FA: First Year TREK bicycle 1976 item 270137421507

Take advantage of my best offer auction listed as item 270137421507

This vintage TREK needs a new home, more detailed pictures and in
depth measurements to follow.

Up for your consideration is what I believe to be a first year Trek
Frame from 1976 when the only sold frame and forks and not complete
bikes.

I don't have the original sales slip to document the bike history but
it came from Vern's in Oshkosh Wisconsin, not far from Waterloo, WI
where Trek originated.
This was a actively used bike that was upgraded as parts wore out and
therefore the non period wheels are not included in the auction.
Everything else is included to make this a complete bicycle.
I am willing to answer any and all questions to help you make the
right decision on this bicycle, so feel free to ask questions and
leave comments about the listing.
Imron metallic flake blue 25.5 inch(64cm) TREK.
Head tube badge is not screwed on, J. Thompson a Trek historian said
"Glued on head badge and alpha-numeric serial number would put it in
early 80's. Older Treks had screw-mounted badges and later Treks had
numeric-only serial numbers." So the mystery deepens as contradicting
evidence is unearthed.
Serial number is 5B6B38 which according to vintage-trek.com is
missing the first letter, but 5 would equate to size 25.5", B would
equal the model TX200, 6 would equal the year 1976, B would equal the
month Feb. (These are normally 7 digits not 6, could be 38th frame in
the series?)
Builder stamp H, which some old school Trek employee J. Thompson
remembers being the stamp for brazer Bill Horstmeier.
Tubing Sticker is 022 Ishiwata Cro Mo double butted main tubes, the
sticker also refers to Type E
The headtube badge and tubing used are confusing as the 1976 catalog
on vintage-trek.com seems to imply it would have been a TX500 with
that tube set if it was in fact a 1976 bike
Build kit seems consistent with bike assembled from frame up and does
not fit specs on later years when Trek sold complete bikes.
D. Gillies said he thought the dropouts dated the bike to pre-1977.
"I have 2 bikes with those Suntour dropouts, both my bikes are 1977.
HOWEVER, my 1977 bikes have versions of those dropouts that indent
inwards so you don't have to mangle the chainstays during
framebuilding to keep the chain from hitting the chainstays,
therefore, your dropouts are pre-77."
Special thanks goes to the Classic Redezvous mailing list for their
research assistance, Kudos to you all.
The Suntour Cyclone shifters, deraillers are dated to 1977 and look to
be original, that makes me think the bike was built in 1976 and sat on
the sales floor a year before it was built up. Being the fact Trek
was a new brand and this bike will only fit the largest of humans it
seems plausible to me.
According to D. Gillies, the derailleur is the 1.0 generation of
Suntour Cyclone derailleurs. Sometime in the late 1970's, they changed
the upper mounting arm to make it one smooth "swoosh" from the
mounting bolt to the outer parallelogram plate. So if the derailleur
is original your bike could be 1975, 1976, or 1977 ( i had a 1977 bike
with that type of plate. ). I confirmed the 2 letter date code on
front and rear derailleurs start with T for 1977.
I will include more detailed pictures and descriptions along with
measurements from the bike as soon as I can. Make sure you click on
the pictures to see the close up detail.
I have done my best to list this bike accurately, I am guessing at
actual history based on research I and others have done. Please buy
the bike based on the observed details in listing and make your own
judgement on this American hand built classic steel road bike.
Shipping and insurance will be free in CON USA.
Bidding is open to international bidders, but shipping will be at
cost, and expensive given the size of the frame, it will not fit in
108" girth box. I charge $200 flat fee for international worldwide
shipping and refund any overcharge back to buyer via Paypal.
I have listed this as a Buy It Now with Best Offer feature I do not
expect it to last all week so use the Best Offer feature to give it
your best shot at winning.

I have updated this listing with a what year is it evaluation list.
Each piece of evidence points to possible dating of the bike. In
reality it is a nice Trek that got ridden plenty during it's era. It
should be evaluated based on what it is a beautiful hand built bike of
superbe craftmenship that is only equalled by a handful of current
American craftsmen who charge appropriately to create lugged steel
frames using many of the same methods from the early days of TREK.
These craftsmen charge between $1500 and $2500, with extensive wait
lists for similarly constructed bicycles.

What Year? Evaluation list
1976 Serial number, Suntour dropout design
1977 Suntour Cyclone components dated to 1977
1978
1979 Glued on head tube badge.

1980 First mention in catalog of Ishiwata 022 Chrome-Moybdenum
double butted main tubes match frame sticker, Avocet Condor saddle
matches models 412 and 414 specs as do the Suntour GT dropouts,