1991 Trek 8700 Pro
1991 Trek 8700 Pro
This should be a bike that fuels your imagination.
A top tier mountain bike from 1991. But not just any mountain bike from that year, a Trek 8700 Pro.
The 8700 was built in Trek’s Wisconsin workshop out of “graphite composite tubes” (the industry hadn’t settled on “carbon fiber” yet in 1991 and were still trying out words like “composite” and “graphite” to see what would become the common label). Those tubes were joined with epoxy to aluminum stays and an aluminum head tube.
Tioga T-Bone stem
The original Rock Shox fork
Turbo Special saddle
The fork is the original Rock Shox model, an air-pressure sprung invention with machined aluminum legs that turned out to be quite durable (30 years later this one still works). The Suntour XC Pro drivetrain (3 x 7 gears), Dia-Compe 986 cantilever brakes, Shimano M737 pedals, Bullseye hubs and Selle Italia’s “Turbo Special” saddle meant business. Fast business.
On the cusp of a technological revolution for mountain bikes, this 1991 model was meant to be a game changer. Lighter, smoother and faster than anything that had come before. According to Trek, this was a bike that would not only win races but it would also win your heart.
Bullseye hubs
Suntour XC Pro
Dia-Compe cantilevers
We get it, but thirty years later we’re imagining this bike in a different way. The mountain bike revolution has happened, and all sorts of technologies have surpassed the first steps taken here. The neon orange paint, once meant to be modern and hip like an episode of Miami Vice is back again but today it’s as a safety feature to keep mountain bikers from being shot at in the woods during hunting season or to help get noticed by distracted drivers while on the road.
Times change.
“Graphite Composite”
Rock Shox RS-1
Keep this bike in mind while you consider doing the Cascadia Super Gravel race or a Gravel Gran Fondo across Kansas. A bike like this would be perfect for riding one of these new events. Then again, a mountain bike race on an antique would be so much fun! Imagine doing one of the Northwest Epic mountain bike races on a bike older than the winning rider! You’ll score yourself more free swag than he’ll get, we’re pretty sure.
Then again, imagine this bike hanging in your rec room next to the neon Fat Tire Ale sign…