trek 620 tire clearance

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Trek Tire Clearance

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Hey Everyone, So I had been wondering about tire clearance on a Trek Domane and what it could fit. A trek rep was in the store when this was being discussed and mentioned that all Trek bikes are designed to have at minimum a 6mm tire clearance on all non-moving parts of the bike. With this in mind I looked at about 3-4 domanes (including my own at home) and there is more like 4-5mm in some sections. So a random question, but if trek "designs" their bikes with a minimum of 6mm, why does it seem less on Trek bikes out in the wild? Maybe they don't consider which tires are being used?  

The rep is full of crap or you misinterpreted. Bikes are designed with a max tire clearance in mind. Designing around a minimum has no logic at all. It might make a little sense in the context of discussing wind tunnel testing but otherwise just ignore what you heard.  

So then if there is less than 6mm somewhere, its ok? This was a previous CS rep from Trek and even said he wasn't too keen on the details, just that the magic number was 6mm in terms of a bikes design to allow for.  

You'll have to decide for yourself how close you're willing to push it.  

To clarify a little, the rep said there are bike safety guidelines, and that Trek tries to make sure there is a minimum of 6mm on any non moving parts of the bike of tire clearance. I think its a safety thing?  

I suppose it depends how much your wheels/frame flex and how much crap you pick up on your tires while riding. I have around 3-4mm on my road bike (non-Trek, but brand is sort of irrelevant), and it's never been an issue. As far as the Domane is concerned, it will fit at least a 28. The direct mount brakes really help with clearance. If you're go with discs, I'd assume that would open it up even more. This is apparently a 28 on a rim bike: http://trek.scene7.com/is/image/TrekBicycleProducts/1460000_2017_B_5_Domane_SL_6  

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Frame models 510, 530, 710, 730, 910, and 930. Bike models are: 512, 712, 514, 714, 914, 536, 736, 936, 737, 937, 738, 938. Seattube graphics and headbadge are the same as for 1976-77. Model number does not appear on frame.

The 1978 brochure and model designations appear to have been operational in mid-78. The May 78 price sheet lists the earlier TX models. The November 78 price list shows the newer models (510, 530 etc.)

The first digit of the model number indicates the tubing used to make the frame: 5 is Ishiwata 022, 7 is Reynolds 531, 9 is Columbus. The second digit indicates the designed purpose of the frame; 1 indicates touring, 3 indicates racing.

Frame models 510, 710, 910, 530, 730, 930. Bike models: 512, 712, 514, 714, 914, 536, 736, 936, 737, 937, 738, 938. Seattube graphics and headbadge are the same as for 1976-78. Model number does not appear on frame.

There also was a Model 310 that did not appear in catalogs. It was constructed of Ishiwata high tensile butted tubes.

Tim Isaac, master framebuilder, joins Trek.

Frame models 510, 710, 910, 730, 930. Bike models 412, 414 and Series 500, 700, and 900. Seattube graphics and headbadge same as for 1976-79 except headbadge is glued not screwed. Model number does not appear on frame.

Bike models 613, 614 and 616, that are listed in the 1981 brochure, probably first appeared in late 1980.

Trek installs first automatic painting system.

Sequential frame serial numbers are begun in late 1980 (1981 model year), and run at least through 2000. They are used only for US made bikes. Numbering started with 000001.

Frame Models 412 (410?), 610, 510, 710, 750, and 950. Bicycle Models 412, 613, 614, 616, 515, 516, 715, 716, 719, 759, and 959.

It appears for models 4XX, 5XX, and 6XX, the graphics are the same as for 1980: no color wrap around TREK on seat tube.

For model 7XX series bikes and up, the seat tube graphics are "TREK" on each side of the seat tube with a color wrap around the seattube. Models 759 and 959 have the same graphic on the downtube as well. Headbadge is the same as 1980. Model number does not appear on frame.

Model 959 frames (Columbus tubing) have fully-sloping fork crowns, with cutouts on the side and a cutout in the bottom bracket shell where it joins the downtube. The 81, 82, and 83 75X and 95X frames and bikes were probably zenith of traditional frames by Trek. They had Cinelli bottom bracket shells, reinforcements at the brake and chain stay bridges, and reinforcements for the water bottle bosses. In 1984, Trek began using cast fastback seatlugs with seat stay sockets and Trek bottom bracket shells. Excellent parts, but just nontraditional.

Frame models 510, 710, 720, 730, 750, and 950. Bike models 311, 412, 613, 614, 515, 710, 715, 728, 736, 759, 757, 950, 959, and 957. In this year Trek sold a bike Model 311, which does not appear in the catalog. The Model 311 does appear in the 82 price list (on this site) and in the serial number list. The SN list shows it was first made in mid 82 and was not made in 83. The 311 flyer is shown at the bottom of the HTML formatted 82 brochure.

Seattube graphics same as Model 7XX and up for 1981, and headbadge same as 1980-81. Model number does not appear on frame.

Prior to 1982, derailleur cables on Treks were routed above the bottom bracket. According to the 1982 brochure, on the upper level bikes, Model 728 and above, cables were routed below the bottom bracket. On Model 614 and below cables continued to be routed above the bottom bracket. (Some variations to the brochure configurations have been reported.)

The brochure shows the 728/720 with center pull brakes. Some 728/720s were supplied with cantilever brakes.

9XX frames have fully-sloping fork crowns, with cutouts on the side and a cutout in the bottom bracket shell where it joins the downtube. They also had Cinelli bottom bracket shells, reinforcements at the brake and chain stay bridges, and reinforcements for the water bottle bosses.

The Japanese Connection - Beginning in 1981 or 1982 (and extending through at least 1986), Trek used Tange, a subcontractor in Japan, to build some frames and parts of frames. The 300 and some 400 series were a complete (unpainted) frame and fork from Japan, but painted and assembled in Waterloo. The 500, 600, and 800 (MTB) series had the main triangle built in Waterloo, the pre-assembled rear stays were attached, and the whole works painted and assembled in Waterloo. The 700, 900, and 170 series were completely built, painted, and assembled in Waterloo. Some 600 series were all Reynolds 531 frames. Trek had Reynolds seatstays and chain stays shipped from England to Japan, where they were assembled into the rear triangle assemblies and then shipped to Waterloo to be attached to the main frame.

Bike Models 400, 500, 520, 560, 600, 620, 630, 640, 700, 720, 760, 970, 170, and 850. Seventy-five Model 730s (all Reynolds 531) were made, but the model was not included in the brochure.

Seattube graphics same as 1981-82, headbadge same as 1980-82. Model number appears on the chainguard on the right chainstay.

970 (Columbus tubing) and 170 (Reynolds 753 tubing) frames have fully-sloping fork crowns, with cutouts on the side and a cutout in the bottom bracket shell where it joins the downtube. This is the last year Columbus tubing is used on production Treks.

In 1983 the derailleur cables were routed below the bottom bracket for all models. This configuration changed in 1985 when the rear derailleur cable was routed through the right chainstay on some bikes (see 1985).

Trek installs automatic brazing machinery.

F or most models, rear dropout spacing increases from 120mm to 126mm.

First use by Trek of Reynolds 501 Chromalloy tubing on some bikes. Thicker wall thickness, and consequently heavier, than 531, but also more robust and a bit less expensive. The last use was for the 1985 model year.

First use by Trek of Mangalloy 2001 tubing, made by Tange, It was used on the Model 400, which was the first "International Series" bike. The frame was made in Japan but painted and built up in the U.S. Mangaloy 2001 was last used by Trek in 84.

Trek introduces the "Rough Terrain" model 850 (a mountain bike).

New headbadge, white or brass background with black graphic, is used from 1984-87.

Upper level frames (760, 770, 170, 720) have cast fastback seat lugs with "TREK" cast into the sides.

Some 400, 420 and 460 frames or complete bikes were made in Japan by an outside contractor. These bikes have a 9-character numeric serial number on the lower seat tube, rather than on the bottom of the bottom bracket.

"TREK" graphic with model number is on the sides of the downtube (with no color wrap). "TREK" and Model number also appears on the right chainstay.

Reynolds 531CS (Club Sport) frame tubing is first used by Trek. According to Terry at Reynolds-Cycle.com: "531CS was a special set, supplied mainly to Trek. The main triangle was butted 531 and the rear stays were CrMo (501)." The fork was taper gauge CrMo (501). (Info. provided by Dickey Greer.)

Last year Mangalloy 2001 tubing was used by Trek.

Trek renames "Rough Terrain" bikes to "All Terrain" bikes. Both of these are mountain bikes (as we know them today).

Racing Frame models 450, 460, 470, 560, 660, 670, 760, 770, 170, Sport, Models 300, 400, 410, 420, 500, 510, 520, 600, Touring, Models 620, 720, All-Terrain, Models 830, 850, 870 , (Models 300, 450, 470 and 170 were sold in 1985, but did not appear in the 85 brochure. ) The cast fastback seat lugs with "TREK" cast into sides are extended to lower level bikes.

Graphics: model number on right chainstay, "USA" on sides of seat stay, "TREK" on sides of downtube. Same headbadge as 1984.

In 1985, Trek routed the rear derailleur cable through the right chainstay on some of its bikes. In 85 (according to the catalog and site visitors) it was done on Models 450, 460, 470, 510, 520, 560, 600, 620, 660 and 670. On the other bikes the cable was shown routed below the bottom bracket but outside the chainstay. The 85 brochure shows the 400, 410, and 420 cables routed outside the chainstay but some of these bikes have been reported with through-the-chainstay cables. This change was made sometime after the brochure photos were made, perhaps during the model year.

First year Trek used True Temper tubing (steel). It was used in lower- to mid-level bikes.

Trek introduces the adhesive-bonded, internally lugged Aluminum Model 2000, designed by Tim Isaac. It was available through 1988 as a bike or frameset and in 1989 as a frameset only.

Trek replaces the automatic brazers with a robotic system that assembles, aligns and brazes in a single pass.

All-Terrain bikes (Mountain bikes) have traditional fork crowns (not unicrown forks).

T his is the last year the Trek catalog lists the (touring) model 720 : -( . Actually, according to the serial number list, Trek built no 720s during all of calendar year 1985. (Thanks to Joe Bond for pointing this out.) The one 720 listed in 85 was in for repair. The long-distance touring craze of the late 70s and early 80s was over. The pricey 720 was just no longer in demand.

Models Pro Series 560, Pro Series 760, Pro Series 770, Tri Series 500, Tri Series 700, Elance 300, Elance 310, Elance 400D, Elance 400T, and Cirrus 520. Model 420 was made and sold in 1986 but did not appear in the 86 brochure.

Graphics: "USA" on sides of seattube, "TREK" on sides of downtube, model name on top tube, no model designation on right chainstay. Same headbadge as 1984 and 85.

Through-the-chainstay rear derailleur cable routing was done on all models except the 300 and 310.

Trek introduces the carbon fiber composite model 2500. It first appears in the 1987 catalog. The frames consisted of carbon tubes bonded to aluminum lugs. This frame configuration later included Models 2300 and 2100.

Steel mountain bikes 1986 and newer have unicrown forks.

Models 560EX Pro Series, 560 Pro series, 520 Cirrus, 400T Elance, 400D Elance, and 330 Elance (plus various mountain bikes and aluminum-framed road bikes).

Graphics: "USA" on side seat tube, "TREK" with shadow effect on downtube, model number " xxx" on right chainstay, model name on the top tube. Same headbadge as 1984, 85 and 86.

Through-the-chainstay rear derailleur cable routing was done on all models except the 330.

Some 1987 TREK frames and/or bikes were subcontracted to the Taiwanese bike company Merida. These were Model 800, 830 and 850 mountain bikes and Model 300 road bikes. See Note 8 on the serial number page for more information.

Model 2500 composite (aluminum lugs/carbon tubes) bikes appear in the catalog.

New headbadge, used during the period 1988-92.

Graphics: model number on sides of seattube, "TREK" on sides of downtube. Component designation (e.g. "SIS" or "Shimano Ultegra") on right chainstay of all models except 360 and 330.

Seven-speed cassettes were offered on most Shimano-equipped road models for the first time this year.

Models 660, 520, 420, 400, and 330 (plus various aluminum-framed and carbon-tubed road bikes and mountain bikes). This is the last year the bonded aluminum Model 2000 was available.

Graphics similar to those of 1988. Through-the-chainstay rear derailleur cable routing was done on all models except the 330.

Model 5000, molded graphite composite frames, first appear in the 89 catalog.

Seven-speed cassettes were offered on most Shimano-equipped mountain bikes for the first time this year.

Models 520, 420, and 330 (plus various carbon- and aluminum-framed road bikes and mountain bikes).

The unicrown style fork is used on the 520 for the first time. Cheaper to make, more aero? but inelegant.

The 420 and 330 continue to have traditional fork crowns.

"Splash" paint was used on several of the bikes. The bike was painted a solid color and then a second color was splattered onto the frame, resulting in fine threads of contrasting color.

Models 520 and 400 (plus various carbon- and aluminum-framed road bikes and mountain bikes).

The 8 speed cassette, with 130mm dropout spacing, is introduced on t he top level road bike, the Model 2500. The other road bikes are still 7 speed.

"Splash" paint was again used on several of the bikes.

While not in the catalog, Trek did sell the Model 2000 in 1991. It has a welded aluminum (not bonded) frame, and was painted red with white lettering. (Source: Michael A. Roberts.)

Models 520 Touring and 400 Sport (plus various carbon- and aluminum-framed road bikes and mountain bikes).

This is the last year lugs were used on a Trek steel racing/sport frame (Model 400).

Upper level road bikes, 2300 and above, have 8 speed cassettes with 130mm dropout spacing. Lower level bikes are still 7 speed.

Model 520 Touring (plus various carbon- and aluminum-framed road bikes and mountain bikes). This is the last year lugs were used on any steel Trek frames (Model 520). In future years, steel frames were TIG welded.

Upper level road bikes, 2200 and above, and the 1420 have 8 speed cassettes with 130mm dropout spacing. Lower level bikes are still 7 speed.

This was the last year "splash" paint was used on some of the bikes.

Steel TIG welded (no lugs) road bike models 520 Touring and 370 Sport (plus various carbon- and aluminum-framed road bikes and mountain bikes).

Upper level road bikes, 2200 and above, and the 1400 have 8 speed cassettes with 130mm dropout spacing. Lower level bikes are still 7 speed.

Steel TIG welded (no lugs) road bike models 520 Touring, 470, and 370 Sport (plus various carbon-and aluminum-framed road bikes and mountain bikes).

Upper level road bikes, 2300 and above, have 8 speed cassettes with 130mm spacing. Lower level bikes are still 7 speeds.

Steel TIG welded (no lugs) road bike models 520 Touring, 470 Fast Track, and 420 Fast Track (plus various carbon-and aluminum-framed road bikes and mountain bikes).

This is the last year that the 520 was made in the USA. (Thanks to Andrew Bam Ford for sorting this out).

Steel TIG welded (no lugs) road bike models 520, 470, 420, and 370 (plus various carbon- and aluminum-framed road bikes and mountain bikes).

Last year for the 2500/2300/2100 series of carbon-tubed road bikes. The carbon tubes were bonded to aluminum lugs.

For their aluminum road bike frames, Trek changed from bonding frame tubes to welding.

First year of the Y-Foil 66 and 77 aerodynamic carbon fiber road bikes. They had beam suspension (no seattube).

Steel TIG welded (no lugs) road bike, model 520 (plus various carbon- and aluminum-framed road bikes and mountain bikes).

1999 is the Last year of the Y-Foil 66 and 77 aerodynamic road bikes. The UCI (International Cycling Union) outlawed beam-type bikes for racing beginning in 2000. Trek production of the Y-Foil stopped abruptly. These slippery bikes are still prized by their owners and are used commonly in triathlons.

Aluminum-framed road bikes are of welded construction starting in 1999. Earlier aluminum road bikes were bonded using internal lugs.

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1984 Trek 620 Touring Bicycle 58cm

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Trek 613 650b Conversion Complete

This is the most beautiful bike I have built up yet.  I would even go as far as saying it is nicer than my roadeo from Rivendell.  After years of reading on the web and doing multiple 650b conversions on my own, this one went together perfectly the first time.  With some careful planning, part procurement and patience this bike went together as if it were always meant to be this way.

This Trek 613 started its life as a 27″ wheeled touring bike back in 1981, and by the looks of it once in my garage, it was barely ever ridden.  There are a few scuffs in the paint, but most of the damage appears to have happened while in storage.  The visible portions of the frame’s interior were pristine.  I treated the inside with a liberal coating of T9 to keep it rust free as long as possible.  For this build I was able to reuse much of the drive train, replacing only the wheels, cassette, and bottom bracket.  The headset was preserved, and rebuilt with loose balls and phil grease. 

The cockpit was built up with a Nitto Technomic Delux stem, Albatross bars and Shimano brake levers.  The brass bell is from Crane in Japan.  The grips are blue Neubaums cloth tape over a layer of cork tape.  Three layers of garnet shellac brought the final color to a fantastic dark patinaed coppery green that is a perfect contrast to the copper color of the bike.  Te saddle is a Brooks B17 Special Select.

 The front rack is a Bruce Gordon MTN rack that used to reside on my bike and will be the temporary support system for the Wald basket.  While the basket provides incredible versatility, the stock hardware is not up to the task at hand.  In the long run this will be set up with a rack that will allow for panniers in a low mount with a high mount to support the basket.  The fork dropout only has a single eyelet to support both the rack and fender.  My work around for this is to thread in a hex  bolt from the inside, providing a stud to mount both.  The whole assembly is then held on with a lock nut.  In theory if the nut ever came loose, it should all still be able to be held in place with a zip tie until you could get to a hardware store.

I utilised Dia-Compe 750 centerpull brakes to get the required reach to the smaller rims.  The stock pads were replaced with KoolStop Cross Pads.  The wheel set is Shimano Tiagra laced to Velocity Synergy rims.  I opted to use an 8spd rear cassette to hopefully be a bit more forgiving with the Suntour Symmetric DT shifters.  The downside to this is that the shifters only move the chain across 7 of the 8 cogs due to the limited throw. 

Now for the part that everybody cares about.  I opted to use Panaracer Col De La Vie tires on this bike to ensure adequate tire clearance at the chain stays.  These older Trek frames, pre 82, will generally have room for a tire up to 38mm wide without needing to dimple the stays for more space.  Spreading the rear from 126 to 130 mm at the dropouts while adding tire space in theory did not make a noticeable difference in reality.  The fenders are Berthoud 650b x 50 mm.  These were fairly simple to install, only requires minor re-shaping to accommodate the horizontal stays, leave plenty of room to install wider tires in the future and resulted in near perfect fender line around the tire.  I did make a wooden mandrel to help shape indents for better fender clearance at the fork and chain stays.  The rear brake bridge attachment was made with Honjo hardware.  The connection at the chain stay bridge was made with a long bold and spacer.  While a spacer is not ideal, it seemed a better option than moving the bridge on a bike in this condition.

Rear wheel at mid-dropout.

Rear wheel all the way back in the dropouts.

I would like to thank a whole bunch of people for sharing their knowledge on the web.  If not for the collective knowledge provided by old Rivendell Readers, the iBoB and 650b email lists and the Bicycle Quarterly publication I likely would not have been able to work through this build in a single pass.  It is the knowledge shared by those who have gone this way before that helped me to build such a wonderful bike. 

Likewise, online vendors such as Universal Cycles, Rene Herse Cycles, Wallingford Bike, and Ben’s Cycle all made it possible to source the needed components.

This bike is going to have a new lease on life.  Its owner is going to pick her up tonight.  The planned maiden voyage will be a 90 mile ride home from Jalama state park.  I wish I was along for the ride, it is going to be a good day tomorrow.  Thanks to Mike for giving me the chance to build this bike up as a blue-collar constructeur.

Off to cleain it up for delivery, thanks for taking a look.

15 thoughts on “Trek 613 650b Conversion Complete”

Awesome build. “Blue-collar constructeur”, I like that. Do the Col de la Vie’s measure 38mm?

Yes the CdlV hit the calipers between 37 and 38 almost very time for me once they stretch in a bit. IMO they are a very nice tire, particularly for the price.

With very careful component spec, attention to detail and a little luck one can build up a very nice low-trail 650b on a tight budget. In this case the donor bike was $460 on ebay, not cheap for an old bike, but compared to new it is a steal.

What’s the crank arm length?

Is that the original fork? I thought 613s had forged crowns.

Thank you, the crank arms are the original SR 170mm. They definately have better pedal clearance then my set up with the 175 cranks. As for the fork, I believe it is original, but have no way to tell other than the perfect paint match, suntour dropouts front and rear, as well as the scuffs looking of similar age across the bike. The 613 seems to be an odd but nice bridge between the high and low end models

When you said the 38mm tires fit well enough on pre 1982 treks what did you mean? I have an 82 trek 412 I’m going to do the same thing with. You have no idea how glad I am that I found this build. Anyway, I looked on vintage trek.com and it seems the geometry of the 81 610 is nearly identical to the 82 410 frame. Should I be concerned with this build when trying to fit 38mm tires? You say spacing to 130mm didn’t produce noticible difference in width, so I shouldn’t have to worry about that if I’m sticking to 126mm hubs I assume. Any tips will be beyond helpful. I’m very excited to get this project going. Thanks again for sharing this build, it’s put my mind at ease on a number of levels.

Derek, Good job on taking the plunge. The real trick to determining what size tire will fit is measuring the width at the chain stays 320mm ahead of the rear axle center. This is the general location of the wide point on a 650b tire. You will want that number to be at least 45mm, bigger is better. The same measurement apples to the front fork. The best two tools for the job are an accurate meter stick for the length and a set of calipers for the width. In a pinch you can get close enough with a metric tape measure from the hardware store. That said it all should work in theory with the wheel in the back of the dropout slot. The cheapest and easiest tire to start with is the Col De La vie, and in reality it is a perfectly good tire for just about anything.

When you are trying to pick up every mm you can for tire clearance there are only a few tricks. First is spreading the rear to fit a modern hub width, but the 4 or 5 mm you pick up at the rear hub will only translate into 1 mm or so at best near the tire’s wide point. if you need more space you can always ad dimples to the inside of the chain stays.

One other tip. Start off with a set of Dia-Compe 750 brakes. On a couple of trek conversions I have needed every mm of the reach they offer, others I had reach to spare. Set them up with the KoolStop salmon cross pads and you should get adequate stopping power in most conditions.

Thanks Rob. I had planned on the dia compe 750’s after measuring the reach with the crummy stock brakes that were on there. I have been avoiding buying a set of calipers as there are a million parts and tools i’ll need to purchase for this project (starting with frame and fork only). But, before I spend the money on 38mm tires and wheels i’ll need to know i guess. i’ve tried the measuring tape already and i am not comfortable with what is basically an eyeball measurement that i can get…not very useful. i am seriously jealous of that bronze 81 you did. that is a very beautiful machine in every way.

the best quick and dirty way I have found to measure tire clearance is with a tape measure or ruler at the chain stay against the inside face of a 700c rim. This location is pretty close to the magic 320mm. A 700c rim with no tire measured at the outer edge is even better. If it is really close to what you need calipers will be much more accurate. But you can do the above with a school ruler and figure out if you are in the all park of 45mm. Having fit this set up on 4 different Treks personally and helped on a few others, IMO opinion you should be pretty safe as long as you are confident on the model year and model number.

That Brown 613 was a dream project for me with a very comfortable budget. The best part is seeing the bike around and knowing that it gets near constant use.

i am glad for the reassurance. I picked up the trek 2 months ago and have been pouring over vintagetrek.com and many, many other places for information. i have looked up the serial number at vintagetrek and am positive that it is an 82 410 frame. the single strange thing is that is has a chain hanger post brazed on, which is not mentioned in the literature for a 410/12 during the early 80s. i believe that trek did things this way and that way but not always a completely standard way at the time. glad to have found you since you have done a few of these conversions yourself. i will be borrowing a caliper soon. thanks again.

sorry, one more thing: i see you have a few Dia Compe ENE products, can you get the 126&100mm high-flange touring hubset? no one in the USA seems to have them.

I am sorry, but my current accounts with Compass and Velo Orange do not yet import those hubs. If you do not have a 126 spaced hub to uses as a starting point, spreading the rear to 130 or 135 for that matter is not that big of a deal. Any shop that has been in business for more than 10 years should have the tool sand the knowledge to do it for a couple of bucks. I have the dropout alignment tools and the basic Park frame alignment checker. I was able to put the brown 613 in my bench vise by the bottom bracket and get it spread and aligned in about 5 minutes.

Where are you located? I might be able to help point you in the right direction.

Also, are you looking for a freewheel or cassette hub? I found the freewheel version here:

I’m in Portland Maine. I’ve considered cold setting but I don’t want to do it if I don’t have to. most of the bike shops around here aren’t the most helpful if you’re not looking for a carbon race bike. The one shop that is has been in business for like two years and it’s run by two younger guys who I haven’t checked with on the subject. I’m trying to put a wide range 7 speed on the bike and at the same time keep the cost down. Uniglide hubs work width wise but cassettes aren’t available so that means a new hub body. Long story short, I’d prefer to have high flange hubs if I can and would prefer a freehub but would accept a freewheel if I have too.

I feel your pain on the search for shops that will still do this kind of work. That very search is what has led me down this path of doing it for myself and now others.

Likewise with the cobbling together of old parts like free wheels and hub bodies. It will get yo along for a while, but in the long run going to 130mm spacing may be cheaper and easier. So says the guy who still has freewheels on half of his bikes 😉

• Pingback: Trek 613 650b Conversion | Ocean Air Cycles

Beautiful! I am the original owner of a 1976 Trek 500 (bare frame at that time) that I am currently building 650b wheels for a conversion. Using the Campy Record hubs I bought in 1982 for a new set of 27″ wheels for this same frame, now going to lace to some VO 650b rims, with 38mm Panaracer Pacenti tires.

These are lovely frames. I rode this one until the early 2000’s, and it’s been waiting for a renovation since.

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