Retro? 2003 Trek 1200 (meets 1990 Trek 1400)

[Captain Stupido]

Re: Retro? 2003 Trek 1200

Some brakes here (no link to seller): https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=140238

Thanks for the link.

No progress as I've been fiddling with the e-bike, but shiny bits arriving every day...

Particularly pleased with the chainset. Well worth the money - substantial weight saving and more useful gearing. Double win.

Been keeping track of costs - by the time I've finished I would have been able to buy a new Decathlon bike for the same money. Hopefully this will be quite a bit nicer! But cheap builds are never all that cheap...

 

[Captain Stupido]

Re: Retro? 2003 Trek 1200

another 50g

 

[Captain Stupido]

Re:

Brakes sorted, budget well and truly blown. Oh well... as hobbies go it's still a relatively cheap one.

Now I've (almost) finished my e-bike build I think I can make a start putting this together. With any luck we'll have a decent autumn and I'll be able to get some use out of it. Not sure what happened to summer...

Quite excited about it actually. Not had a decent road bike in ages.

 

[Captain Stupido]

Re:

Right, well, the 1200 remains a pile of shiny bits in my rebuild queue. Hopefully I'll get it done in time for summer.

Being someone who's mainly into old steel MTBs and has a queue of bikes awaiting rebuilds and no spare time I did the obvious thing and bought another aluminium Trek road bike in need of TLC. This one was even cheaper and more local so obviously I couldn't resist.



This is basically how it arrived although I have swapped out the non-original saddle and seatpost (the wrong size and shimmed with PVC tape). Apart from a broken spoke on the rear wheel and some frayed cables it seems in decent nick. I think it's a 1990 model, with a US made, bonded aluminium frame. Brochure spec is almost completely 105 with Matrix rims but this has Exage 500ex brakes as well as Exage hubs and Alesa rims. Maybe it's UK spec or maybe it's been changed about?

Anyway I've been intrigued by this era of Trek stuff as the frames have some nice details and seem really well-made, so I'm glad to have picked this up. I also like the 7 speed drivetrain and downtube shifters, much more my comfort zone than the 1200...

The thing is that I kind of already know that the gearing will be too long for the hills round here - so the big question now is which bike gets the new Stronglight compact I bought? Plan is to fix up both and sell my least favourite... place your bets please!

 

[hamster]

Re: Retro? 2003 Trek 1200

Trek frames always seemed to be among the best-finished - paint standards a bit better than anyone else for starters.

 

[Captain Stupido]

Re:

Yep. Everything is super neat on the frame, too - see photo. Hidden lugs are nice.

Half an hour's work and it's in rideable condition. I replaced a spoke (had one the right length), trued the back wheel, adjusted the brakes, set saddle position and checked chain for wear (practically brand new).

Ideally it needs new cables and tyres, plus a touch up here and there, but compared to my usual labour of love rebuilds it's nice to pick up a quick tweak and ride bike!

Not the right time to take it for a test ride but I'm definitely going to leave it as is for a bit.

 

[Captain Stupido]

Just took the 1400 for a quick ride. It's nice. I've read elsewhere that these bonded aluminium Treks ride like a good steel frame and so far I'd agree. Might save the Spa chainset for it...

 

[Captain Stupido]

The 1400 has had new brake cable inners and a general once-over of the brakes. It rides faultlessly now, and I like it very much. Unfortunately the gearing is a bit long for Devon hills and the stem is a bit long for my back. Strictly speaking the bike is probably a size too big for me but it would work fine with an 80mm stem.

So the plan now is to build up the 1200 with original chainset and save the compact for the older bike, well, depending on how much I enjoy riding the 1200 - I'm not planning on keeping both in the long term.

I had to buy a new big ring as the old one was worn. Seems to have oddly uneven wear. Saved a few grams but not as much as planned. I think I'll get away with the gearing as it's less macho than the 105 chainset on the 1400, and I've got a reasonably wide range on the back. I've started building it up and am liking the look of it. Might try burning the midnight lamp tonight and see if I can get it finished.

 

[MR OX]

Re:

Really like the 1400. I rebuilt one from a bundle of parts found at the tip, I loved it but it was way to big for me

 

[hamster]

On fit, remember that a higher stem has the same effect of shortening reach. You might have a bit of upward movement left on that quill stem..?