I've got a Trek 500 series. Serial #155180 so from what I found online

Model #
520

Frame size
22.5

Date the serial # was assigned
11/10/1984

I like the bike alot BUT:

I want to get something that can

1. handle the shitty roads here on the northwest side of chicago
2. that i can ride to school throughout the winter on (any kinds of mod suggestions are welcome)

If there is anything else I should be considering, let me know, but those are my primary concerns with the bike i have. Also, is this bike worth anything if i sell it? It's got no rust, no dings, no scratches, a little dirty on the underside of the carriage. Silver paint job with red lettering, blah blah blah.

Thanks.

-Phil

is this what it looks like?

http://www.vintage-trek.com/TrekBrochur ... ing.htm#20

They might have some info on that site regarding worth. Looks like they also have suggestions on good places to sell.

Yep, it looks like that but instead of the number 520 painted on it, it's got this red scripty cursivey "500 Series" painted on it.

I i.d.'ed the year and model number off of the serial number thanks to that site...

So uh... what should i look at buying?

i still need to pick one out of the bike store for my renters insurance to pick up.

How much are they giving you to play around with?

well, they said all that I need to do is give them the receipt of the bike that was stolen, which I have, along w/ either an estimate from the bike shop on a bike and they cut a check to them, or I buy and they reimburse. the receipt was $1300. so, minus a $250 deductible, looks like i'm still getting a $1000 bike. i just have to get off my ass and do it.

To answer your questions, philly, I'd say look at some fenders first-off. No city commuter is complete without 'em. With that-there bike, you can get the tight metal ones that fit really close to the wheel, too. (Mine, a fisher supercaliber, is a mtn bike, so they're plastic fenders, real wide, and stick way out into the air.) Without fenders, you're gonna get a wicked stripe of dirty water starting from your arse and going up to the back of your head.

Tires... there are tires out there that will fit your rims, but they're a little bigger, with more tread (and more importantly) more give over the bounces. Look to Derris and Busty for the specifics there... they do this for money. A quick search of some of the online bike heavyweight sites (supergo, pricepoint) doesn't show me the kind I want, but I've seen them a lot here in town. Like a mini mtn bike tire. Slightly larger tube, larger tire, more bounce, but still smoothish in the center, for better speed. =Instant suspension, sorta.

If you need a rack or panier, those are easy. I use a backpack, personally, and keep the weight off my bike, because it handles like a damn shopping cart with books and shit strapped to it. But you know... people do it.

I'd also reccommend some shocks, since riding bumpy roads seems to be a primary concern. You might just want to keep the bike you have and invest in fenders/shocks instead of buying a whole new bike and see how that feels. No use buying new tires (or an entirely new bike) if you don't have to...

That looks and sounds like a pretty sweet bike you got there. I see those old trek road bikes going from $200-$1000 pretty regularly on craigslist. If it's in excellent condition, aka you can shift gears and the body is okay, I bet you could easily get $200-$300. Take some photo's of it and post it on chicago.craigslist.com.

O.k. I'm thinking about tricking out my bike for winter. What parts should i be looking at?

Although, i went looking at new bikes....

I really like that Trek XO-1 Cyclocross.

[img][650:387]http://peewee.deadly-nightshade.net/site/layout.jpg[/img]

As far as a city bike goes, I don't think there's anything you need to get. Maybe wider, semi-slick tires (i.e. what Cap'n suggested). I'd stay somewhat cheap in terms of overall improvements, though. At least in Philly, bike theft is so rampant that it's just not a good idea to invest significant money into a city bike.

I recently picked up a an old specialized mtn bike that I'm using as a city bike. I'm planning on making a few modifications (riser handlebar and a single v-brake on the rear, for now- the guy I bought it from put a road-racing handlebar and it has a single crappy caliper brake on the front wheel - those things have to go). It's single-speed, but still has all the old cogs and chainwheels (just no deraileurs), so I'd like to take that stuff off eventually.

If you wanted to sell your bike, I'd bet you could get at least $100- 150 for it, maybe more. But, like I said earlier, I think a newer, fancier bike is only more likely to get stolen. I'd keep it.

All right, I dropped my bike off at a shop for tires, tubes, a spoke repair and truing of the back wheel, fenders, new platform pedals (i hate those metal clips), and moving the shifters from an awkward place to right at the ends of the curls of the handle bars.

How do you protect your bike against salt?

Just get into the habit of wiping it down with a wet rag after use, and then less frequently, give it a good wersh every once in a while.