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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Bicycle After |
Today we have a Trek 560 Pro Series, I remember seeing this bike when I was about ten years old and was blown away by it. It is a personal Holey Grail bike to me, maybe not everyone but to me. The Trek 560 Pro Series has a beautiful Shimano 600 group, the famous 531 tubing, Matrix rims and 600 hubs. It is fairly light and a fantastic bike for its time.
The Trek 560 will get a complete restoration, new tires, tubes, cables, cable housings and handlebar tape. This one has been in the restoration line for a couple of weeks and I could not wait to get to it. The 560 is in okay shape to start, the paint is pretty dirty and dull with more then average chipping. The top tube paint is pretty rough from being leaned against things which is common. The alloy in the Shimano 600 group is high quality so it will polish beautifully.
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Bicycle Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Handlebars - Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Stem - Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Front Brake Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Wheel Hub - Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Shift Levers - Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
531 Decal |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Front Derailleur - Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Crank - Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Rear Brake - Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Rear Derailleur - Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before |
The frame is dirty and dull, there are chips and scratches in the paint. I had to deep clean the paint to remove dirt staining in the white paint. It took a good deal of work but the frame looks amazing.
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Frame Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Frame Before
Bottom Bracket |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Frame Before - Rear Drop Out |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Frame Before - Rear Brake Bridge |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Frame Before- Shift Levers |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Frame Before - Head Tube |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Frame Before - Fork |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Frame Polished |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Frame Polished
Bottom Bracket |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Frame Polished - Seat Lug |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Frame Polished - Fork |
The headset is really nice, it is a loose bearing design with no bearing cages. This allows for double the amount of bearings which makes for very smooth movement. I cleaned and polished the headset and installed it, it is one of the smoothest headsets I have come across.
The stem was a little rough, a few scratches that where a little deep from flipping the bike over to work on it. I removed some of the scratches with a fine file and then polished the stem. The stem came out very nice.
The handlebars are nice to start, they only took some deep cleaning and a little polishing.
I really like the results of the whole headset, stem, handlebars assembly, it is very nice quality and looks great.
The bottom bracket is a sealed cartridge type so I only did a little superficial cleaning. It still spins very nice.
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Headset & Stem - Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Headset, Stem & Handlebars
Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Headset, Stem & Handlebars
Polished |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Headset Bearings - Packed |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Headset - Complete |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Stem - Complete |
The brakes are one of my favorite, I love the look of the Shimano 600 brake calipers. The calipers function fine to start, the alloy has a textured finish so power polishing was not an option. I exploded the calipers to a point that works well for hand polishing and flushed and oiled the pivot points. The brake calipers look great installed and function perfect. Very happy results.
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Brake Calipers - Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Brake Calipers
Half Exploded |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Brake Calipers - Polished |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Brake Calipers - Installed |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Front Brake Caliper - Installed |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Rear Brake Caliper - Installed |
I love the Shimano 600 crank, I even like Bio-Pace chain rings. The alloy is such a nice quality. I carefully polished the line that separates the front from the back of the crank arms, the back of the crank arms have a heavy media blasted texture i did not want to polish a way.
The crank arms look fantastic and the chain rings came out nice. It is a very light for a crank and in my book top 5 best cranks.
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Crank - Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Crank Exploded |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Crank - Polished |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Crank - Complete |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Crank - Installed |
The Shimano 600 derailleurs are in okay shape to start, the rear derailleur took a good amount of work, a combination of power polishing and hand polishing. The results are well worth it, the derailleurs shine very nice and in the end function so smooth. the 560 shifts perfectly.
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Derailleurs - Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Exploded |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Polished |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Derailleurs - Complete |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Front Derailleur - Installed |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Rear Derailleur - Installed |
The shift levers I cleaned and then polished by hand. I polished by hand because I was really trying hard to keep the shift lever decals, the shift lever decal is pretty brittle. I managed to keep the decal pretty well.
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Shift Levers - Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Shift Levers - Complete |
The brake levers where dirty but the brake levers hoods where still in good shape. I polished the levers and cleaned the hoods. The hoods are a very thick rubber so I think they will last a very long time, almost to thick to get the handlebar tape easily installed around the brake levers.
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Brake Levers - Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Brake Levers - Polished |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Brake Levers - Installed |
That is the completion of all the main body components, the wheels are next.
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Main Body Components
Complete |
The wheels are very nice, I have always liked the alloy hubs with the satin black rims, a great look. The rear wheel grease I think was grease for car bearings, it was red and extremely thick. The front wheel grease I believe was a mixture of dirt and honey, incredibly difficult to clean.
The wheels turned out fantastic, they spin so smooth and the new Continental Ultra 700 x 23 tires are perfect for the Trek 560.
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Rear Wheel - Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Rear Wheel - Old Grease |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Polished |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim - Before |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
New Continental Tires |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Freewheel Removed |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Front Wheel - Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Before |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Dirty & Honey Grease |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Polished |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Front Wheel Hub
New Grease |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Wheels Complete |
Last to do was to install the new cables, cable housings, handlebar tape and tune the Trek 560 Pro Series. The 560 tuned perfectly, it shifts fast and crisp, the brakes are crisp. I hope to get a chance to ride it in the next couple of days but I think we are suppose to continue the bitter cold winter and the 4 inches we got yesterday covered the road again.
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - New Bits & Pieces |
It was wonderful to get to restore the Trek 560 Pro Series, it is a bicycle I have always held in high regard, I love the looks, the components and just about everything about the Trek 560. The Reynolds 531 tubing just feels so different when you pick up the frame and the complete bicycle. You know when a bike is 531, it just feels like it.
Below are the final photos.
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Handlebars |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration
Bicycle Complete - Front Brake |
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| 1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Stem |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Shift Levers |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Drive Train |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Brake |
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1986 Trek 560 Pro Series Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Wheel |
Thanks for all the work, support and interest,
John Z.
John, nice job with the restoration! You care and commitment to a quality job is apparent. I hope you enjoy the fruits of your labor with many great rides on it!
ReplyDeleteI am the original owner of a 1987 Trek 560 that is a bone stock 12speed. I don't think it has ever been professionally tuned up and only a couple of inner tubes have been changed. I used it in a few triathlons in 1988-89 and used it for indoor winter riding on a Supergo low-profile wind trainer and the occasional leisure ride since then. The bike is in excellent condition since it has so few miles.
I'm 55 and don't want to give up on biking nor part with this bike. But it is a 24" and I feel like it's a bit small for my 5'10" frame/32" inseam. My question is can you recommend any simple upgrades to make riding it more enjoyable without breaking my meager bank account? I also enjoy riding a 1986ish Fuji Thrill in similar condition that my wife rode until she got a newer cruiser which she likes much more.
Thank you in advance for your help
Wow!..what a beauty..I wonder how he was able to clean the white paint on the bike so well and do such a great job on the wheel hubs?
ReplyDeleteWhat kind grease and polish do you use?
ReplyDeleteHi Jim
DeleteI use Park Tools Grease. For polishing I have three powered buffers with six wheels for different polishing compounds.
Thank you for the interest.
Thanks John. I like restoring old bikes too. I also use Park Tool grease. For polishing I use Mother's rubbing and polishing compounds and Simichrome but apply them manually which is quite tedious. So I am interested in the poweded buffers you use. Do you use ones that attach to ordinary power drills or to Dremel tools? Would you be so kind as to giv eme a little more recommendations on what to get? Thanks, and your work is fantastic and a pleasure to always see!
DeleteAmazing work, both with the restoration and the webpage! The 560 looks nearly new after you completed the restoration. I've been doing every bit of the detail here on my 1987 aqua 560. They're such solid builds.
ReplyDeleteJust picked up an 86 560 for $100. Can't wait to ride it.
ReplyDeleteAmazing work. I just bought this exact same bike for $150. Similar condition as your before photos. I want to do this same restoration. What did you use for the polishing? I've love to know.
ReplyDeleteCame across this amazing restoration while searching for my first race Nike. Well, here it is said the internet and now I’m obsessed! My dad bought me this exact model from Alan’s in Oceanside. I added first gen look pedals and of course I had the Oakley shades to go with it. Thanks for this great article!
ReplyDelete