Recently, I bought a mystery Trek that turned out to be a 1983 Trek 620, a model intended for touring. Unfortunately, the frame had angered the rust gods at some point and consequently was smitten. One of the bike's previous owners had seen fit to cover up the rust with touch-up paint, which may have prevented the spread of rust but sadly made the bike look a little bit like a sparkly turd. The parts were mostly mostly mediocre and almost worn out. My first thought was, cheap townie. Surely someone on a budget would overlook the paint and buy the bike for it's practical value as a getting-around-town vehicle. I even went to the trouble of swapping out the handlebar setup along with my regular maintenance. But then my ambition got the best of me. I couldn't condemn such a well-made frame to live out the remainder of its days as an under-appreciated beater.
Here's the plan, so far:
--disassemble and sell parts for cheap
--strip the frame and sand away the surface rust
--have it powdercoated in cream color (mmm...)
--build 650b wheels
--add long-reach center-pull brakes
--add mustache bars and bar end shifters
--add rotund Grand Bois Hetre tires (in red) and Brooks Colt saddle (in mustard)
--add Velo Orange randonneur front rack
As you can tell, it ought to be a pretty unique bike in appearance. I'm really trying to stretch myself on this one, tackling new technical challenges and taking aesthetic risks. I've got my fingers crossed.
No comments:
Post a Comment