Tuesday, January 27, 2015

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Amazing Paint Color


1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle After Restoration
I came across this 1989 Trek 400 a week or so ago and purchased it to restore.  The Trek 400 definitely needs a good restoration but what really caught my eye is the blue paint, the color and the condition of the paint, under all the dirt and dullness I think is some amazing condition paint.

 The Treks from the 1980's are some of my favorite bicycles, and I think the Trek 400's are somewhat underrated.  I restored a Trek 400 a few years ago and that can be seen here Trek 400 Restored & Updated - Small Women's Size.  

The Trek 400 has some very nice components, Shimano 7 speed Index shifting with a triple crank for 21 speed combinations.  Nice Shimano brake calipers that are the precursors to modern dual pivot brakes. Nice Shimano SLR aero brake levers, very nice Trek Matrix Wheels and very nice Shimano Dero derailleurs, the rear derailleur has an extra long cage to go with the triple crank chain rings.

The Trek 400 will receive a total restoration with all new cables, cable housings, handlebar tape, new tires and tire tubes and I have not made a decision on saddle as the original saddle is in amazing condition and might keep it on the Trek 400.

The Trek 400 is is okay starting shape, the alloy components have a rough dirty finish that should polish away nicely, new bearings will get the Trek rolling fast and smooth.  I can't wait to see the electric blue paint cleaned and polished and I can't wait to test the the Trek 400.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Handlebars

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Stem

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Head Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Brake

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Front Wheel Hub

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Wheel Rim

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Stem

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Headset

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Fork Crown

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Shift Levers

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Down Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Saddle

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Seat Lug

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Triple Crank

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Derailleur

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Bottom Bracket

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Fast Back Seat Lug

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Brake

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Deore Rear Derailleur

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Rear Wheel Hub

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Wheel Rim

With the components stripped from the frame I am even more exited about the paint.  It is dirty and dull but not a scratch or chip that can be found.  I cleaned the frame and started working through three grits of polishing compound.  It was amazing watching the paint transform from dull to perfect.  The blue just pops and the paint finish is like glass, I love it!! And I even love the 1980's theme of yellow decal accents on the blue!

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before
Head Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before
Head Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before - Down Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before - Down Tube Decal

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before
Seat Lug

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before
Seat Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before
Bottom Bracket

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before
Fast Back Seat Lug

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before
Seat Stays

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before - Chain Stays

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Before
Drop Outs

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished
Head Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished
Head Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished - Down Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished - Down Tube Decal

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished
Seat Lug

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished
Seat Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished
Fast Back Seat Lug

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished
Seat Stays

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished - Chain Stays

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Frame Polished
Drop Outs

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Fork Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Fork Before
Fork Crown

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Fork Before - Fork Crown

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Fork Before
Fork Blades

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Fork Before - Fork Drop Outs

The fork blade Cro-Molly decal will be removed, these Trek decals on the fork blades never hold up and these the ink wiped off with soapy water.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Fork Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Fork Polished - Fork Crown

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Fork Polished
Fork Blades

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Fork Polished - Fork Drop Outs

The headset and bottom bracket are dirty and the old grease is rock hard but under that is some really nice chrome.  I cleaned and polished the pieces and packed the bearings in new grease.  The headset and bottom bracket really polished very nice, I am very happy with the results.

I did have some problems with the bottom bracket drive side cup or lock side cup.  The cup was very difficult to remove as when it was installed it was installed cross threaded.  I had to clean the bottom bracket threads on the frame and then use a tool to re-tap the threads.  This does not make the threads like new but does repair the damage from the crossed threads.  The bottom bracket turned out nice after the repairs and I love all that chrome against the blue paint.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Headset  Bottom Bracket - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Headset Cups - Pressed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Headset Cups - Pressed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Headset Bearings - Packed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Headset - Complete

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bottom Bracket Bearings - Packed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bottom Bracket - Complete

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket - Complete

The handlebars are in really good shape, they only needed a little polishing and cleaning.  The stem was a little rougher with a rough dried finish. The stem cleaned and polished beautifully, the alloy of the stem has an interesting color to it that I kind of like.  That doesn't sound right saying the alloy has an interesting color but it does, its slightly darker then most alloys when polished.  Installed the stem and handlebars look fantastic installed.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Stem & Handlebars - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Handlebars - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Stem - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Stem - Exploded

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Stem - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Stem & Handlebars - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Stem - Complete

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Stem & Handlebars - Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Stem & Handlebars
Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Stem & Handlebars
Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Stem & Handlebars - Installed
 The brake levers are nice Shimano SLR aero style brake levers.  I like these levers, they are very ergonomic or at least they are to me.  I cleaned the brake levers and then polished the alloy, the alloy polished beautiful and also have the slightly dark polished look like the stem and handlebars.  The brake lever hoods are in fantastic shape and will look amazing after they are installed with the new handlebar tape.  I am very happy with the brake levers.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Brake Levers - before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Brake Levers - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Brake Levers - Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Brake Levers - Installed

The crank is a very nice Sakae Oval Tech with triple chain rings.  I like this crank a lot and will polish very nicely.  The Oval chain rings where all the rage in the late 1980's, I rode an oval crank for a couple of years a few years back and i liked it very much.  I like the oval cranks that are not extreme in shape, like this crank I like the oval cranks that are just slightly oval.

I cleaned and polished the crank.  The crank arms turned out fantastic and also has the darker color of the alloy, the darker color of the alloy has grown on me and now I really like it a lot.  The crank hardware also polished very nice and installed the crank is beautiful against the blue color.
1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Crank - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Crank - Exploded

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Crank - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Crank - Compelte

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Crank - Installed

The seat post is in good condition and cleaned and polished very nicely.  The saddle is in good shape and should restore nicely but I have not made a decision on the saddle yet.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Seat Post & saddle - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Seat Post - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Seat Post - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Seat Post
Installed

The brake calipers are very nice Shimano SLR calipers.  These calipers where the precursors to today's modern dual pivot calipers.  I say that they are precursors as a few things where worked out here.  The shape, size and angle of the caliper arms prevent all the flexing of the older caliper brakes that looses braking power.  The brake pads are also starting to look more modern and add a lot of stopping power.

I disassembled the brake calipers and started cleaning the pieces.  With the pieces cleaned I worked through all the polishing grits and the pieces turned out fantastic.  The calipers assembled look amazing polished and assembled and installed look fantastic against the blue paint.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Brake Calipers - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Brake Calipers - Exploded

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Brake Calipers - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Brake Calipers - Complete

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Caliper
Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Caliper
Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Brake Caliper
Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Brake Caliper
Installed
 The rear derailleur is a very nice Deore derailleur.  The extra long cage is to take up the chain slack with the triple chain ring crank.  The derailleur is rough and dirty and not spinning well but after cleaning, flushing, lubricating and polishing the derailleur works perfectly and looks great.  The ally polished beautifully and looks amazing installed.  It does have the darker alloy color that I like.


1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Deore Derailleur - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Deore Derailleur - Exploded

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Complete

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Derailleur
Installed
 The front derailleur is actually a Shimano Light Action derailleur, like the many many derailleurs I have rode I rode this one for a while to and it worked very well.  I cleaned the derailleur and got to the polishing, a few grits of polishing compound and the derailleur looks great.  I lubricated the pivot points and the derailleur works great also!

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Derailleur - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Derailleur - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Derailleur - Complete

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Derailleur - Installed

The shift levers are very nice Shimano Light Action levers with a rear 7 speed indexing action.  The levers are very dirty and dull and the action is a little sticky.  I flushed the levers and all the moving pieces and lubricated all the pivot points and the levers now function perfectly, no stickiness.  I then polished the alloy levers and they look great, installed the levers look perfect against the polished blue paint.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Shimano Indexed Shift Levers
Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Shift Levers - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Shift Levers - Installed

A part of a restoration that is not noticed but makes all the difference is the hardware bolts, these bolts polished are not necessarily noticed but if they where not polished would stand out like a soar thumb.  These hardware bolts look great against the blue paint.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Hardware Bolts - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Water Bottle Cage
Bolts - Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Water Bottle Cage
Bolts - Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Rack Hardware
Bolts - Installed

That complete the main body components, below is a photo of the Trek 400 so far, I love it!!

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle So Far
The wheels are nice Mallard 500 wheel hubs with nice satin black Matrix rims.  The alloy is very dirty and a little etched and stained.  I cleaned the hubs and then polished the hubs.  The hubs polished pretty nice considering how they started.  I then cleaned all the axle components, I really don't think the Trek 400 has many miles on it at all, the bearing tracks are barley broken in.  I then cleaned the spokes and the rims and trued the wheels on the truing stand.  The wheels spin great.  The new tires should be here Thursday.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Wheel - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Wheel Freewheel - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Wheel - Old Grease

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Wheel - Old Grease

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Bearings Packed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Axle Components - Cleaned

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Wheel - Complete

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Wheel - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Wheel Rim - Before

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Old Grease

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Bearings Packed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Complete

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Wheels - Complete
Tomorrow I will wire the Trek 400 and install the freewheel and chain, I will also decide on the saddle.  Tires and handlebar tape should be here on Thursday and then a few minutes to finish it up.  Check back soon.

With the handlebar tape and tires arriving I was able to finish up the Trek 400.  I chose the ice gray cable housings like I have been choosing a lot lately.  They just look good with everything and especially a color like this.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - New Bits & Pieces
New Cables, Cable Housings & Handlebar Tape

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Wired

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Wired

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Half Handlebar Tape - Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Handlebar Tape - Installed
The pedals are in great shape.  A little hand polishing, some lubricating and grease on the threads and they look great!

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Pedals - Polished

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Pedals - Installed
I looked through a ton of tires but chose these Michelin Dynamic gum wall tires in 23 mm size.  I think they have the best look for the era of the Trek and will be ultra fast.  Fantastic installed!

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - New Michelin Tires

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Front Tire - Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Rear Tire - Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Tires - Complete
The original saddle is in great shape and needs to go with the Trek.  I cleaned the saddle and polished the seat rails.  The saddle has a velvet feel that I can't remember what it is called at the moment but came back very nice.  Looks great installed.

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Saddle - Cleaned

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Saddle - Installed

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle - Complete
With the 18 inches of snow we got on Super Bowl Sunday I am unable to test ride the Trek 400 but I have rode many Trek 400's in my time and they all ride great, nothing like lugged steel!  The Trek 400 will also be a very quick and nimble bike with the 23 mm tires and the build over all.  The Trek easily stand tuned which usually means not much adjustment on test rides.

Now the looks of the Trek, the paint is just stunning, I have never come across such perfect paint condition on a 25 year old bike!  The black handlebar tape really sets everything of and the gum wall tires I think make a great addition with the black rims.  Its amazing to say a bike this color is a mean looking bike but it is!

The Trek 400 is Priced at $425.00.

Details.

22 Inch frame or 56 cm.

The Trek received a total restoration as shown above.
Shimano 12 Speed Indexed Shifting.
Shimano Deor Rear Derailleur
Shimano SLR Areo Brake Levers.
New Deda synthetic leather gel black handlebar tape.
All New cables and cable housings.
All New brake pads.
All New Bearings.
New tire tubes.

18 Speed Index Shifting.
700 x 23 mm wheels & tires.
Alloy wheels.
Bio-Pace crank 52 x 40 x 32 Triple Crank Set

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Handlebars

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Stem

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Head Tube

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Front Brake

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Wheel Hub

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Wheel Rim

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Stem

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Shift Levers

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Half

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Saddle

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Seat Lug

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Drive Train

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Triple Crank

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Front Derailleur

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Derailleur

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Fast Back Seat Lug

1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Rear Brake


1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Rear Wheel hub


1989 Trek 400 Restoration - Bicycle Complete 

Thank You for all the interest and fun!
John Z.

4 comments:

  1. Amazing restoration John! Beautiful. Thank you for sharing it. I am self taught as well and know the mech stuff but have yet to learn how to restore aluminum & paint. Finally, you are absolutely right--there is nothing like lugged steel!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful job on the cleanup. But for the record, it looks like it's a 1988 model, not 1989.

    Catalogue link: http://www.vintage-trek.com/images/trek/Trek88_1.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  3. So amazing. I love my 1986 pro series Trek. I believe these bikes are more aero and faster than the modern light weight aluminum bikes. I am riding my Trek, and it runs better than my Canondale with Ultegra set up. The Ultegra shifters busted after about 3 years. Awesome work. I wish I could do this to my bike.

    ReplyDelete