After the theft of
my first trek 710 I was beyond what a person should feel in the lost of something precious (I felt like Gollum). Within a month I found
My trek 500, it was a nice ride, however it wasn't the same. I crashed that one into a car (sun in my eyes) and then waited to see if I could find something better. Right around my birthday I did, this Trek 710!
Amazingly, This frame was even better then my first 710: it had the original forks, it was made in the USA, and being from 1978 it was 4 years older then my first one. Considering the Trek bicycle corporation only stared selling bikes in 1976, My vintage makes this bike the earliest trek I have ever seen.
Needless to say this one became my all time favorate soon after I built it up. Most of the parts came from my trek 500's crashed frame. Eventually I put a Deore Rear derailleur on and it's just amazing on these old road bikes. Later came my bag and fenders.
I was finally satisfied with my bicycle, not something to be taken for granted. In the summer of 2013 I completed the Marin Century on this bike, keeping up with all the carbon.
Alas... nothing lasts forever, By May 2014, I had logged over 3000 miles on this build. I was just headed home after a 15 mile ride, I went to enter the local bike path and a split second later I must have sensed someone coming, But he was going down hill fast. Before I knew it he ran into me right in the middle of my bike at what must have been very fast. He was on the ground screaming, so it was all I could do to try to help, truth be told the nice people near the path entrance rushed out after they herd the crash and helped the guy much more then I could ( both of us were in shock). He seemed OK enough to not need an ambulance , but he had broken the forks off his time triles bike and he broke the handlebars with his face. One of the people that lived near by gave him a ride back to San Francisco. All in all the situation could have been much worse, and everything worked of, I even found another vintage TREK (number 4).
I think I may have done the Marin Century that year with Alto Velo. We may have come whizzing by you as a small group.
ReplyDeleteI just purchased a '79 Trek 710 frame on ebay and am awaiting its arrival. Same color as yours pictured, but has top tube braze on's. I just read vintage Trek that mine even has the silver brazing. I will be setting it up as a single speed town bike with full fenders and flat bars. Sacrilegious, but it will highlight the hoped for very smooth and amazing ride. Not fixed, just single. Not sure what the rear spacing will be, 128 or 120 mm. I have seen both mentions.
I also have a 2010 Trek Madone and that is what I used for the century. Thanks for you share info.