Trek 470, Vintage Cro-moly Steel Frame Road Racing Bike.

With a heavy heart I’m forced to sell my beloved Trek 470.  Purchased as a commuter bike, second-hand, 15 or so years ago, from a gent who had it set up as a well looked after, if not rather scruffy be-greased steed for commuting.  The Trek 470 appeared as recently as 1995 in the Trek catalogue in the form I have here, so the bike is about 30 years old.  Around 4 years ago the bike was fully (really) stripped down and rebuilt to as close to period spec as I could muster for a reasonable price.  This was just before children put a complete stop to any riding ambitions. Therefore the bike’s had around 100 miles on it since the rebuild.  The standard of rebuild is well above that expected of a “professional” service (how many times have I read that “professionally serviced” on an eBay bike listing – the phrase is meaningless unless backed up with specifics).  As in, the frame was completely stripped, headtube re-faced, bottom bracket threads re-tapped, and tube internals coated in linseed oil for corrosion prevention.  I dare say 9 out of 10 “professional” bike rebuild aren’t aware those things can happen.  All this had been done to Rat City Bikes and / or Saint Sheldon Brown’s repair standards, over many many evenings and weekends.  Wheels are built by me, to Roger Musson standards, with nary e’en a tinkle given off by the spokes, these are rock solid and appropriately light.  Tyres are Continental Grand Prix 25 mm’s, brand new at the time of rebuild, tubes are Conti too (super duper lightweight ones, but I can’t remember which).The 1995 catalogue lists the 470 having a Trek engineered full Cro-Moly frameset with racing frame geometry.  Double butted Cro-Moly main tubes, tapered Cro-Moly seat stays, and a Cro-Moly fork.  It feels good to ride, more than racy enough for me (56 cm frame accommodates my 6’1″ height reasonably), I can get nice and uncomfortable looking on top of it if I’m playing dress up in lycra.  Colour is Ruby Red with Platinum decals.  Now this frame is 30 years old, I can’t see any dings to the frame and it’s always been well looked after, never crashed; the paintwork is in very reasonable condition – I polished it up with Turtle Wax at the rebuild and it looks superb with a deep lustre to the paintwork, particularly in the sunshine.  There are a few small spots of chipped paintwork, as to be expected for a bike of this vintage, and a few scratches and scrapes.  Rather than me bodge a touch-up with a colour that’s not quite right, I’ve left these to add to the patina of the bike. Attempting to keep the bike to a period specification in the rebuild was tricky; new old stock was often much dearer than the modern or more recent equivalent, so some compromises for the sake of convenience have been made.  In all these cases this has been an upgrade of parts to ones that look right on the bike, so no carbon racing wheels or Dura-Ace needed here.  For instance the original wheels were Mavic 192 rims on Shimano RSX hubs — good luck finding N.O.S. 192 rims for a reasonable price.  Here I upgraded to Mavic Open Pro rims on Shimano 105 hubs, laced with Sapim spokes (and yes I took the naff modern stickers off the rims).  Original RSX brakes calipers will stop you.  Also, the saddle was well knackered after 25 years of use.  This has been replaced with a fancy pants Gilles Berthoud leather saddle, which isn’t much worn in at all yet, and has been treated with Dubbin regularly.  RSX brifters have had a full rebuild (fiddly!) and parts lubricated with an appropriately small amount of lube (gumming up of grease caused their failure previously).  Jagwire cables throughout have been installed as per St. Sheldon’s guides i.e. outers filed orthogonal, lubed with only a drop or two of Rock n’ Roll Cable Magic lube.  New headset fitted after the old one exhibited “Brinnelling”!, now equipped with a Dia-Compe loose ball headset with a couple of extra bearings added top and bottom for a longer life.  On to the drivetrain.  Bottom bracket is a workhorse Shimano unit (can’t remember the exact model), spinning the original Shimano RSX 170 mm FC-A410 cranks polished up.  An original RSX front derailleur moves the new Shimano HG73 chain up and down new Stronglight 5083 52 / 36 chainrings.  Your feet can attach to these via the Shimano PD-M540 SPD pedals if you like.  At the back, the old RSX derailleur has been upgraded to a Shimano 600 unit pushing and pulling the chain over new Shimano HG50 12 / 28 cogs.Bell, water bottle cage and cycle computer are not included in the sale, and will be removed prior to buyer’s collection.Leafing ahead another year or two through the Trek catalogues, and this model has been replaced by rather naff looking aluminium offerings, with garish stickers and tube profiling gimmickry.  This is a bike that just “looks right,” from the tail end of the golden-era of mass-produced steel bikes. This is priced to sell, and a bargain as such.  Recent sold examples are in the £175 — £200 range in well used condition, and without the upgrades (wheels ~£200, saddle ~£100) and tender care given to the rebuild.  A house move is forcing a reluctant sale, no longer having the room to hold on to it until grown-up children allow time to ride again.    Collection only from the Peak District.

Current Price: £299.00

This Trek 470, Vintage Cro-moly Steel Frame Road Racing Bike. may be available on ebay