I purchased this bike off of Craigslist 4-1-12, just 11 days after the theft of my beloved blue trek (i think it was a 700). I set about changing everything to suite my liking, this included: brooks saddle, new BB, new chain, different used rims, front and back, and as this bike had no rear eyelets at all I got myself a rather fancy saddlebag so that the bike wasn't
entirely useless. The bike was one of the best looking bikes I have ever road. The colors and its classic road bike sleek look were simply stunning to see locked up (with a fat U) anyplace we were at. It also was an amazing rider, like every trek bike I have ever owned. I used the original suntour cyclone derailleurs and down tube shifters and it was flawless. It did have a few drawbacks; namely that the 500 was made from
501 steel rather then the more common and nicer 531, also the lack of eyelets but, for me the biggest problem was tire clearance, I could only use up to 23c tires! This really came into play when in June of 2012 I did my first century ride on the 500, it was on country roads that weren't in the best shape, my hands were tingling for a few days after. Despite the tire limitation, I was really falling in love with the bike. I mainly used it to commute to work in the evenings. One day, sun in my eyes, I was looking down and sideways as I road though a green light. Little did i know, there was a police car parked in the red zone of the parking lot I had been entering. The red zone also happens to be the bike lane in my area, so I ran straight into the back of the car at about 22mph. My poor trek 500 fame absorbed all the force. That was it for this one, less then 600 miles on it from me. First frame I've ever wrecked! Thankfully, the only component damaged was the headset, almost every park is now in use on my current Trek.
