From the Archives - Part I

A variety of different things are going right now which leaves me with very little time to work on the Circuit. Therefore, I'm digging in my photo archives for interesting things from previous bike builds.

What we have here are some photos of a late 90's Trek 520 I got off Craigslist. My wife and I were preparing for an overnight bike camping trip a few years ago and I needed a couple solid touring bikes. I guess we could've taken the mountain bikes, but why deprive myself of getting to build not one, but TWO bikes?

Here's how she looked when I brought her home. Looking back, I overpaid for the bike, but I got it off some college kid and he probably appreciated the extra beer money.


I tore down the frame to reveal the horror show you see here.


All I can really say is, "Thank goodness for sealed bottom brackets!"


All's well that ends well. That old 520 turned into a pretty solid ride.
The original Deore LX drivetrain (bar-end shifters, front & rear derailleurs, crankset, and chainrings) is still intact, the only changes being a new cassette and chain. Of course, there's also plenty of non-drivetrain parts that had to be swapped and are not original.
By the way, I hate when I see pics of bikes with the drive side facing away from the camera. And here I am, guilty as charged.