Trek back from the dead
1978 Trek TX700, lugged steel, Reynolds 531 tubing
SR bars (original), unknown stem
Shimano Dura-Ace, first generation (original)
Campagnolo Veloce hubs, 36 hole, Mavic Open Pro rims, Continental Top Touring 2000 tires
Campagnolo Veloce 8-speed hub with sealed, pressed-in bearings
Campagnolo Racing T triple crankset with 48-38-28 TA chainrings, Chorus sealed bottom bracket
Serfas Cosmo seat, Campagnolo Record seat post
Shimano PD-M324 flip-flop pedals, SRAM chain, 13-26 cassette
Campagnolo Racing T front and rear derailleurs, Record 8-speed brifters, Euclid cantilevers, Berthoud stainless-steel fenders
I bought this bike new in 1978, just a few years after Trek was founded. It was their best touring frame at the time, with full Reynolds 531, silver-soldered, investment-cast lugs, Campagnolo dropouts. (720s were four years in the future.) While I could only afford low-end components (Weinmann sidepulls, Shimano hubs laced to Fiamme Red tubular rims, SR crank, and Suntour derailleurs; this was paid for with lawn-mowing money, after all), the idea was to rebuild it full Campagnolo "later." Well, the Fiamme rims died immediately, so I put on used Campagnolo Nuevo Record hubs and Hardox rims. After a decade in Denver, moved to San Francisco, where I switched to a Sugino triple crank, Deore XT derailleurs, and Royale Compe sidepulls. A decade after that, moved to Boston, where the bike became my winter rider. By last summer, after many, many miles, the bike had numerous dents, a crack below the seat-post lug, and half its paint. Took a final ride in July from Boston to Montreal and back, then rebuilt it: one patch, 22 braze-ons, two sets of reproduction decals, and a coat of original-color paint later -- as well as a mostly full-Campy rebuild -- here it is. While it's not at all "worth" the time and effort put into it (one framebuilder went so far as to suggest that I keep the head badge as a souvenir and pitch the rest), I'm delighted to have given the bike a second life.