoman1 

3a, is correct many think silver is easy to match...just like black white and red, which you will find are not hat easy either....my biggest concern would be the size of the metal flake and getting it to lay right.
If there is not a lot of touch-up I would just get some sliver and black and get as close as you can color wise. IMHO you will never "match" or blend a large spot without having to paint the entire tube.....so touchup with a brush or toothpick would be my best approach.
Best, Ben

75lechamp 

Congratulations on this find, these are outstanding bikes. I had the same questions after I acquired mine. I looked up the serial number and according to the Vintage Trek site, mine was a 1982 silver and blue 950 frame. A couple of ways I confirmed this:

1. This frame had Campy dropouts. As I understand, that meant it was either a 957 full bike with Campy components, or a bare 950 frame. I believe the 959 had Dura Ace dropouts, and was outfitted with a Dura Ace group.
2. The 957 model was apparently only made in white/blue (see below from the Vintage Trek site)
3. Once I had it apart, I noticed the steerer tube had the "950" mark on it, which confirmed it.














Andy

repechage

Interesting bike.
when I first saw the stacked text downtube panel I thought it was an after the sale conversion.
makes A challenge to clamp it in the workstand.
the saddle has a cast chassis, note the aftermarket bolt to hold it as the chassis is quite tall.

The Golden Boy 

Please don't do that!

You won't match the paint and it'll look bad. Use clear nail polish to touch up bare metal. The scuffs will look better than poorly matched paint.

If you're talking about replacing the Columbus decal- the new ones are vinyl decals, not the onion skin decals like the old ones...

This is a bike that you do EVERYTHING right on. Everything is original- once you replace or repaint- you can't un-ring that bell. Everything I'm seeing just needs to be cleaned up- nothing on that frame should be replaced.

If you're thinking that scuffed Columbus decal bothers you- in 3 months you won't even notice it.

You are now the caretaker of a super rare and super desirable machine. Congratulations!!

75lechamp 

I agree with The Golden Boy your bike is in fine shape as is. Just clean it up a bit and ride, these are indeed rare. Took me a long time to find mine!

Andy
Arvada CO USA

AdventureManCO 

lol okay okay you've got me convinced! I won't do anything crazy. I *was* looking for one of those columbus stickers, and one of the 'United States of America' just to clean it up a little bit, but I will leave well enough alone.

I have good news about bad news! I just took it this afternoon for its maiden-to-me voyage, and it did not disappoint. If anything I probably disappointed it. I kept hearing this little message emanating from below me saying 'Faster! I want to go faster!' no joke I was almost literally hearing it. But, thanks to @due ruote I checked the tubulars, and sure enough the tires were not really sticking to the tape anymore, so I was extremely careful to not go too fast and put much pressure into cornering. That will be a bit of a learning curve. No big deal, just need to catch up on it.

Also, the stem was easily adjustable and had visible grease from where I raised it. Good stuff.

Bad news? I tried adjusting the seatpost. Its stuck. Now, maybe its not really stuck that bad, but didn't budge at all from trying to twist it. It is actually at a good height for me (so that's good!) but it is disconcerting. I'm hoping it is just lightly stuck and maybe some very sensitive prying apart on the clamp will do the trick. Any tips appreciated.

Pictures to come here in a moment!

The Golden Boy 

You've got an outrageously cool and rare bike- it's not mint- so you're not fooling anyone by redoing decals. At this point, it's preserving. Look at a lot of old bike with Columbus and (especially) 531 decals- even new they were falling apart.

As far as the ride goes- Most of my bikes are touring bikes. I have a 78/79 730- the 531 "racing" frame. It is different than my next "fastest" bike. It's so much lighter, it's so much more nimble feeling. It does make you feel different being on there. Yours is an advancement on that old x30 geometry. And then you also have tubulars... that's enough of a difference maker. I'm envious you get to experience it!

As far as your seat post goes... Do a whole lot of reading- my guess is you want to start with the least vicious methods first. Heat/cold, "secret sauce," and save the BFH and hacksaw for the very very very last resort.

You may not want to do any tapping down on it- if it's already at your size, and you do tap it down, it's going to scratch... then you have the scratches showing...

AdventureManCO 

Some cleanup today! Was such a gorgeous day and a great way to spend a Saturday!





Took me half a day to clean up just the rear derailleur! Also found the wheels cracked. Will need some replacements at some point -



Amazingly, I didn't lose any pieces. And, it cleaned up really nicely.

Lot's more work to do to clean it up.

AdventureManCO 

On the test ride!

himespau 

Cool find.

AdventureManCO 

I have an '87 Ironman Master 'Miami Vice' pink/yellow frame...the seatpost was stuck, and I tried just about everything, even a slide hammer. Heard horror stories of seat stays popping loose, cutting through the seat tube with a hacksaw blade, etc. So I went the nuclear option - lye. It sure got the seatpost loose, but destroyed that beautiful paint. Right now it is in the raw, and while I kind of dig that sleek modernistic look, I do really long for the Miami Vice.

'87 Ironman Master w/ threadless conversion. Miss the Miami Vice! Please ignore the grotesque stem on there!

I remember seeing an absolutely gorgeous Trek frame on here that someone had powdercoated...I mean it was simply spectacular. I'd really like to find it again to find out who the powdercoater was so I could go that route. I suppose more research. But yeah, I want to start light. I'm tempted to just leave it if I can't get it loose. I'm not willing to go lye and ruin the paint on this one, or a hacksaw blade and destroy the frame.

The Golden Boy 

Was that the purple metal flake one?

AdventureManCO 

You are in Arvada? We should go riding sometime. I'm in SE Aurora, but work right around I-25/I-70, not far from Arvada at all.

AdventureManCO 

Maybe! I remember it was some outlandish color. In my mind I thought it was pink, but yeah it was something out there...and sparkly.

AdventureManCO 

This has me curious! Were there some liberties taken with the pricesheets or the way bikes were built? Were all 957s and 959s technically '950's and stamped as such? Just spec'd differently? It would make sense to have just a basic '950' frame and then just call it a 957 or a 959 based on what components get put on it. Or, someone could just as easily buy a 950 frame, and build it out with any component spec. With this bike however, the component group, at least to my basic knowledge, exactly matches the 'OX' package listed in the pricesheet. If I had to bet, I would think that the bike came from Trek like this, as it makes sense that it would be spec'd with their package rather thank purchased separately afterward with the exact same components. But I could always be wrong. I wonder if someone like JohnDThompson could shed any light on how the bikes were named within the context of groupset selection.

What is interesting is with the wear around the seat cluster, I actually see a white / blue paint underneath the silver. Was that some sort of base coat, or does it have anything to do with the '82 coloration?

The Golden Boy 

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-frameset.html

AdventureManCO 

THATS THE ONE! Thank you!!

xiaoman1 

OP,
I and others have offered you congratulations as well as some advice regarding the servicing of your "new" bike.....if I may I would like to offer a bit more. With all of the excitement, sometimes there is an urge to rush to repair/replace....To FIX things. I would suggest taking it easy, do some reading/research not only about the Trek but how to repair it without damaging it, cosmetically or mechanically. There is no need to repeat the mistakes many have made.
How have others solved a stuck seat post, what is the least abusive way, lye would be my last resort long after I have soaked the post and seat tube with some penetrant...my point is take your time so you can minimize regrets in the future,etc. etc.
JM2C's, Best, Ben

AdventureManCO 

I respect your thoughts and will follow this advice. I'm going to read up on tubulars, glues, tapes, and probably end up taking these tires off, using them for emergency spares, and getting a nice pair of new tubulars, which will give me a chance to really deep clean the rims and start with a fresh surface. That and maybe cables, since I don't have the history on them. That will be it for the time being

It may seem odd, but I'm actually thankful for the lye treatment on the IM. It destroyed the paint, but it saved the frame. I had a feeling I would have done something really wrong had it been through other means.

Thank you for weighing in on this. I'm grateful for it, because like I said I'm totally a mixmaster bike project guy and this bike is so far on the other side of the spectrum from that.

velomateo

I’m a little late to the party on this thread, but congrats on a great find. These old Treks are really beautiful frames and they have really quality paint on them. I’m still enjoying my recent old Trek find. Mine’s a ‘83 970, also a Columbus frame but without the Cinelli bottom bracket. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this bike and also enjoy having something so rare in your collection.

@Drillium Dude That saddle with the crazy cast frame is by Selle Royal. My Mike Walton came with one and it’s badged as a Pearl Izumi (Flolite). I didn’t care for it, it has very generous cushioning…too much for me. I’m not sure what the rails are made of, but I would guess aluminum or magnesium. It is fairly light. I still have it if anyone has any interest in it.

AdventureManCO 

Well, took her for a ride the other night. I've ridden the bike around 3-4 times, and each time I've taken it a little faster. Still, not willing to push those old tubulars. They creak! I was hearing a cyclical squeaking/creaking sound, and it sounded like it was coming from the rim/tire in front, so my hunch was that it was the compromised glue interface. Its funny...each time I take it out, it calls out to me 'faster, faster!' But I can't yet and it is so hard not to. As I was nearing the end of the ride, the back end started feeling a little wobbly - sure enough, I got off and spun the back wheel and heard the 'hiss!' of a leak. The leak was coming from the valve - tire is toast. As well as it should be, since it was old, probably ready to fall off the rim, and may have even saved me from a spill had I continued pushing it.




Cleaned up the paint a bit

Whoop! Hearing a hiss!

Bye bye Conti Podium



I still need to give the bike a good detailing and cleaning, and we'll get there in due time. In the meantime, I've got my homework cut out for me in reading through the 'Totally Tubular' thread and finding some good replacements. I'd like something light and racy to match the bike, but living in Colorado means we need a little bit of thorn protection as well.

What's also interesting to me is the size of the frame. I measured it as a solid 54cm C-to-C. I felt like I have usually always ridden a 56cm, but the top tube length feels fine and when I straddle the bike, I have just a couple of inches that I can pick it up, so I guess it is the right size. The milled grooves of the seatpost go down past the seat tube, and it has a about a good fistful of seatpost sticking out and it feels right. I guess I'm a 54cm?

Drillium Dude 

Since the frame has blue panels, might the blue be the base color, then the silver went down last while the blue panels were masked off? I think that's what's going on here.

DD

Road Fan

I'm in the category of riding tires that might not be ideally glued, and never caring. I guess I don't ride aggressively enough for it to matter. For any tubie wider than 22 mm I use about 95 to 105 psi when I have my gauge handy, but I know how the right "squeeze" feels. For narrower ones I use more like 120. This could also be why I haven't rolled one, ever. I have done the thumb-pushing test from time to time and there isn't much motion. The biggest effect I see from sketchy gluing or riding on spares for too long, is the shear force between the rim and tire in the direction of driving or braking torque, which tends to over stress the valve stem in its hole. This can tear a leak where the valve stem contacts the innertube. This is more of a problem for big, strong riders or touring loads on tubulars (yep, done that!). For just old fellows like me now, tubular failures should be rare unless you live in a nasty thorn area of the country. Based on my time living in Denver, that includes Colorado.