Trek Cruiser classic

[JA331]

Picked up this 98 Trek cruiser classic today. Doesn’t look to have had much use as shown by the minimal tire wear. Needs a good service and will then be put to use as the shop bike for work. Frame is really nicely welded as would be expected from a Taiwanese bike.

 

[Bendix]

I often thought a few of the Trek cruisers had potential for being made into something cool when we would get them in BITD...

That one has a nice fork!

Knobbies, Surly Sunrise handlebar, drum front brake,.... (Just thinking out loud... )

 

[deorman]

I don't recall if I've ever even seen a Trek coaster bike. ATBs, MTBs, "townies", roadies, plenty, and they were all well made.

 

[JA331]

I often thought a few of the Trek cruisers had potential for being made into something cool when we would get them in BITD...

That one has a nice fork!

Knobbies, Surly Sunrise handlebar, drum front brake,.... (Just thinking out loud... )

Its so tempting to go overboard on this one but this one needs to be kept low budget for work. I have plenty of nice bits in my parts bins to hang on it. The rear geometry is very similar to the kos i recently bought and the early wtp avenger frame I have hanging in the factory. I'm sure it would be really nice to ride.

 

[deorman]

Factory or warehouse use: add paperboy basket, check tire pressure, done.

Maybe lower sprocket ratio.

 

[JA331]

Ordered a $12 basket from a fleabay seller today and did a complete service. The tires virtually fell off the rims as the rubber around the beads was shot. Wondering if it had anything to do with the whitewall sections being painted with house oil paint! I have a pair of barely used cheng shin tanwalls off a parts bike. Added a heap of parts I had bought over the years or removed from other bikes with the exception of some $10 bmx grips. A mate trued the wheels. Coming together real nice and I'm worried the cafe and post office runs are going to take a lot longer than before........

Will post some pix of it finished tomorrow.

 

[JA331]

Front sprocket is 40 and rear 18. I think the gearing is fine. De-rusted the chain and the Shimano coaster hub also needs a service.

 

[JA331]

Almost there, just waiting on a basket. First ride, stood on the pedals and the chain snapped. Fortunately i was going slow.

 

[JA331]

Ebay sourced basket was nasty. I replaced it with this awesome Blackburn basket from the lbs thats almost large enough to cart a slab of beer to the office.

 

[rickpaulos]

I don't recall if I've ever even seen a Trek coaster bike. ATBs, MTBs, "townies", roadies, plenty, and they were all well made.

My Trek Woody.


My Trek Rail CNC


My Gary Fisher Minnosaurus (Trek brand) as I got it:


after:

 

[OddJob]

I don't recall if I've ever even seen a Trek coaster bike. ATBs, MTBs, "townies", roadies, plenty, and they were all well made.

They had a pretty good line-up of coaster bikes in the mid-2000's. I used to park them in the front windows of our corner store in Hastings, MN on the car show nights, every other Saturday between Memorial Day and Labor Day. They had 1950's color schemes. I ended up making quite a few deliveries to the classic car owners who didn't have room for a bike, or didn't want to scratch their paint!

They had the Classic series which were steel and lower-priced, and the Drift series which were aluminum frames and forks, really light for a cruiser, and great colors. Here are a few I just found on the internet. Trek stopped producing their own, when they bought the Electra Bicycle Co.

 

[JA331]

I got plans for mine. stay tuned.

 

[JA331]

This has now been returned to my own fleet. I built another bike for the office. I fitted this cool 3d forged seat post from my avenger that is really short but works with this bike.

Last week i scored another barely used Electra ladies bike for $35 which somehow found its way from San Diego to Melbourne, Australia. I intend to use the wheels and tires on the Trek after i get a 2 speed kickback hub laced to the rear.

The cranks, pedals and headset found their place on my daughter’s gigi. I had to use an bottom bracket adaptor kit as gigi had a one piece crank.

The handlebars, grips and seat found their place on the Electra Hawaii i bought a while ago which has become the new office bike.
We’ve named it Elvira since its a blue hawaii.

Pix from today’s ride through downtown and nearby burbs. This thing is so easy to ride and similar to my Kos Kruiser which has the same short rear geometry. I’m wondering if Gary Fisher’s influence on Trek design during the late 90’s had something to do with Trek moving away from traditional beach cruiser geometry on this series.

 

[JA331]

I’ve had a 2 speed kickback SA on this bike for a while and have found it annoying. I’m not sure what the old Bendix hubs are like but this one changed gear too easily with a small backward movement of the crank.

Yesterday I swapped the 2 speed for a set of wheels with a Nexus 4 speed from an Electra I parted out a while back. Nice spread of gears using a 40t front and 23t rear. I also used the 170mm crank from the same bike replacing the original 165mm crank.

 

[JA331]

I messed around with this bike again today fitting Electra ape hangers I bought at a local bike shop at a decent price.