At 17 as an enterprising lad I was doing lawn/yard work jobs and selling Navy & Marine fatigues, jackets and so on I would buy at the Port Hueneme (SeaBee's) surplus sales and hawk them at school. One Saturday night at the Encino Velodrome the announcer pointed out a $25 off coupon on the back of the program for Bud's Bike Shop in Claremont, CA -that's all I needed to loot my piggy Bank and convince my brother Greg to drive me 40 miles east to Buds. Buds was packed with oodles of cool bikes and stuff-display cases filled with jeweled bicycle parts-a really neat old place with tall ceilings finished off with old fashioned stamped tin patterns. I bought a Trek 730?? or thereabouts frame and fork...all Reynolds 531...emerald green imron...my brother kicked in for the Campy Headset....this was 1977-it was just before I was 17 ((that explains why I could drive the station wagon 10 miles to Encino but not out to Buds)) I bought most all the parts at one of the early Bikeology Warehouse sales....over on Bundy back when, from Alan Goldsmith. It was, in its first iteration, black Suntour Cyclone derailleurs, black Gran Comp Centerpulls (the really kool ones) SR Bars and milled stem, La Parade seatpost, Brooks Pro saddle, Mighty Comp cranks, Campy SL pedals and the 'on special' wheelset featuring Sanshin Pro Am hubs, satin anodized of course, Trois Etoilles spokes and Record du Monde rims....don't really remember the tyres. All told it was $700 and some change.....my buddies at school thought I was looney 'cause I could have a car for that.
I LOVED that bike...I rode it all over creation....by senior year it was full Campy. My wonderful memory of this Trek is utterly disconnected from anything Trek was making by the late 70's and on. I used to ride it 12 miles to my job at George Garner's Valley Cyclery in Van Nuys, CA. There were drawers upon drawers on old junque in the back my manager would let me loot...I had a full handlebar bag every night and battled that torque steer through Encino, Tarzana and back to Woodland Hills. By fall '79 I discovered the wonderful world of Colnago and that became my main ride....I still have the Colnago....now I have 10 Colnagos. The Trek was reluctantly sold to help finance a Turbo Saab in '80 or so...I still have the Saab...The memory of the Trek haunted me for many years and after looking hither and yonder for ages I found another and had JB do it right like the old one...Imron Emerald Green that sparkles in the sunlight...make ya wanna ride just thinking of it!
<<nostalgic rant off>>
Matt Gorski
Belmont Shore, CA