I was stoked to find this ‘89 Trimble Inverse 4 (serial # 150, out of ~450 ever made) recently, even if it needed a LOT of work. I’d been looking for one for ~15 years! The frame was sound with no cracks or general damage. In fact, the bike had seen relatively little use in it’s ~34 years of existence!
I’ve never spent as much time on a resto/build as I have on this one! Hours of frame prep for the respray, hours of internet trawling for parts, months of waiting for $#1t to arrive from all over the world & many hours in the workstand!… Very happy with the outcome though.
I deliberated on a few details, like the outer cable colour & some spec choices, as I wanted to keep the build absolutely as close to original/period-correct as I could, but in the end, I had to make some concessions.
Specs:
Frame:
‘89 Trimble Inverse 4 carbon - large, professionally resprayed w/decals from Gil_M
Fork:
Bontrager Switchblade, 1” threaded
Shifters:
M732 XT Thumbies
Front derailleur:
M732 XT DP, band clamp (31.8mm)
Rear derailleur:
M735 XT long cage
Brake levers:
M730 XT 4-finger (NOS)
Front brake:
M730 XT cantilever w/original pads & reproduction Ringle’ Peace Symbol cable hanger (turquoise)
Rear brake:
M733 XT U-brake with XT booster
Crankset:
M730 XT, 175mm w/Ti cranks bolts & self-extracting cap, 24/36/46 rings & blue anodized alloy chainring bolts
BB:
M730 XT cup & spindle (122mm NOS)
Chain:
HG40 (new)
Front hub:
M730 XT, 36h
Rear hub:
M732 XT, 36h
Rims:
Mavic M231 silver 36h
Spokes:
DT Competition silver DB (2.0/1.8/2.0)
Tyres:
Tioga Psycho Edge folding 26x1.95 (NOS)
Pedals:
PD M737 XT SPDs
Handlebar:
Tioga Prestige CrMo 560mm (uncut)
Stem:
Odyssey Cam Roller, 1”, 10 degree, 120mm reach
Headset:
Deore 1” threaded
Grips:
Ritchey Hexagon foam
Saddle:
Selle Italia Turbomatic leather
Post:
Alloy 26.8mm (unknown brand, came on the bike)
Skewers:
Reproduction Ringle’ Ti Stix, turquoise (new)
Seatpost clamp:
Reproduction Ringle’ ‘Holey’ clamp, 31.8, turquoise w/Ti bolt (new)
Bottle Cage:
Ringle alloy, turquoise
I’ve never spent as much time on a resto/build as I have on this one! Hours of frame prep for the respray, hours of internet trawling for parts, months of waiting for $#1t to arrive from all over the world & many hours in the workstand!… Very happy with the outcome though.
I deliberated on a few details, like the outer cable colour & some spec choices, as I wanted to keep the build absolutely as close to original/period-correct as I could, but in the end, I had to make some concessions.
Specs:
Frame:
‘89 Trimble Inverse 4 carbon - large, professionally resprayed w/decals from Gil_M
Fork:
Bontrager Switchblade, 1” threaded
Shifters:
M732 XT Thumbies
Front derailleur:
M732 XT DP, band clamp (31.8mm)
Rear derailleur:
M735 XT long cage
Brake levers:
M730 XT 4-finger (NOS)
Front brake:
M730 XT cantilever w/original pads & reproduction Ringle’ Peace Symbol cable hanger (turquoise)
Rear brake:
M733 XT U-brake with XT booster
Crankset:
M730 XT, 175mm w/Ti cranks bolts & self-extracting cap, 24/36/46 rings & blue anodized alloy chainring bolts
BB:
M730 XT cup & spindle (122mm NOS)
Chain:
HG40 (new)
Front hub:
M730 XT, 36h
Rear hub:
M732 XT, 36h
Rims:
Mavic M231 silver 36h
Spokes:
DT Competition silver DB (2.0/1.8/2.0)
Tyres:
Tioga Psycho Edge folding 26x1.95 (NOS)
Pedals:
PD M737 XT SPDs
Handlebar:
Tioga Prestige CrMo 560mm (uncut)
Stem:
Odyssey Cam Roller, 1”, 10 degree, 120mm reach
Headset:
Deore 1” threaded
Grips:
Ritchey Hexagon foam
Saddle:
Selle Italia Turbomatic leather
Post:
Alloy 26.8mm (unknown brand, came on the bike)
Skewers:
Reproduction Ringle’ Ti Stix, turquoise (new)
Seatpost clamp:
Reproduction Ringle’ ‘Holey’ clamp, 31.8, turquoise w/Ti bolt (new)
Bottle Cage:
Ringle alloy, turquoise