How to Proceed with 1984 Trek ATB?

[Sir Zappedalot]

Hello, Everyone. l need some advice. l like old steel mountain bikes. l live in the US, where Treks abound. This one caught my eye. l haven't seen one this old for sale, in a long time, so l grabbed it. The story goes a fellow's son left in it his garage for the last thrty years, and it's sat, unridden, ever since. l can't vouch for the saddle, or the fenders, but the rest of the bike looks 100% original, including the tires. For sure, this bike needs a deep cleaning. There is some surface rust on many of the shiny bits, and on the bare cables. l haven't touched the bike yet, for fear of breaking something irreplacable. l haven't even tried inflating the tires.

So, what should l do next? ln car lexicon, this bike is a survivor. Should l leave it in this condition? Should l clean and shine the best l can? Should l do a total tear-down and restoration? The cables will definitely need replacement. What other new parts would be acceptable? l have lots more pics, if interested. Any, and all, suggestions will be considered and appreciated. Thank you all............ edit- sorry, l am trying to post images directly. l can't figure it out

https://imgur.com/a/CoGYgFj

here is the 1984 sales literature, for comparison
https://vintage-trek.com/TrekBrochure1984AllTerrain.htm

 

[KermitGKona88]

Re:

In my opinion I would just change the cables for new ones same colour, saddle looks comtemporary to me, could have been changed in the shop if the original owner didn't like the original one, give it all a good clean and polish and ride it.

One thing might be the Bio-pace chainrings they are not to everyones taste, a sympathetic replacement of these would not be too frowned upon.

I would also remove the plastic fenders and computer

 

[focomat 1c]

Re:

What great find ! But it sounds like you have already answered your own questions

I would go down the ' total tear-down ' route and work through the various components cleaning , polishing , lubeing as required

If you then polish/wax the frame and re-assemble you will only have to buy a period saddle , tyres and chain ? . It may be that the
brake and gear cable outers are still ok in which case some new stainless inners would keep the 'original' look

I can't see that any other new parts would be required , you have a complete Shimano Deershead groupset on the bike
which was the best available at the time

Look forward to seeing some photos after the deep clean , don't even think about a paint job !

 

[CTK]

Great find, lovely bike. I love the old Treks. I would just ride it as it is and see what needs attention as and when it comes up.

 

[Rod_Saetan]

Those wheels!

 

[jimo746]

If it were me, I'd do the minimum necessary to get it to a safe and efficient rideable state.
So only replace cables if they're causing an issue, it probably uses the old thicker type inner cable that can be tricky to find replacements for.
A good clean and polish can go a long way.

Those wheels!

Those hubs! :shock:

 

[gyration]

good condition, great bike! how is it on the go?


I am not a big spender myself, but my better half is. In order to get us through she sometimes applies for payday loans. She is organized with paying them back so she always gets approved, but I am hearing you can still qualify even with bad credit history.

 

[Sir Zappedalot]

Thanks, guys. I guess my first order of business will be a good cleaning and re-greasing. Hopefully, I can save everything. This will have to wait until the weather warms a little more. As far as how it rides... I haven't ridden it, yet

 

[dirttorpedo]

That saddle is period correct from what I've seen out there.