1985 Trek 420
Trek 420
Frame: True Temper ChroMoly Steel
Size: 58cm
Color : Taupe /Scarlet
This bike has a lot of nostalgia for me. It’s the original bike my dad purchased new in 1985 for his touring trips in the late ’80s. This is also the bike that got me back into cycling. About five years ago, I re-discovered this bike in my parent's attic and immediately fell in love with it. I put it through its paces using it for my first two bike tours in Washington State and then some bike commuting. After years of solid use, it was starting to show some wear. So I decided to retire it from heavy mileage and restore it back to its complete original form.
As far as period correct restorations go, this one was very easy as I knew the bikes history. I also verified its authenticity by finding the 1985 Trek brochure online.[the interwebs have an extensive collection of vintage Trek brochures through the ’80s and 90’s thanks to Skip Echert & contributors at vintage-trek.com] All I needed to do was remove a few parts I added on for touring, install the original parts, clean, lube, and polish the bike.
The restore process itself went pretty smoothly and I learned a lot. Here are a couple of things I learned while restoring this bike.
Helicomatic Hubs - by Maillard
This rare hub and cassette combo had a very unique design. The goal of this system was to make it easier was for the rider to remove or replace the freewheel without tons of force. The cassette uses helical splines and a lock nut to connect the freewheel to the hub. Even with its simple and beautiful design, its production run was short -only lasting about six years from 1982-88. I guess the newer “freehub” design [which is still used today] helped to kill it off. I’ve also heard that reliability was an issue, although that hasn’t been the case for me. These hubs probably have 4,000 plus miles on them and they are still running strong.
If you buy a vintage bike with Helicomatic hubs, make sure you can find the special locking tool as that is the only way you can remove the freewheel for service. The tool looks like this. If you would like to dive deeper into the history of the system, check out the Helicomatic Museum.
Bar Tape Technique
My goal for this build was to stay as true and detailed to original as possible. This inspired me to look into vintage bar wrapping techniques from the ’80s. Based on what I found [at least on vintage trek road bikes] they wrapped the handlebars top to bottom vs. bottom to top like most newer bikes today. After doing this technique for the restoration, I have to say I liked how it turned out. If you are restoring an old Trek road bike, this video will help you understand the wrapping technique.
It's really amazing what some cleaning/polishing and a little elbow grease can accomplish. I took it for a short test ride the other day and it rolls like a dream. I can't wait to do more rides around town with it this summer.
Components
Bar Tape- Newbaums Cloth Maroon
Brakes- Dia-Compe 500N single pull
Brake levers- Dia-Compe Q500N
Bottom Bracket- Sakae SR-SC
Casette- Maillard 700 14-28t 5-spd
Chainrings- SR 50-45-32t
Crank- SR CXC T-300
Front Derailleur- Shimano Z-505GS
Handlebars- Belleri Std. Alloy
Headset- Trek Std. Black
Hubs- Maillard Helicomatic
Pedals- SR SP-154
Rear Derailleur- Shimano Z-505GS
Rims- Weinmann A116 36h
Saddle- Selle San Marco Leather Tour
Seatpost- SR P5-E Laprade
Stem- SR Forged Alloy
Tires- Panaracer Pasela PT 27x1/8