Trek 830 - A touring prospect

Nice bike, excellent condition and great price!!

I would try to save as much of the original parts as possible. It's incredible how durable the lower range of Shimano can be, and you can always upgrade whenever something breaks.

I did a tour of Cuba for 4 weeks with a bike with the same gruppo, and it worked perfectly.

I find touring with a decent but cheap bike to be the perfect solution. You won't care as much when loading it into buses, trains, or van racks. You will leave it outside with less regrets when visiting the local attraction. And, if you do international trips, you can always leave the bike behind to save the airline fees. Your bike is cheaper than what many companies charge!! I've done that twice, and it's also quite nice to donate the bike to someone badly needing one...

Titiritero":1zpdq37g said:

I would try to save as much of the original parts as possible. It's incredible how durable the lower range of Shimano can be, and you can always upgrade whenever something breaks.

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That is pretty much the revised plan.

Both wheels have cleaned up well and the Weinmann rims are in great conditions and pretty robust. The hubs are different, rear is a Shimano Parallax and the front is a Joy Tech. This is not much of a concern as long term I plan to rebuild the front wheel with a dynamo.

So, waiting for ordered parts to arrive and for saddle, racks and bags to finish on ebay.

I like the idea of giving the bike away to a good cause when I'm finished with it, I will keep that thought in mind.

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It's incredible how durable the lower range of Shimano can be

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I'll second that, I had an old Claud Butler that I was using as a general runabout and for popping to the shops. It had an early 7 speed Shimano Tourney rear derailleur, like this:



It was a heavy, ugly, rusty lump of pressed steel and I intended to swap it out for something better, but once set up it proceeded to work flawlessly for 2 or 3,000 miles over the next 3 or 4 years with pretty much no maintenance.

There's no doubt that Shimano components get lighter and/or better finished as you go up price scale and the higher priced stuff is a bit slicker to use, but it all works.

Not that I am any sort of a touring expert, but the reason why tourers are typically built on the sturdy side, with an equally beefy set of components is the presence of front and rear racks, which can be loaded up to considerable weights. Sometimes the racks are even welded into the frame.

Doesn't look like that frame is built for racks, but I would not doubt there are ways round that.

As for 700c, 29er, 27.5 or 26er, (or even 24 or 20 inch), it's a matter of taste and preferred handling characteristic. I like 26 inch wheels, and while some of the 700c geometries can be nice, with large wheels the main gripe is that I keep hitting the front wheel with my toe.

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It may not be obvious from the photos, but one of the reasons I chose this frame is because it has rear rack mounts. It also has two pair of mounts on the rear dropout, for rack and mudguards and a single pair of mounts on the front forks.

I have a set of F&R racks on their way, so we will soon see how they fit, and I have absolutely no worries whatsoever that this frame will take to load as it is substantial without being too Dreadnought like.

As mentioned, those shifting bits are almost indestructible. The cranks are heavy and flexy though with much nicer options around.

Am waiting for some parts to turn up then I'll unleash my take on the whole thing with a freebie frame.

bishopdante":1cjrkps7 said:

Doesn't look like that frame is built for racks, but I would not doubt there are ways round that.

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One of the great advantages of late 80's/early 90's mtbs is that all came ready for rear racks and mudguards if desired (excluding some racy models or exotic designs). Sadly today that's hard to find even in plain utilitarian hardtails. For front racks, it's much easier to do with a rigid fork, as this bike has...

bishopdante":1cjrkps7 said:

As for 700c, 29er, 27.5 or 26er, (or even 24 or 20 inch), it's a matter of taste and preferred handling characteristic.

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For normal cycling I agree. For touring it's not. It's widely accepted that 26" is the standard for long tours in remote areas (mostly because despite what brand marketing and specialized magazines say, 26" is by far the most popular and hence easier to find size around the world). For touring in "first world" countries, then 700c/29" is also widely available.

Good luck going on touring with any other size excluding the 2 above if you need to find spares. The Trek 830, with rigid fork, steel frame and 26" wheels, ticks many touring boxes.

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F&R mechs have been thoroughly cleaned and reinstalled. STX chainset fitted for now, as it is light, has the right chainrings and was conveniently to hand. Other options may be considered.

While I was at work the Postie delivered a full set of Tortec racks that weigh very little.

More assembly work this week and by the weekend we should have a working bike.

Mudguards and other niceties will be sourced after I have ridden the bike enough to decide if I like it.

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Different cranks, BB, chain, cassette, pedals, headset, handlebars, bar ends, grips and bottle cages installed along with new brake cable inners. Tyres changed from mtb to Continental touring tyres.

I rubbed down the stem and gave it several coasts of gloss black, I think that maybe it should have been satin but at least it's no longer covered in rust. It is installed to the minimum insertion line and this gives a really upright riding position.

I may well have to change the brake blocks, as they are a bit squeaky, but that sometimes happens after cleaning rims.

So, next is to give it a test ride over one of my preferred 30 mile road routes, if it passes that test then I will install the F&R racks I recently won on the bay, get some mudguards and ready it for some more miles.

The saddle looks like it is a little too far nose up, so that will need a tweek before I put some miles in but is likely to be changed for a Spa or Brooks (if I can find one at a sensible price).

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but is likely to be changed for a Spa or Brooks (if I can find one at a sensible price).

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I've got a Spa and a Brooks and I'm very impressed with the Spa, the leather is thicker and firmer than the Brooks and took longer to break in, but as a result it looks as though it will ultimately last longer, whereas I think the Brooks may have gone a little too soft now and has gone a bit "hamocky". However, I found both pretty comfortable from the outset.