TREK's first MOUNTAIN BIKE! 1983 850 Rebuild! A very original example of a piece of cycling history!

[@stevebarnes9345]

I owned that exact bike back then!!!!! Wow!!!!! Sell it and make bank!!! It was built to be ridden !... man. In the 80's cycling saved my life in a depressing chapter- seeing this bike is like watching those years flash before my eyes-.i remember the quiet of the local mall parking lot @1am on a very very snowy and freezing Christmas Eve - I was out on my 850... the peace of all the empty lot and everybody home nestled and my 850 was plowing all over the massive empty parking lot. Oh bike farmer- what fond memories you churned up!!!!

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

My neighbour had an Apollo Kosiuscko in 1982 which was brushed grey with black decals . An Australian equivalent .

[@stevepetttyjohn7900]

I have one of these lug framed beauties that I bought new in 1983 when I was in my early 20's. Enjoyed it all these years, but now all that is original is the frame, fork and Sugino cranks. I've electrified it with an EBO kit, linear brakes, Deore indexed 1X6 transmission, smoother cushier tires, upright riding position with North Roads pull back handlebar and Brooks sprung saddle. Its a good old friend and I certainly have ridden is many more miles in it's current form than I did as original. I'll keep it to the end.

[@andyjsmallwood]

Wow, I want a Trek 850 right now. Thank you very much for showing your skills here. Not only are you a very competent bike mechanic, you also have a very relaxed, endearing style of delivery. I look forward to future videos. Thanks from Portugal.

[@PeterSchow]

I have a 1984 830, so watching this carefully! I wore out the Mountech drivetrain a long time ago but I still have a few original components including the saddle, bull moose bars, cantilever brakes, and pedals. The brakes are very tricky for me to get right, it's nice watching you do it easily. I bought it in ~1985 for $350, got some credit for my Puch 10-speed which I traded in. I rode it all over the dirt roads of North Florida, which would be called "gravel riding" now 🙂 Thanks for returning the shine of this 850, makes me recall the pride of the Trek brand back then.

[@ctrawick3]

I have this bike !!! It is my oldest sons and he values it like it was gold, since he worked on it and brought it back to life !

[@SprayIgniteBoom]

Hello from N.E. Italy 🇮🇹!! I’m a USAF reservist/contractor here. I had a Trek 4600 I recently gifted to a contractor out in Turkey 🇹🇷 who has been riding a very rough unbranded type of disc braked Chinese produced (yes I’m aware many parts are from there) low quality components. Very nice guy with a limited income. I ride here in Italy 🇮🇹 on trails and steeper “well cared for” gravel trails…and found I don’t really want/need suspension or discs. I gifted a nice Trek 4300 to a lower income family friend and deeply miss its simplicity. Cantilever brakes, Shimano trigger shifters etc. So I sourced a 1997 “Cro-moly” 850 Sport frame from a Wisconsin bike shop that donates bikes to ppl without transportation. Most of the period correct pieces have arrived. 7spd, triple Strong Arm Specialized crank, XT front derailleur, Bontrager neck, BMX style gold aluminum bars, “Chill Pill” brake cable connector, Alexi rims, Schwalbe CX front tire and a Billy Bonkers rear tire. This ‘97 rebuild will be fantastic in the urban roads, river roads and smooth gravel trails I ride. The Turkish contractor will love his 4600 (just a bit heavy for my taste and overkill for what I ride). Thanks for your video upload!! I’ll be sure to get some “Power Wash” to shine up the “Burgundy Wine” colored 850 frame. Ciao 4 now!!!

[@jltrack]

Another 40 years added to the life of that bicycle 👍

[@yardsalecycles]

really like the old Trek logo stickers from that era

[@BranislavB-hx9zy]

I really enjoyed this video focusing on historical Trek mtb. Greetings from Croatia

[@lelohp]

What a heart warming video! After pandemic I gave up on motorcycles as daily rider and built my own bicycle, buying parts from internet. Instead of carrying my bike to bikeshops, like main ciclysts, I started to service on my on, buying tools too. After servicing friends bikes for free or a little profit, I began to think about give up my job. Didn't do that STILL, watching your videos I fell this kind of art. I'm too a mechanic first and cyclist second. Keep the work, the love and the art alive. Thanks! Greetings from São José dos Campos-SP-Brazil.

[@tl2913]

Classic! I miss my original Trek 830!

[@jeffandersen6233]

No doubt you are real WI . I just sat and watched you work. Like I was hanging out in Wheels and Boards in Green Bay in the early 70s talking bikes, picking freewheel cogs and having a Point beer. Some of my bikes are more than 40byears old. Suntour made lovely stuff in the 70s and 80s. Additionally nice to see you found no need to make conversions to a cassette, carbon wheels etc. How refreshing.

[@TheVeneralbleBede]

Holy Crap, Wheel and Boards was the greatest little bike shop. Point still makes great beer!

[@adhunt1]

The greatest Trek year of all time. Across the board bicycle wonders

[@emilycs8823]

Great restoration, and I am sure its every bit as fun to ride now as it was 40 years ago. 80's mountain bikes like this make the best bikes for riding around town, bike paths, and simply enjoying cycling. I have a mid 80's off brand bike like this I restored and upgraded that while not particularly historic like this is my go to bike for getting groceries, takeout, and running errands around town. Those old Dia Compe brake levers are the best.

[@evanswinford7165]

I got a set of those brake levers off a wrecked frame dumped in the street. Unbelievable! Long levers are like power brakes on cars. That frame I found looked intentionally severely damaged but I was able to salvage excellent eighties parts from it.

[@emilycs8823]

​@@evanswinford7165 And long levers are super comfortable. Paired with properly setup canti's, some kool stops. You have some nice brakes that have some advantages over everything short of good disc brakes.

[@jacoblavinder3827]

The black Sugino crankset is so beautiful

[@davidmathews5794]

Thanks, Bike Farmer! I have a Trek 640 from the same year that I use as my rando bike - very few parts are original anymore but man that bike rides like nothing else. Super comfortable for long days in the saddle. Same paint scheme as yours in the video.

[@bkefrmr]

I find them at garage sales around here periodically. I'm a fan of the 720. I prefer cantilever brakes.

[@vincehucek9801]

​@@bkefrmr I've got a matching '83 560 that I've put a lot of miles on in the last few years after it sat for 35 years. Trying to decide between keeping it original like this or doing a resto-mod with 105 shifting and 32mm tires

[@SuperCookiemonser]

Man, that Bike is gorgeous, I love these old MTBs, they are works of art, feels like someone in their shed handcrafted them. Thank you so much for that video.

[@jeffcleary3235]

Great video! I just rebuilt my ‘84 830 two days ago. Super fun to see this one getting cleaned up. These bikes ride great, with the long chainstays. Very much what Grant’s going for these days. Long live the ATB! Keep up the great work 👍

[@DickWalz]

On this episode of this old bike

[@mannequinplayer]

love the restoration and fancy old orange bike build you did :)

[@sonalmalhotra07]

Lovely I have a trek 4300 as my daily commuter. It turned 13 years and 6 months old this November. Good Bicycles.

[@screwb1882]

Love vintage MTBs. Wish they still made reasonably priced full ridged MTBs. Those "dork disc" matter WAY more on these vintage bikes and cheap bikes than modern high end ones. I wouldn't bother with one on a road bike or a high end MTB but these older drive trains and even newer cheapo ones without a clutch the chain flops around a lot on rough ground. Your furniture polish cleaning trick has been a life saver this winter. I live in an apartment with no outside hose and i ride almost every day. It was driving me crazy making a mess of the shower almost every day to keep my bike clean. Now i just use a microfiber cloth and a Behold furniture polish to wipe down my bike in between deep cleans.

[@christiancoy3745]

That fork crown is a thing of beauty. I love how they didn't drill it for reflectors, fenders, etc.

[@matthewknischewsky6757]

"...shiny happy crank arm". Love it! Glad I'm not the only one who sings to the parts.

[@markvonwisco7369]

I used to have a Trek 620 touring bike from that era. It was a huge upgrade from my old Schwinn Continental. I put thousands of miles in on that bike. It was pretty bomb proof.

[@RaulMeatFactory1975]

Legit time capsule, love that you are retaining all the original parts.

[@highdesert50]

Great video that took me back, especially remembering the elegance of the cockpit. I rode that Trek everywhere, including grad school as a commuter. Then passed it on to my son when he went off to college. Thanks for the memories.

[@orpheusstephens3096]

Seeing lugs on a steel mountain bike is the coolest.

[@Barry101er]

Sweet ride! Classic looks that never age, imho

[@iTzClarkiie]

Ooh. Then pedals! I've still got the scars from them smacking my shins! Ouch. Cool video, I like your content. Keeps my mind occupied while I wait for the storms in my head to pass.

[@Unaidedfoot]

That bike is wicked awesome.

[@gunnarkoss9262]

This Bicycle is of great grandiosity! Very nice Work. 🎉

[@Lesman4]

I love you! Pure joy!

[@anielyantra1]

Very cool! I think this type of bike is perfect to upgrade to a commuter. I took a 1984 rockhopper and turned it into a single speed that I use daily as a commuter and around town sport bike. Upgrade to a hollow tech crank and v-brakes and pick your speed....works great as a 1x also. Since my rockhopper has a 130mm rear axle spacing it was better suited for a bmx single speed freewheel.

[@mbabyfishyo7627]

Fascinating 👍

[@timetravelfilms727]

Another nice video BikeFarmer, I've upvoted. There was somebody missing from my life since BikemanforU (he had a popular youtube channel) quit his bicycle shop business and started his Happy Oyster business. Now you fill that hole! I can't wait for the next video!

[@EliyahuYHWH]

Very kewl ride and nice job on the restoration. 👍

[@johnb6084]

Very nice! Seat looks like our B72's on our Raleigh's. We restore 60's/70's Sturmey Archer 3 speeds and ride them. Hoping to see you overhaul one of these someday.

[@Jenswsmjens]

What an absolute beauty..!

[@godfellas483]

Love the Chain stay length on those old mountain bikes...They don't build them like that anymore. Having axle nuts on your axles, contour forks, and Schrader valve stems would be sacrilege today! lol!...The Cho-mo steel frame with lugs is just a work of art.

[@stuvademakaroner9607]

They do, 29ers have longer chain stays. There are smaller brands that make cromo bikes with very similar geometry.

[@jbikemoore]

I like to have my bike in the stand in the barn and have these vids on.. it gives me the feeling of being in a bike shop. That's one feeling I really feel at home in.

[@wileycoyote9201]

That is the way coolest stem I've seen!! Gotta keep my eyes open for one, would make a great addition to one of my rides

[@wolfgangweber9924]

Stunning beauty!

[@fancytyme]

I love those old Trek frames. Chainstays for days. You could fit a small dog between that seat tube and the rear tire. That Stein tool looks really useful. It's so annoying trying to spin off a fixed cup and the wrench just slips and slips... and slips. Pretty modest groupset but hey, at least the Sugino cranks are nice!

[@CanonFirefly]

I was made in '83 too. Great year. Great age!

[@roberthunter5398]

Great video. Old bikes have so much going for them. Oh cool shirt by the way😊

[@QoraxAudio]

Looks like that groupset was quite fancy back in its day! Doesn't look advanced, but quite durable and well finished... quality stuff.

[@adammackenzie]

I love these vids, gives me confidence to wrench on my bike , Thanks. Ride Safe everybody !

[@hansolo7205]

I will need to do this to my 90s Rocky Mountain Fusion this winter. 2 sets of rims and 3rd sets of tires and still going strong.

[@dnavarrette9471]

Great video! Thank you for sharing. Love the soundtrack.

[@jfischer507]

So GD relaxing, thanks for uploading! Minnesotan here. Love to hear the "Okie dokes" from our friends across the Mississippi/St. Croix. Midwest vibes - vibing so gently.

[@dsbikes1819]

You should do more videos of vitange bikes like this, nice job!!!

[@bkefrmr]

Hard to find good ones, but yeah, people like this stuff

[@nova-jo1649]

I need that tool for my vintage road bikes that tinker on!!!

[@doughorner5730]

I bought that exact same bike in 1983 for an outrageous sum of 600 and some odd dollars. It was the first proper mountain bike in my town and people didn't know what to make of it. Good times, wish I still had it.

[@raymonddaviau4502]

You do very good work.

[@morg52]

My first mountain bike was a TREK 850 Antelope . After years of riding road style bikes, it was so much fun to just go anywhere I felt like going. I named it "Tom Cat "because I could go, Tomcatting around the town on it. I'm thinking it was 86 or 87 when I bought it. It had the roller cam brakes set down on the chain stays. I think the front brakes were roller cam as well. I took it with me when I toured New Zealand and Australia. I had the Bio-pace chainrings on it which came in handy on big climbs. It got stolen and I was able to retrieve it because I had a Minnesota bicycle license sticker on it. The bastards painted it and got rid of the rear roller cam brakes. I got it repainted and found a replacement, roller cam rear brake. Later on I gave it to a nephew who needed transportation. He promptly got it stolen again and it was lost for good.

[@ericanthony1457]

This is a great channel.

[@riddelin]

21:51 Too funny!! I'm always looking at my dirty hands like, dang i should've worn gloves 🤣

[@vitoonto]

Very cool restoration! Man, that bike came out awesome!!

[@poppawolf26]

I love the Trek Logo on the headset......looks retro...

[@trishaleaver3581]

I really like their old logos. So retro cool!

[@moosehand8721]

Nice old classic

[@MetalTiger88]

nothing more relaxing than sitting in my chair with my cat, drinking some hazelnut moonshine and watching the bike farmer restoring an old bike :D PS: i also never wear gloves when i´m working on bikes with oil, grease, degreaser and all that dangerous deadly stuff ;D

[@kippywylie]

Same, I'm laying in a Mexican beach hammock with my little schnauzer. Enjoying this therapy

[@bkefrmr]

totally sucks that you can't post cat pics here

[@kevinbourke4038]

I'm a 77 yo. retirered motor mechanic, to this day I still don't wear gloves when working on my car or bicycle. Back in the 60's - if you used gloves in the workshop, you'd be labbled a "fancy boy" If you get my drift. Grease, oil, and general crud was part of the culture being a car mechanic.

[@fredrappley6960]

Nice music!

[@cliffanderson7544]

Awesome!!! Love those old bikes!!! Great restore.

[@justincapek1132]

Best one yet, Broski! Sweet bike. Would love a drop bar gravel convert of that frame.

[@Stevehatesgravel]

And make it a load of crap

[@loriscott3290]

I loved that refurbish. Sure woulda like to see him test ride it tho. I’m geeky like that 😂

[@joemastro4695]

Great Resto! Love the Vids as well! I came across a Trek 800 Antelope Sport (1993) all original and looking foward to bringing it back to life.

[@mikesmock12]

Really enjoy your videos man. Have been on the hunt for a great example of an older 90s mtb and these videos just make me enjoy the search even more! Keep doing what you are doing man! Sending good vibes your way from Pittsburgh PA

[@kimrice394]

How neat is that stem!

[@drujenssen5444]

Looking at 2 of the exact same slingshot stems on my 1984 Mongoose ATB’s while you were holding that one!

[@lancemorgan8739]

You are one great bike mechanic.

[@gusnuk68]

happy little dork disc

[@bongmayor4828]

Stocked up on Dawn powerwash myself! 😂 love this channel!

[@brrrt6666]

Lovely machine!

[@vaquerosupreme3189]

Love cup and cone bottom brackets. I’m glad they’re still being made by IRD.

[@kevinnielsen1356]

I rode a 1981 Stump Jumper for a decade. Looking back I haven't a clue how I did it.

[@chrisl2285]

I have a 1984 Trek 830 and it's a very cool bike!! I'll let people in on a little secret: Some of the first Trek MTB's are extremely close in geometry to Rivendell's original 26" Atlantis!! The only major difference is chainstay length, with the 830's being much longer. But, anyone who follows Grant Petersen's ideas, knows that longer chainstays are right in line with his current designs. Most mid-80's ATB's have the very slack geometry of the klunkers and the Breezers/Ritchies/Stumpjumpers that followed. This bike has totally modern touring geometry: 71 degree head angle, 45 mm rake, which is the same as Surly's 26" Long Haul Tucker. Rivendell's 26" Atlantis had 72 degree head angle and 40 mm rake. If you are a bike nerd and can find one of these for a reasonable price, grab it!!

[@StephenMarceau]

My daughter has a similar bike branded as a Lotus....very nice....thoughtful technology. Oh by the way nice tunes,,,,just right volume.

[@lonnierussell1926]

Yep , one of the origional Marion County bommers! I had one back in the 80s , loved it - put a rack on it and also commuted on it, I got it from a Trek rep. {I worked part time in a bike shop} this thing had been fidden hard, I finally got to the point that I had to overhaul it, the components were shot, but the frame was still good Except for the head tube. it was ovalized from the constant pounding, well I used some 3M stud and bearing mount and filled in the gap at the top and lower race mounts and used a Camppy headset tool to lock everything in place till it set up. Replace just about everything, widened the axle spacing ,put a casset rear cogset on it with proper quick release. rode that beast for thousands more miles, I don't know what it is but there is something about those big ole steel luged frames that just seem to sing to me when I rode them

[@riskyrax]

Sick one

[@jackcarter233]

Cool bike

[@evanbyrne4433]

Beautiful bike and great restoration. I'm on the hunt for one of these exact bikes myself. Pro tip: try Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Polish & Wax on your old frames, it brings back and incredible shine to faded paints and clear coats.

[@jacobmar2797]

Man that's nice. Great work, great video. I would have watched the full spindown on that rear hub. 😊

[@paulfarnbach7781]

Enjoyed the video

[@davidwhocares3293]

What a gorgeous bike, and a wonderful restoration you did on it ! are you really in wisconsin? That is awesome! I am a trek Hunter all the way over here in California and I sell and collect and buy a lot of treks but those ones seem to elude me, I have only seen a couple over here, you guys must have saved them all over there and not shipped them out back in the day LOL, I have been hunting treks here forever...great video...thanx for sharing !❤🎉

[@noisepuppet]

Wow, a crowned fork

[@skiphalbakken6499]

That was the first mountain bike I bought. It had a pink and white fade job.

[@annieetc.563]

got a dawn powerwash midroll ad, couldn't think of a more fitting advertisement for a bike farmer vid

[@peterweatherby8816]

Mr. Kefrmr 🙂, curious what that touch-up paint pen you were using is? Link? Thanks for another awesome video.

[@77gmcnut]

Great video as always. I'm thinking if you're lacking a "Stein Tool" you could use a large 1/2" or a small 3/4" drive socket, bolt, washers and a nut to hold the cup wrench in place.

[@bkefrmr]

Maybe. It’s gotta be a good fit. No slop.

[@jasonbannan4024]

Yes, some old 90's products were bomb proof. My two Giant Nutra town bikes have the original Shimano 100GS groupsets (3x7) with 200GS cantilever brakes. Everything works great 30+ years later.

[@evanswinford7165]

Those are the best brakes ever made, no plastic. For years brakes had those plastic spring housings that when cracked or damaged made them useless.

[@MichaelAdler88]

Thanks!

[@bkefrmr]

Thank you too!

[@michaeladler2168]

@@bkefrmrthanks for all the hard work you usually manage to catch on camera! Haven’t seen any content yet that wasn’t good and informative. Your useful tips are great and even your useless bicycle history even makes great commentary so I somehow learn at least 1 new thing every video! Even my kids are becoming BikeFarmer fans!Keep up the great work and hopefully after November the tip $ will get you more than a handful of 🌮’s!

[@michaeladler2168]

@@bkefrmrOH and thanx for introducing me to Tri-Flow!! That stuff is incredible!

[@virgilfulton4426]

Cool video. Spoke protectors are "wheel halos", quietly protecting you from catastrophic perils to the spokes. But, I do have a question... so, you just throw that secondary bucket of rust remover in the sonic cleaner? Does the sonic action help it's efficiency?

[@Flourbag]

You’re an artisan!

[@karlnorgaard9447]

I think you said 1983. At this time, my brother was racing BMX, he had a PK Ripper. My Dad was riding old roadbikes. I woulda been 9yrs old, probably riding my brother's old BMX. We would hit bike shops on the weekend. Mostly just looking around. My Dad liked talking bike with the guys in the back. We must have seen our first MTB around this time. I'm not sure you could buy a consumer grade MTB the previous summer. Dad, being a very practical cyclist liked the concept of the MTB, as he rode to work most days, even in winter. There was no way my Dad was gonna pay bike shop price. He waited till the next spring, when Canadian Tire, an automotive/ hardware/sporting goods store offered an MTB. He bought the tall frame. It was Tan, called a Sierra. It was huge, especially to me. I could barely fit, but it was to me such a cool bike, one of the only MTB's in our neighborhood. Of course these bikes needed to wait about 30yrs to be cool again. I just came from the pawn shop, looking at old projects to buy. Thanks for these vids dude.

[@traviseller3770]

oh dude I’m ordering those locking pliers like now

[@tommieholton2824]

I really like your videos. I have a question. There are a lot of trek bikes in my area, are there certain older models that I should look at buying? I've seen 850 to 8500 models. I'm just getting into refurbishing, mostly for the bikes for kids. I'd like to take advantage of some of the lesser expensive bikes in the area. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[@tahoward818]

A friend of mine had the same model of Trek. I’ll have to ask if he still has it. Your decision to not replace cables shows how thrifty (or maybe cheap) bike mechanics can be. Sometimes when I save an old inner wire I’ll move it from back to front. That way I can cut off the frayed part and reuse the shortened remnant. Keep up the good work!

[@timothytacner4865]

looks brand new