MY 1982 TREK 311

Last Updated: 10/29/2008

Click on each image to see an enlarged version. Some comments on the bike follow after the thumbnails.

This is my townie bike. The frame is a cheap sport touring frame from the early 80s. I've put cyclocross tires on it and simplified the gearing down to 1x6 or 1x7 gearing (depending on the wheels that week). It also has BMX style flat pedals and a chainguard, so I can ride the bike in street clothes. I've added lights front and rear and a front rack with bags for carrying stuff. This bike gets ridden nearly every day at this point.

I've come to really love the 1x7 gearing. I find myself going on longer and longer rides on this bike. I'm beginning to understand the old Raliegh Clubman bikes from the 50s that had 3-speed gearing. It's simpler, more stripped down but still more versatile than a single speed bike.

The BMX pedals are the bomb. Infinitely better than toe clips and straps. Not quite as efficient for me as retention pedals but again, I'm finding myself going on longer and longer rides with this style of pedal. And of course, for around town and for general banging around, the BMX pedal is just awesome. It's just great to be able to wear sneakers or Crocs or what ever to ride.

In one of the incarnations, I had Moustache bars on this bike. I found they were just great for light off road use and were fantastic feeling when climbing out of the saddle. But no matter what I did (and I tried hard for nearly 2 years), I just couldn't keep them from hurting my hands on rides that lasted more than 30 minutes. This is clearly your milage may vary territory.

The frame is a sad story on it's own. From what I can tell, this was the first fully machine made bike sold by Trek. The main tubes are made of seamed Tange Mangy-X, the mangalloy type tubing used to withstand the hotter temperatures associated with robot brazing from that time period. The forks and stays are hi-tensile steel. In this light, I think this frame marks the beginning of the end of the handbuilt steel Treks. Regardless of the material, the geometry is great.

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