Trek 1400 ID year

[Steve F]

I'm new to road bikes and just picked this up.

Anyway, I've no idea on the year, looks like a early 2000's frame but the seat stem etc doesn't seem to match any of the 2005 Treks I can find and I can't find any the same colour. Any info would be great.

It has 2x9 Shimano 105 gears with 105 brakes etc.

Wheels are Rolf Vector (2001 or earlier I think), pedals I put on today as it had Exustar pedals and I have never ridden with clips before.



Thanks for any help.

Cheers
Steve

[Duck!]

I can't give an exact date, but tracking the component evolutions within the 105 series I can narrow it down. The shifter cover plates are the early one-piece version, which dates it to 1999-2002; '03 to the end of 5500-series production in '05 had two-piece cover plates with a chrome finish on the outer plate.

The second clue is the part number on the crank, etched on the inboard face near the pedal hole. FC-5500 identifies the crank as the early solid-arm version, dating from '99-2000. FC-5501 identifies the crank as the hollow-armed version from '01-onward. The hollow crank did also wear a Hollowtech logo printed on. So using these clues, the bike can be dated to within two two-year windows.

Photo resolution isn't great, but the logo on the crank appears to me more like the early, solid-arm version, which dates the bike to a '99 or 2000 model.

[Kronos]

The Trek 1xxx series came in various guises from 105, to half Ultegra to full Ultegra 9 speed and Ultegra 10 speed such as my 2007 1500 SLR. Like most bikes there is an entry point and a "top of the line" in that series. Unfortunately groupset aside that isn't the best way to tell the age of a bike more so the lesser or better models within the series. There are even model variations within the groupsets despite having the same name. The best way to age a Trek bike of that series is to do a google search for the Trek archives and go through it until you find a picture and specs that look something like the bike in question.

I know this post is quite old but hopefully this information will be useful to someone who stops by.

[bychosis]

Unfortunately groupset aside that isn't the best way to tell the age

True, but the groupset will have a marking on it indicating year of manufacture which will narrow down your search to a couple of years. I’ve used that method several times and it is pretty good.

http://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm
This link gives good info.

Eg check your derailleur, find they are shimano CB and CF, gives you 2004 or 1978 (should be obvious which!). This then indicates your Bike is likely to be 2004 or 2005, at a pinch 2006 assuming the derailleur are original.

[Kronos]

Yes, any stamps or serial numbers will be able to tell you something about when the bike was made. On my 1500 SLR there is also serial number printed underneath the bottom bracket shell. Although this is the same on most bikes, these bikes have a barcode which should be able to tell you a bit more about the bike also.