Grim

I keep around a Mountain bike made commuter for foul weather and when you want the REAL heavy gloves. Commuted on it for a year but the long top tube of modern Mountain bikes it just never has been that comfortable and it collects dust.

I picked up this 84 Trek 890 a couple weeks ago. It was a one year only bike. They listed it in the All terrain section but marketed as "created specifically for the Urban Canyon". Came with 26x1.5 RADIAL Panasonic tires and a black burn rack. Lugged 501 double butted tube and more of a light touring Geometry with touring gearing.

It reminds me a LOT of the Bridgestone XO bikes. A good upright all arounder for urban riding.

It was a frame and fork so I have none of the original parts. Trying to keep the budget low so trying to stick with whats in the parts bin. I do have a Blackburn rack for it. I also have that Nitto front rack and Baggins Bag I picked up a few weeks ago that just seems right on this bike.

Will get fenders. Love some Hammered Honjo's but I think PB or SKS is more in the budget on this one.

I have two sets of wheels available, one set came off the XO-2 I picked up for my wife. Somebody laced a Durace hub to the back wheel and set it up as a single speed. its laced so poorly I think I would get sea sick riding it. It can be fixed with a relaced and I have a Mega range 7speed Freewheel I could slap on it. Like the Silver wheel for this Vintage bike.

The other set is Modern Deore SLX7/8/9 hubs shod in Black CR18 hoops No sure I love the black but the wheels are in good shape and I have a 8 and 9 speed cassette I can throw on it. Like the gearing options better with this set.

Derailleurs and Crank (48/36/26) will be Deore LX.

I have three bars too choose from.

Stock it came with Risers. I have 8speed Deore Thumb shifters on a set of Richie riser Bars. Need to sort out a stem. Stock it came with a tall 80mm Quill. If the local Co Op doesn't have something I'll have to buy one. I do have a VO Quill to threadless adapter and a 26deg 80-90mm stem I'd pop for.

I also have a set of Dirt drops I can use with 7 or 9 speed Bar ends (depending on the wheels). Mixed feelings about these. This will be more upright rider, futzing around with the kid, Social rides bike. No need for speed.

I have a set of Origin 8 Tiki Bars (similar to Mustache bars like the XO came with) for another build and while I'm trying to stick with what I already have I'd pop for another set of these without much thought. Like the extra hand positions over the Straight bars. Same stem woe's

Set of Kenda West tires or a Set of Pasela's are available. Like the more vintage look of the Pasela's and threw one on the black rims without a tube to try to see what they would look like.

Interested in others thoughts or even new ideas on where to go with this one.

Standalone 

I like just about any bike that size. I'd take it in the epic-tourer direction, strap a tent and cookstove to it and be off.

degan 

I'd definitely go with the Deore wheelset. I built some up for my tourer and they have performed amazingly well. Mine were 8 speed Deore DX laced to 26" rims. I rode on those for 2700 miles with my fair share of bad roads and potholes and those wheels are as perfectly true and smooth as the day I built them. I have another wheelset, 27", with CR18 and really like those rims.

I originally had mustache bars on it for about 1 day. I hated them. There were tons of hand positions, but none of them felt like I could mash them and put my full weight or power on them. I ended up with some Salsa Bell-laps that splay out at the ends, not as much as the dirt drops. I really like them.

I use my bike as a loaded tourer and not as much a commuter, so the applications may be different, but this is what I'd do.

Chris W.

Dirt drops get my vote! VO has 26" fenders that don't cost too much more than the PB or SKS. Looks like there is plenty of room to carry a pump behind the seat tube too.

Cheers,
Chris

Puget Pounder

dirt drops, but I'd get a stem where you can tilt those bars down a bit.

JohnDThompson 

The 890 was designed as a commuter bike, with clearance for fenders and attachment points for racks and such. Those radial tires were my least favorite thing on that bike. There's a reason you don't see them any more. They gave a really bizarre squishy-squirmy ride.

Cars benefit from the soft sidewall of a radial tire because they have four wheels and can't lean on corners, so the flexible sidewall allows more of the tread to stay in contact with the road. Bias ply tires suffered from the tread lifting off the road on the outside aspect of the tire, and thus lost traction in hard cornering.

But bikes can lean to keep the tread in full contact with the road, so there is no benefit from the radial ply sidewall. It just makes the ride weird.

Grim

Thanks for the review on the Tiki bars.

I honestly have not had a chance to ride them much but after reading your review it sounds like I need to put a few miles on what I have before buying a second set.

I picked them up for the wife's XO I was building for her. Showed them and a set of straight bars toher to let her pick what she was comfortable with, she went for the straight bars.

Building out that old Fuji T III as a Porteur and thought I would get good use on it and give a little more clearance for cargo on the rack. Already had that big riser stem seems like a good match.

More people like the Dirt drops then I figured would (or more don't like the risers and I'm not sure I do either with the lack of hand positions). This will be an all weather bike so the Brooks bar tape has to get moved to something else.

Chris Chicago

very cool you found one in that super tall size. i've seen a few 890s show up on CL here, i would definitely have jumped on one if it were that big.

Grim

The catalog I linked says the 23 (what this one is) was the tallest the frame it came in but looking at the serial number table it indicates some 24's were also built.

Hope to have some time this week to work on it. I need to get a flipper done first though.

mobilemail

There were surprisingly few of those bikes built. I have an 84 830 18" that I restored. Going by the serial number chart on vintage-trek.com, less than 600 were built. To the point, I have another lesser-known but eqal in quality bike (a Terranaut Wanderer) that I have set up for my touring bike. I have only taken it out for one good ride, but I love it! Best touring bike bike bargain I've ever found!

mobilemail

There were surprisingly few of those bikes built. I have an 84 830 18" that I restored. Going by the serial number chart on vintage-trek.com, less than 600 were built. To the point, I have another lesser-known but eqal in quality bike (a Terranaut Wanderer) that I have set up for my touring bike. I have only taken it out for one good ride, but I love it! Best touring bike bike bargain I've ever found!

Grim

After spending a Week on the couch with some nasty bug that kicked my butt I am getting this thing on the road.

The 135mm modern mountain bike hub was too wide for the frame. Its a 126mm rear spacing. I hit the CoOp and found a 130mm 8/9 speed road hub and laced it in the place of the Dura Ace somebody set up as a single speed on the Ritchie hoops. Its a vintage bike so I kind of like the Silver rims anyway. Have not put the Passela's on it yet.
Getting use to the Dirt Drops. Found a stem that has the bars at the reach and height I was looking for. It has always been my intent that this be more upright rider and the first set up the reach and height had me down more then I wanted. Put some miles on and see what I think. I may end up looking at something like a Porteur bar if I still question these.

Brakes SUCK! Thought it was old hard pads. Put a set of Jaguars on it that I run on my T700 that I'm happy with, not much improvement. I'm having a Major problem getting the shoe square to the rim. I may be swapping the Canti's. Just not enough upward adjustment even after playing with the cross over length to make sure the canti was at the top of its arch. Bit bummed as I really like the look of these old Dia Compe and they are the same models that are on my Fuji TIII that work respectably.
The second thing I need to check is the bars are off a Raleigh Sojourn that had Disc brakes. The bike listed as Tektro R200 levers and Avid BB5 calipers. I need to check but I think the travel is more in line for V brakes. I'm probably goign to end up swapping them out as well if that's what I find. I find where the R200a is listed for Caliper and Canti but the Raleigh spec sheet says R200 (no "a"). Anybody know if there is a difference?

I like the ride, the 26x1.5 soak up a lot of road imperfections. The tires feel a bit sluggish after riding Gatorbacks a lot. Geometry makes it fun to toss around. Frame is a bit noodley when cranking up a hill and pulling on the bars but again my DD is a Cannondale Touring bike. Tracks straight as an arrow with hands off the bars. In fact it really feels solid and confident with hands off. Not that I go riding down the road like that often but I always try it on new to me bikes to see how well they track.

Now I need to put some miles on it now and see if I fall in love with it and need to finish it out with hammered fenders. The intent has always been a all weather bike so the Brooks tape and aged saddle will move to a different bike But a Black B17 will make its way on here.
Current shot.

illwafer

this bike is insane. i love it.

cobrabyte

It all works really well together. Somehow the large frame and 26" wheels don't look disproportionate at all. I think a black Broks B17 is just the thing for it. Maybe some red bar wrap to matchy match the decals?

mitchiefulfer

this is the sickest parts bike of all time. do u still have this?