Trek 520 1985

With the Covid19 affecting every country, Like many fellow Singaporeans, I have been working from home since April. 
We can't do group riding, no shops are open and its work(WFH), Exercise - cycling or brisk walking. Anddddd online shopping...haha. :)  Don't judge.... important tip as well... Don't go look at bicycles blog or eBay, u could get poisoned, easily. :) 

I read this blog.... and one thing led to another.. 
It's a 1985 Trek 520, size 49. Introduced then as a "sports touring" which is a cross with road bike but able to do some light rack/touring.  It even came with the standard Black burn rack!  Size was just perfect for me. As a shortie, its really hard to find bike that fit me.  
Made in Waterloo, interestingly also the place near my current Kohler HQ(not exactly but very near)!  
It was abit scratched and lots of patina after all this years. Yabbababa.... if u like the bike, u have lots of reasons haha  

After I unboxed it, I gave it a full check over and went downstairs for a spin.  The bike worked very nicely, straight as an arrow but comfortable and heavy compared to a modern day road bike. But steel bike rides really nice, and esp old 80s, 90s steel bikes are very much underrated. They really don't make it like this any more. 
In addition, the rear tube sprang a micro leak which is rideable but after a day, would flat out. I troubleshoot it and the issue was a slightly sharp edge where the rim ends are joined. Pasted a small piece of duct tape, fresh tubes and all was well.  
Heres how it came all the way from Maine, USA. 
Enjoy the photos annnndd shopping!

No I did not order a Kona.... 

Open up... 

Black burn rack and the user did up the bungie in a interesting way

peeking in... 

oh man... he even gave me the utility pouch!

When I saw how it was packed, fork supported with the brace. I knew the guy was a pro. 

Simple, effective packing. Reminded me of legend Chris Wee  

Inside the utility pouch... US coins too haha 

This is how 1985 Trek 520 looks, Check out the nitto high stem- stock! 

Beusage every where. Grant peterson would be proud!

Rugged with use. 

The brake look very nice.. but don't stop as well as modern ones. I think I will change out the pads first 

Steel Trek. Get one!

Innovative fake lug from Trek, this is before they went to Japan and Taiwan for manufacturing 

Not the original Derailuer but works fine

Triple Crank...  u can climb any slope, for sure 

When made in US meant something 

nice ride!

Speaker attachment to my other bikes

The previous entry I shared my simple mods to the BT speaker for cycling and it worked well for Brompton and I was curious to find out if it would work for my other bikes. 
As some of my friends would know, I so have quite a number of bikes and I rotate them regularly and its nice to have choices haha. 
This is my latest addition, a 1985 trek 520 and it rides really smooth and heavy as an anchor.  

Rare extra small trek... made in US, Wisconsin! 

Kinda of angled to ur head, for better sonic staging 

Here's how the BT speaker could be mounted to the handle bar, angled to the head direction for better sound and no need to crank up the volume. 

The front pouch holds my phone and coin pouch

Cycling with the 90.5 oldies tune playing in the background is really therapeutic. I got into a steady rhythm, sang like an idiot and before i know it. I was at Changi Village, the halo ground for all cyclists in Singapore.  Ordered a sugarcane drink but sadly cannot sit down at the hawker centre due to the COVID situation (Or I would have order more food haha)... took a break before I head back to punggol.  

This is how it looks at the usually thriving hawker center... Due to Covid19, no eating on site

it was abit late and uncle almost closing his shop at 9ish

gan pai! 

I also tried it on my recumbent and it works! This is one of the most effective mods I done and I am very happy with it. Now I think the speaker not so good and the sound breaks up somewhat, what would u recommend to have a more tonal and generally more awesome BT speaker? And what would u like to see more on my blog? Let me know and leave ur comments on my blog or FB Thanks! 

See how the bamboo allows the effective velcro strapping? 

Simple mods that makes the ride more enjoyable

Its almost invisible

 Sorry, I have not been updating my blog regularly. Yes, I still have my bikes and they are a joy to ride... but maybe too many bikes...that one will leave for another posting haha. 
I have still been cycling around my neighbourhood PCN almost daily. With my creaky knees, cycling helps me get the much needed 45 min exercise and clear my mind. 
The route is about 14km around Punggol waterway loop and after many months, it can be abit boring. 

So I recently been playing some music as I ride. Initially, I used mainly my Apple EarPods and they were great. I keep them relatively low volume so I can still be aware of the overall environment. But it can get abit clammy with sweat as u ride. So I tried portable BT spk approach. The problem is that the position u place ur speakers on the bike matters.  Either u turn the volume up very high, which can be abit irritating to other park users. Or u need to find a location that points the speaker generally to ur face/ ear direction. This way u can listen to ur tunes and not blast it like ghetto town. 

Heres how I do it with a longer bamboo branch, 2 Zip ties and abit of velcro. Find a position on ur handle bar, connect and play. I used it and it works great. Its a simple mod, that will make ur ride so much more enjoyable. Photos explains more details than I can ever eleborate. Try it and see it also works for u! 

BT speakers angled towards ur face/ ears

front angle 

Zipties, they saved MRT and they can do miracles!

notice the bamboo stick acts as a platform for the velcro to wrap neatly to the handle bar. This way u can transfer to any bike quickly 

not as pretty but 100 percent eco!

Visit to my old friend and old school 9th June 2019

Momo is now Primary 6 and very soon she will leave Pei Chun school. I wanted to do a ride to show her Toa Payoh and enjoy this special moment.  About 40 pax met at Bishan Mac and we rolled slowly towards Toa Payoh. 

Blur me, didn't check that it was still in construction and luckily I had Joanna Peck who help guide me expertly pass the road block to Toa Payoh. I led them in circles trying to find a ping pong table and so glad no one minded. After some time, we found my child hood toy horse and did the usual photography.  Also the dragon playground and toa payoh garden. 

To share with the folks, I also brought them to Philips Singapore. That was when we first started to ride in 2007. Because I like to find nice food....ask me more when we ride together.

Here's some nice photo for memories!  More photos here

Nparks Floating island collab with LCSG - 18th May 2019

Catch-Up and documenting a nice event with Nparks on 18th May. Yes, work have been overwhelming busy and I am really late on my blog entries.  
So here goes... I brought Momo along as I wanted her to experience how something discarded could be put into another use.  We gathered at the hill of Kent ridge park. After a over view of the program, Nparks team led us to the pond. Along the way, they shared more history and also lots of interesting plants that was around the area. 

Reaching the pond, we split into 3 groups and got to work. It was hot and sweaty but no one complained. Everyone helped out and after about an hour, the platforms were done.  Heres some of the nice photos of this memorable event and looking for more in the future!