vintage trek 9000

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THROWBACK THURSDAY: 1992 TREK 9000 REVIEW – THE PROS AND CONS OF SIMPLICITY

The wonder years of full suspension mountain bikes..

1992 TREK 9000 REVIEW

I n this fledgling age of fully suspended bicycles, there is an ongoing process of learning which designs work best and which don’t work at all. Up to now, elastomer polymer and hydraulically damped systems have provided good results when used in the right applications. Hydraulically suspended units are advantageous in the sense that they generally have the best compression adjustability. These systems also have the most damping control. Elastomer units, on the other hand, are much simpler because of fewer moving parts but have a lower degree of adjustability in both compression and rebound damping.

For ’92, Trek decided to mate urethane bumpers with one of the more unique rear suspension designs on the market. Few people expected Trek to join the fray of suspension bike builders, but their entry no doubt bolstered the claim by many that suspension was not just some passing fad.

FACTS & FIGURES

At the heart of the Trek 9000 is its internally lugged, American-made frame constructed from Easton 7000-series ProGram tubing. The aluminum tubing has been well received by riders because of its inherent ride qualities and weight savings. Our 18-inch test bike (19.5 effectively) had a 22.25-inch top tube, 11.25-inch bottom bracket, 17-inch chainstays and a 41.5-inch wheelbase. The Trek 9000 weighed in at 28 pounds, 14 ounces.

Trek’s 9000 was outfitted with Shimano’s Deore DX gruppo accompanied by a Deore XT RapidFire Plus upgrade. Surprisingly, our shifting wasn’t up to par with typical Shimano hardware. The fault lies in the amount of extra cable housing necessary to accommodate the rear suspension system. The rear derailleur housing had an S-shaped bend, which protruded away from the seat tube, thus rubbing on the rider’s legs. Wheel assemblies consisted of Shimano hubs, along with Matrix Single Track Pro rims. The Matrix tires had mediocre climbing and braking performance but cornered fine.

It turns out that mining trucks and mountain bikes have little in common.

TECHNICAL TALK

The heart of the 9000 is the stack of elastomer urethane bumpers that make up the rear suspension system. The simple design is comprised of an extruded 6061 T-6 aluminum swingarm that pivots at the seat tube and compresses the bumpers. Trek had experimented with gas shocks in the past but settled on bumpers.

The bonded frame has super-clean joints and a nice reinforced seat collar. The 9000’s frame always took first-time viewers by surprise when they laid eyes on the hole in the seat tube in which the rear brake cable is guided. As menacing as it looks, there is actually a reinforcing lug at the chainstay pivot juncture that helps ensure frame strength. Instead of a bushing, the swingarm pivot houses a Teflon-impregnated ceramic bearing that allows for smooth action and a lower friction temperature. Claimed travel comes in at 3 inches. We would have liked to have seen an additional water bottle mount; one is just not acceptable.

In conjunction with the rear suspension unit, the Trek DDS3 fork is standard equipment on the $1500 bicycle. The adjustable fork is air-sprung and oil-damped and has 2 inches of travel. The DDS3 forks are built by the Showa suspension company in Japan, but most of the design input came from Trek.

OUT IN THE BACKWOODS

Our eagerness to test the Trek was quickly laid to rest after our first ride. The lack of any rebound damping in the stack of seven bumpers made the bike feel like a springboard. Fast descending over rough terrain was almost frightening because of the quick rebound. When riding up and over squared-off ledges, the rear would spring back so fast that the rider would be suddenly thrown out of the saddle. The ride could best be compared to throwing a leg over a mechanical bucking bull at the local cowboy saloon! The Trek is not a bike for bumpy singletrack, but if you insist, it’s best that you take along your chaps.

Trek told us that the bumpers are original equipment on the multi-ton mining trucks that scavenge the hills looking for minerals; perhaps that should be their sole application. To our amazement, stock bumpers are supposed to accommodate riders from 130 to 210 pounds. Given these guidelines, heavier riders were still bothered by the springy rear end. Lateral looseness made the swingarm feel as if it was going to fall apart. Our test bike suffered from a constant loosening of swingarm bolts from day one.

The DDS3 forks worked marginally over most conditions. There was a tendency for them to top out when a rider would pull up on them. Overall stroke of the fork was smooth but not as progressive as we would have liked. Lateral rigidity was good.

THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT TIME

When we talked to Trek about the development of the 9000, they credited their “large and capable staff” of engineers for designing the bike. At the same time, they minimized the need of using a race team for research and development because “racer testimonials” on the success of any design are too subjective. This isn’t the first time we have heard a large bicycle company gloat over their in-house talents, neither are they the first to suffer from such an approach. Unfortunately, this mentality carries over into the performance of the 9000.

We were happy to see a big company like Trek enter the suspension market. However, like Schwinn and Cannondale before them, Trek will have to learn from their mistakes in order to improve the next generation. We would like to see a rear shock that has some rebound damping and a rear end that stays together for the duration of a ride. In all of their ads touting the 9000, Trek refers to the bike as a “beast.” They said it, we didn’t. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Model: Trek 9000

Manufacturer: Trek USA

801 W. Madison St.

P.O. Box 183

Waterloo, WI 53594;

(414) 478-2197

Sizes available: 16.5”, 18”, 20”, 22”

Finishes available: White/black and black/orange.

Suggested retail price: $1500

Tubing: Easton 7000 ProGram

Head angle: 71°

Seat angle: 73°

Top tube length: 22.25”

Chainstay length: 17”

Braze-ons: 1 water bottle mount.

Weight: 28 lb., 14 oz.

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Trek 9000 diving board bike

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While Trek described them as a T3C, and indeed the prototypes may even have been such (with a 3:1 leverage ratio), in the production versions the leverage ratio was actually 4.2:1. This is something no magazine reviewer bothered to measure out themselves although they all reported how the following model year, the leverage ratio was reduced to 4:1 (as the T4C). That is one reason why the bikes behaved poorly, with only a short shock stroke (around 0.8") due to a hard plastic bottom-out stop that limited the stroke travel (removing it with a knife blade added about 0.3" to the stroke, and kicked the wheel travel up to about 4.75") and thus the wheel travel to about 3.4" and a good portion of that was often lost in sag because they only ever shipped them with one rating of elastomer. The shock looked like it used a stack of elastomers but they were actually 1-piece, and there was no oil damping in the first year (the second year, with the T4C got an oil-damper inside the elastomer stack). The MAIN reason the bikes road badly for many users was the extremely high pivot location though, coupled with a rather low BB height (11.5") for a full suspension design. The bike suffered bobbing from the drivetrain loads pulling the axle towards the ground (extending the shock) and you often smacked your pedals into rocks while pedalling because of the low ground clearance. There were upgrades available even that first year, one of which was an aftermarket coil-over noleen shock with a gas-charged oil-damper unit which did a lot to tame the bobbing.  

Hi all, first post. The 9000 was my first fs bike, I think the year was 93, 94. I sold it after about a month because I kept getting thrown over the bars from the suspention load. I don't think mine had any rebound adjustment. It really took the fun out of riding.  

I remember riding a demo model in 1992. Downhill wasn't so bad, but riding it uphill was hell. It literally sucked the will to live right out of you -- lots of pedal feedback in every gear due to chain growth/pivot location and undamped rubber donut shock. The bike fought you every inch of the climb.  

I think it's pretty cool-looking!  

SludgeFactory said: Hi all, first post. The 9000 was my first fs bike, I think the year was 93, 94. I sold it after about a month because I kept getting thrown over the bars from the suspention load. I don't think mine had any rebound adjustment. It really took the fun out of riding. Click to expand...

I think you guys owe my ProFlex an apology! Compared to this donut rig, my 856 is a Cunningham! :thumbsup:  

Oh there were WORSE bikes... Norco had a FS model in 1993 which had the highest most forward pivot imaginable. The thing used a conventional triangle front end with a straight cantilever beam swingarm (like trek) but the pivot was RIGHT behind the headtube. The beam had to be a good four feet long, and the shock was placed about the same spot as the trek's, and was one of those ridiculously short travel marzocchi gas/oil shocks like Diamondback and IronHorse used.  

Trek 9000 white and black? Hey Guys, do ya know if the Trek 9000 has never been released in white and black in 92/93? A friend a mine reminds seeing one in a magazine. Maybe was it a prototype? Thanks, Vincent  

vinz132 said: Trek 9000 white and black? Hey Guys, do ya know if the Trek 9000 has never been released in white and black in 92/93? A friend a mine reminds seeing one in a magazine. Maybe was it a prototype? Thanks, Vincent Click to expand...

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vinz132 said: Hey Guys, do ya know if the Trek 9000 has never been released in white and black in 92/93? A friend a mine reminds seeing one in a magazine. Maybe was it a prototype? Thanks, Vincent Click to expand...

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Welcome to the unofficial Vintage-Trek* bicycle web site. This is a noncommercial, just-for-fun, hobbyist site.

The primary purpose of this site is to gather and disseminate information about early lugged, steel-framed road bikes made by the Trek Bicycle Corporation , Waterloo, Wisconsin. In response to popular demand, the site has expanded to include not-so-vintage Trek bikes of all kinds as new as 2012 .

Mountain bikers , and carbon and aluminum aficionados do not despair - the brochure extracts on the site contain a list of specs for all of the bikes Trek produced in that year. Additionally, the table of Trek models by year includes all Trek bikes through 2005.

Other Resources - Specs for all Treks 93 and newer are on the BikePedia.com site. Additionally, specifications and pictures for 2003 and newer Treks are available on the Trekbikes.com web site archives .)

Before this site began, in various bicycle-related Internet discussion forums there were posted questions like:

• How old is my Trek?
• How was it equipped when new?
• What was the original selling price?
• Where was it in the price/quality hierarchy?

The query usually went unanswered. This site is an attempt to provide the information that answers questions such as these.

What Is on This Page?

Introduction | On This Site | Is it a Trek? Determining Year and Model | Collectability | Contributors Comments Appreciated | Contact | About this Site | My Treks

What Is on This Site?

On this site are Trek brochures or catalogs covering the period 1976 to 2012. There also are four early price lists from bike shops in Santa Barbara, CA. The price list and values page also has a list of bike prices when new. This information was provided mostly by visitors to this site. This page also includes suggestions for estimating the current value of a Vintage Trek.

There is a timeline for steel Trek road bikes that often can be used to identify or date a frame. A table of Trek models by year and color includes virtually all Trek bikes from 1976 through 2005.

Serial number information can be found on the serial number page .

Methods of determining the date of manufacture of bicycle components (and often the bikes they are on) are described here .

NOTICE : We are trying to sort out NITTO manufacturer's date codes. See here for details .

Suggestions for buying or selling a vintage Trek are given on the site as well as tips for refurbishing or upgrading your bike. Included is a section on general specifications for vintage Treks.

There also are catalogs from Gary Fisher (1988-2010); Klein (1989-2008), and LeMond (1996-2008) on the site.

Is It a Trek?

It usually is easy to identify a bike frame as a Trek, even if it has been repainted, as virtually all of them have "TREK" conveniently stamped or cast into one or more places on the frame. Possible locations are the top of the seat stays, the seat lug, the bottom bracket, and the top of the fork crown. An exception is the TX900 which has no cast-in "TREK".

Determining the Year and Model of Your Steel Trek

One often has to be a bit of a detective to sort this out.

• If you know the model number, compare the colors of your bike against the Models/Years/Color listing. This works only for Treks from about 1982 onward. The earlier bikes models were available in numerous colors.
• Check the serial number of the frame. If a 7 character alphanumeric, see the results of the Serial Number Decoding Project . If it is 6 digit numeric, in the range 000000 to 270975, go to the serial number page to get the year and model number. If it is 6 digit numeric higher than 270975, the year may be able to be determined from the Table II on the serial number page. Other serial number formats are described on the serial number page .
• Check the description of graphics by year in the timeline to match up your bike. Go to the brochures , the BikePedia.com web site (for 1993 and newer), the Trekbikes.com web site archives (for 2003 and newer) and perhaps the gallery for more detail. For most years, (generally 1981 and newer) color is telling. For many models, two or more colors were available, but only one color is pictured. The other is listed on the model description page or in the separate specifications table. Complicating bike identification by color, Trek occasionally added a bike color after the brochure for that year was made. As they are identified, these additional colors are included in the Models/Year/Colors page. If your frame has been repainted, you may be able to find the original paint inside the bottom bracket shell, seat tube, or head tube. Occasionally, a frame was returned to Trek for repainting. Trek would use the then current colors and graphics, not the original ones. This means that color and graphics can (rarely) be misleading as to year.
• If your bike has a model name or model number, look it up on the Models/Year/Colors table to find the years your bike was sold.
• Compare the components on the bike with those described in the brochures, if you think they may be original. (BTW - This is tedious.) Cranks and brakes (and often seatposts), are more likely to be original than other components. (Note: Trek occasionally changed the components from what were described in the brochures. Improved parts became available during the year or specified parts became unavailable. In the case of unavailable parts, Trek invariably substituted better parts.)
• Date the components on the bike (if you think they are original), guided by the component dates page. Dated components most likely to be original are brakes, handlebars, cranks and seatposts.
• For some years, the model number (in the form xxx) appears on the bike. Easy - even I often get this right.
• If the serial number is a 7 character alphanumeric, see the results of the Serial Number Decoding Project . If the number is a 6 digit numeral, check to see if your serial number is listed on one of the serial number years .
• Racing? Touring? Sport? Measure the chainstay length, from the center of the crank to the center of the rear dropout. A length of 43.5, 44, 44.5, up to 47 cm (the Model 720 and 85 620) typically is a touring model, racing models are shorter at 41 to 41.5 cm or so. Sport versions are somewhere in between, at 43 cm or so.
• Compare the components on the bike (and frame colors on 81 and newer) with those described in the brochures . or in the descriptions on the BikePedia.com (93 and newer) or the Trekbikes.com web site archives (for 2003 and newer) web sites.
• For many models, two colors were available, but only one color is pictured. The other is listed on the model description page or in the separate specifications table.
• Eyelets on dropouts? (for fenders or racks) - typically none on racing models (except for the first 4 or so years), yes on touring models, yes on most sport models.
• Rear derailleur cable routed above or below bottom bracket? See 1982 Timeline page entry.
• Cantilever Brakes? = Touring model. Centerpull Brakes = Touring (early 1982 720/728). Sidepull brakes? Very common. These only rule out models with cantilever and centerpull brakes.
• Fastback seatstays with no TREK stamped on seat lug =TX900. (See Chas. Porter's bike in the gallery .) Also, the TX900 has three holes, of increasing size, in the top of the seat lugs and head lugs.
• A seatpost diameter of 27.4mm indicates a Model 170. The Model TX300 is 26.8mm. All other vintage Treks are 27.2mm.
• See Is it Columbus Tubing?

Collectability of Steel Treks

People often ask about the collectability of old Treks. Here are some general comments from my own observations and from the collected experience of others.

• Lots of steel Trek bikes were made; most are not rare. However, virtually all steel Treks are quality riders and are valued as such. Vintage Treks with upgraded components are more valuable as riders, but this can decrease the value as a collector's item.
• Top level Treks are considerably more collectable than lower level bikes. However, keep in mind that an entry-level Trek is at a mid-level price/value in comparison to the offerings of most other manufacturers.
• Earlier Treks are more valuable as they generally are more rare. Now that the serial numbers are generally understood, one can verify the age of the frame.
• Condition is all important to collectability. A bike with original paint is more desirable (to a collector) than a repainted bike. Additionally, bikes with components as provided by the factory are more desirable to the collector. In the case of bikes originally bought as bare frames, the components should be period correct.
• The early bikes were built with traditional frame building methods and therefore are more desirable to the collector (in my view). This change from traditional methods to more automated methods was fairly gradual from 1976 to 1980, but then increased. Cast one-piece head tube/head lug assemblies appeared on some bikes in 1980 or 81. This began with lower level bikes but extended to mid level bikes later. (A small picture of this headtube/lug device is on page 2 of the 89 catalog .) Cast seat lugs, with sockets for the stays, appeared in about 1984. Artisan frame builders were generally replaced with frame technicians in the early 80s as more automated techniques were developed and employed. These changes did not necessarily reduce the quality of the frames, but did move Trek farther from traditional methods. This did achieve the goal of reducing production costs and helped keep Trek cost competitive (and solvent) in a highly competitive environment.
• Vintage Trek bikes do not (yet) have the cachet of some English or European bikes, which generally have a much longer history. However, during the Vintage-Trek period, the quality of the frame materials, construction methods, and finish are certainly equal or superior to the vast majority of English and European top-level production bikes, and exceed many custom bikes as well.
• The early Trek bikes, up to about 1983, have fender clearance. (The touring bikes beyond 83 all have fender clearance.) If people want a proper wide-tired touring bike, winter bike, or rain bike, all with fender clearance, they must typically buy a modern cyclocross bike or a custom bike. Most other modern road bikes don’t have the clearance (and don't have lugs). This helps keep vintage Treks popular as riders.
• The early bikes, 1976 to about 82, were built using sliver solder, a more costly and desirable method. Many later models were built, at least partially, with sliver as well.
• Ishiwata 022 steel frames were less expensive than Reynolds- or Columbus-tubed frames, but the steel quality was equal to the others. They are often described as “best value”.

Some vintage frame or bike models have special significance; these include the TX900, 720/728, 170, and 520 .

The TX900 was the early top-of-the-line frameset, dating from 1976 to mid 1978. The Columbus tubing, racing geometry, and fastback seat stays were characteristic of this model (not to be confused with the later bikes from the mid-80s having cast socketed seat lugs in fastback form). Another special feature is the three holes, of increasing size, in the top of the seat lugs and head lugs. The unique and distinctive design, and relative rarity, adds to the value of these frames.

The 720/728 touring bikes , dating from 82-85 were (and still are) highly-rated bikes for serious touring. The long chainstays, 47cm, provide heel clearance for the rear panniers, and contribute to a comfortable ride. These frames and bikes are still highly sought after by knowledgeable tourists. A similar steel lugged frame is not currently available except from a custom framemaker. In my opinion, these framesets and bikes will only increase in value over time. The steel racing Treks will never again be used by top racers for racing. However, the 720 will be used (and coveted) by experienced tourists well into the future. Trek made a total of 7929 720 and 728 bikes and frames (number calculated by Mitch Hawker).

(Note: Trek ran out of model numbers; don't confuse these touring 720s with the 1990-1999 Model 720 MultiTrack bikes.)

The Model 170 , arguably Trek’s best steel racing frame, was available during the period 1983 to 1985. They were made with Reynolds 753 tubing. Among their users was the 7-11 Team. Tim Isaac designed the 170. Expert framebuilders John Thompson, Rick Faultersack, and Kelly Gamble built them.

The 520 touring bike first appeared in 1983 and probably has made more trans-America crossings than any other bike model. It still is offered by Trek in steel (although not lugged), which has helped maintain significant model recognition among bicyclists. This longevity and popularity has raised the value of this bike over similarly-priced vintage Treks of the period.

Two parameters are specially important to the 520 over the years: chainstay length (as pointed out by Robert Cooke) and the type of brakes used. Long chainstays are used on touring bikes to provide a more stable, cushioned ride and to provide more room for panniers (saddle bags). Serious touring bikes in the 80s and 90s were equipped with cantilever brakes (the classic center-pull cantilevers). These were considered powerful enough to stop a heavily loaded bike going downhill. The sidepull brakes of the time were considered less capable for such extreme duty. It wasn't until Shimano developed their "V-brake" (known generically as the side-pull cantilever or the direct pull brake) that a viable alternative to the traditional cantilever was available. This new brake was used on the 520 after 1999. The table below shows these two 520 characteristics through time. These data should be of use to people who plan to buy a vintage 520.

Table I - Brake Type and Chainstay Length for Trek Model 520 from 1983 through 2012

The 620 touring bike was offered in 1983, 84, and 85. It was a level above the 520, but because it was short lived and no longer in production, it is not as familiar to potential purchasers. On the used market, this often means less money for an even better bike. Only the 85 model had the extra-long 47cm chainstays, matching those of the 720.

Some Trek models shared the same frame. For example, if you want a 1983 frame with 620 geometry and materials, you can look for a 1983 600, 630, or 640, all of which have the same characteristics as the 620. The geometry and frame materials are normally given in the brochure for that year.

Contributors

Many thanks to the people who have contributed significant information to the site. They are: Tom Adams, , Mark Agree, Don Allgire, Peter Berger, Wayne Bingham, Alan Burnett, Larry Black, Dave Breitlow, Ed Brown, Colin Campbell, Dan Carlsson, Mark Carter, Andrew Chadwick, Chris Clement, Bill Clements, Chris Cleveland, John Colt, Nels Cone, Robert Cooke, Mark Crabtree, Julia DeGrace, Kris Echert, Taryn Echert, Anita Edens, Dave Evans, David Feldman, Ivan Feldman, Erik Frey, Tim Fricker, Cory Fry, Rich Ferguson, Marsha Gill, Don Gillies, Dickey Greer, John Hallows, Lyle Hanson, D. Hansen, Keith Hatfull, Mitch Hawker, Sean Hickey, George Hoechst, Bill Howard, Jim Jack, Jennings Kilgore, Michael Johnson, John Keller, Steve Kurt, Jeff Kwapil, JP Lacy, Kevin Maher, Dave Mann, Steve Mann, Tom Marshall (T-mar), Tom Meara, Michael McCullough, Marty Meison, Lou Miranda, Dale Mizer, Greg Mooncalf, Mike Marro, Kirt Murray, George Nenni, Larry Osborn, Dennis Pieper, Andy Poplawski, Chas. Porter, Tim Rangitsch, Jack Romaine, Michael A. Roberts, Brandon Rouse, Roger Sacilotto, John Satory, Paul Schleck, Travis Sherwood, Dan Shindelar, Bruce Squires, Dave Staublin, Jay St. John, Scott Stulken, Tom Sustarich, Mike Swantak, David Temple, Elisabeth Thomas-Matej, Kevin Tita, Craig Tornga, Kevin Truelove, Mark Wade, Martin Walsh, Leighton Walter, Ben Weiner, Luker White, and Brad Ziegler.

This site would not have been possible without their help and support. I know there will be more to thank in the future.

The list above does not include the many hundreds of other people who have provided a serial number or other smaller contribution to the site. Our hearfelt thanks to these folks as well.

Comments and Information Appreciated

Please send your comments, corrections, and materials! If you have additional information about steel Treks; old brochures, price sheets, or other information, please pass them along. Easiest digital form is probably as .gif files (for graphics) or .jpg files (for photographs) scanned at 150 dpi or more. If you send printed information, it will be scanned and returned to you.

Currently, I am not adding more photos to the Gallery. Now that we have all (or virtually all) of the brochures/catalogs for each year, the Gallery is not as important as it was earlier. My current task is to sort out the many other forms of serial numbers used on Trek bikes throughout the years.

How to Contact Me

Skip Echert - E-mail: [email protected]

About This Site

At a bicycle shop in Santa Barbara, in about 1978, I picked up a Trek brochure which described the "pre owned" frame/bike that I had just purchased. In 2001, I found that brochure in my old papers and was surprised to find two other Trek brochures and four price lists that I had salted away as well. These materials were the genesis of this site, which went online in 2001. The amount of material on the site has grown steadily over time, much of it from the information and documents generously provided by site visitors.

As the site expanded, and visitors could find information to answer their questions, the nature of the questions has evolved. For example, I now get few questions about the early serial numbers (as they now are well documented) but more about the many later ones used by Trek.

The site currently gets 12,000 to 20,000 unique visitors per month. We have received and replied to over 2400 emails. Many of the questions asked and then researched have been the basis for information added to the site.

I have a Trek TX900, originally sold new (frame only) in 1977 to a very accomplished teenager who raced it in and around Santa Barbara, CA. He had equipped it mostly with Campagnolo Nuovo Record parts from 1973 and earlier, a Zeus front hub, a Super Olimpic rear hub, and Cinelli bars and stem. He, or the previous owner, had replaced many of the steel bolts in the components with titanium or aluminum after-market items. I purchased it from him in 1978 for the sum of $375. He was 16 when he sold it, after discovering girls and cars.

A few years ago, I replaced the sew-up rims with clinchers, carefully spread the rear triangle to 126mm and replaced the (then) splitting rear hub with a 6 speed Campagnolo model. At the urging of Don Altman, a bike-savvy friend, I replaced the the Teledyne titanium crank axle (by the way - beautifully crafted) with a stock Campagnolo model. Don knew that many of these aftermarket axles had failed - with painful consequences for the rider. (I was probably perfectly safe, as my horsepower output could never be described as "gear busting"). After making this substitution, I realized the axle had been the cause of wobble in the chainrings. With these changes, the bike now is even a greater joy to ride. Perhaps one day the TX900 will have matching rims, tires, hubs, and brake pads. (Or would that just indicate a lack of imagination on my part?)

In 2002, I bought a 1981 Model 613, in almost new condition, at Recycled Cycles in Seattle. I decided this would be my (almost) modern bike. It is now a 24-speed index shifter, assembled from used and new parts. See this gallery page for details.

In June of 09, John Keller, a major contributor to the site, gave me a 1980 Model 710 frame in excellent condition. Wow! The results of the buildup can be seen on a page in the gallery .

I received the fabulous gift of a 1985 Model 720 frameset in April of 2014. It was from numerous members of the BikeForums.net Classic and Vintage forum. It was offered as a thank you for the Vintage-Trek website. What generous people! Earlier, in corresponding with Dave Vegafria about his 720s, I casually mentioned my long-term hope of getting a 720 one day. Without mentioning anything to me, Dave thought the time could be sooner. He posed the question on the forum and got dozens of offers of support. Since it arrived, I have gathered almost all of the needed components. When finished, it will be in the gallery.

My son has a 1993 Model 8700 Trek carbon-tubed mountain bike. He bought it at a local pawn shop for $100 in 2004. It had been updated with an early suspension fork.

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*Trek is a trademark of Trek Bicycle Corporation, Waterloo, WI

All copyrights in the TREK brochures, pricelists, owner's manuals and photographs displayed on this website are the sole property of Trek Bicycle Corporation, Waterloo, Wisconsin.

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Trek Bike Serial Number Lookup

Editorial credit: overkit / Shutterstock.com

When investing in a quality bike like Trek, you must register your bike on their website, and if you are buying a used model, you can use the same resource for due diligence to make sure the bike you buy is legit – but where do you find the Trek serial number?

To find the serial number on your Trek bike, you need to turn it upside down and let it rest on the handlebars. The bike’s serial number is marked on the underside of the frame, close to the bottom bracket. You can check the serial number using this link to the Trek website.

Trek USA offers an online service where you can look up your Trek Bike serial number or register a new one so that in the event you want to sell yours, buy another one, or yours is stolen, the bike’s relevant information is a click away- so let’s discover more on how to lookup a Trek Bike serial number.

What Information Is Contained In A Trek Bike Serial Number?

In the old days, serial numbers were used mostly to reveal basic information about a product – mostly how many had been made of a model if there was only one.

As more models were made and released, manufacturers began to use serial numbers to provide information on the model type, year of manufacture, the material used, etc. With bike manufacturers like Trek, it became useful to have serial numbers that provided more details about the bike for themselves and the customers.

Trek serial numbers contain information that includes the year of manufacture, the plant manufacturing code, which determines at which facility the bike was made, the day of the year that the bike was made and what number the bike was in the production run on that day.

What The Trek Bike Serial Numbers Mean?

From the early 90s until current, Trek has used the prefix WTU on their serial numbers, with a three-digit number following that and then a single capital letter. Then five digits for the serial number and a final letter to end.

Let’s look at an example and decode what these numbers mean.

For a Trek serial number WTU295D85467D – the serial number would be broken down as follows:

• After WTU, 295 is the sequential date number from the beginning of the year-so 295 means this frame was made on the 295 th day of the year.
• The 85467 would be the bike’s serial number.
• The letter D at the end stands for the year 2009, while the letter D after the first three numbers would be the plant where the bike was made.

Based on this configuration and data recovered from a Trek recall notice, we can deduce that the Trek serial numbers use a letter at the end to denote the year of manufacture. With the serial number above, the letter D is the year 2009, and the list below would then represent the years prior and post.

So the very first piece of information on your Trek bike you can identify is the year of it’s manufacture, and you can use this table to determine what year your Trek bike was made.

From the information available, the numbers that follow the WTU and the day number of manufacture, the next letter or group of letters are thought to indicate the manufacturing plant where the bike was made.

Trek themselves aren’t very forthcoming about their serial numbers, only what has been described above. They don’t specify whether the serial number code includes the frame size or material type information.

Vintage Trek Bike Serial Number Lookup

Trek has been in business for a long time, and many still have vintage Trek bikes dating back to the 1970s. To establish a database of serial numbers and to decode them, a survey of more than 200 Trek owners revealed how Trek serial numbers were utilised on bikes from around 1976 to before the late 1980s.

Here, the serial number configuration was LNLNLNN, where L= Letter and N=Number, so let’s look at the serial numbers and letters and what they would mean on a vintage Trek bike.

The first letter is the frame model, and the first number is the frame size. So if the serial number begins with A1, the A would represent the Frame model 210, and the one would define a 19.75″ frame.

The letter after that represents the month the frame was serialized, so A would mean January, B would be February, etc.

The second number represents the last digit of the year of serializing and is not a reference to the year model. The final three places of the serial number have letters from A through Z and numbers from 01-99.

The letters are thought to relate to the run’s designation, and the last two letters could relate to the frame number in that run. As an example, if the serial number on your Trek bike were D5F8J57, then that would tell you the following :

• D- Frame model 510
• 5 –  25,5″ frame size
• F – The month of serialization would be June
• 8 –  1978 is the year of serialization
• J – Designating the 10 th run
• 57 – the 57 th frame of the run

You can see the complete serial number survey with all the various models and exceptions here , so you can get some info using this reference to look up your vintage Trek bike serial number.

It seems odd that such a prolific manufacturer of arguably the world’s best bicycles offers no concrete information on the structure of its serial numbers, and while the registration and recovery service is a plus, submitting a Trek serial number on their website will give you a good idea of your bike and it’s history.

Since not every bike owner is interested in decoding their Trek serial numbers and only concerned with registering their bike in case it gets stolen or needs basic information, this could be why Trek hasn’t released detailed information on their serial numbers yet.

• https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/productRegistration/
• https://www.vintage-trek.com/SerialNumbers_draft.htm
• https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycling-discussion/1209331-trek-serial-number-decoding.html

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Vintage, retro shops in Moscow - Moscow Forum

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My friend and I are staying in Mosvow for a about a week. We've been looking for vintage/retro sorts of shops. The sort of place were people might sell second hand clothes, lurch items from years ago that no one wants any more.

We can't seem to find anything.

Does anyone on here have any tips?

The "back yard" of Izmailovo Vernissage (market) might work for you. There's also the quarterly "Flea Market" in Tishinka, the next one opens on September 25th.

The area behind the faux Kremlin in Izmailovo is where the flea market is.

And it's great! Fantastic place to visit. From memory, though, there are some restrictions on what you can take out of the country in terms of age when it comes to this sort of stuff... Perhaps the locals or DEs can confirm this or provide a link to some official info along these lines?

Correct: so called "cultural valuables" are subject to severe export restrictions, and anything older than 100 years is considered a cultural valuable.

not that it gets checked though.

Probably not the point though, eh, Tobias? :)

true enough :)

As for vintage stuff, I remember back in 2010 I visited a shop (must have been quite close to M. Smolenskaya where they sold many vintage things/military related. It had a basement and all that. A bit of heaven that was.

Must admit I didn't check on it in recent trips, but I'd certainly give it a try. Any members on here which know the shop I mean?

> I visited a shop (must have been quite close to M. Smolenskaya where they sold many vintage things/military related

Every second shop in Old Arbat street fits that description ;)

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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