# Trek 8300 Composite



## musket (Feb 15, 2007)

This is my first post on this forum but I have been browsing around here for a while and decided to get off the sidelines.

Anyway...the 1993 Trek 8300 ATB carbon composite. 
http://www.airfreetires.com/specs/Step5.asp?BikeId=19338&Brand=Trek&Model=8300&Year=1993

I have had this bike for years (traded with a riding buddy) and have decided to dust it off and see if I can bring her back to life on the trail. The bike has had an easy life and the parts are almost all stock (Suntour XC microdrive).

I can't seem to find much info on the 8300 anywhere....Wondering if anyone has any experience with this bike?


----------



## jimsbbc (Jan 18, 2007)

I have the 1993 Trek 8000 for what it is worth. I listed it on ebay recently to see what it is worth and it didn't get much at all. Its better off to rebuild it a little and have a nice back up bike or commuter. It is a fast, light, and agile bike IMO. I love riding it and have been considering making it rigid again for fun.


----------



## RickD. (Apr 7, 2004)

musket said:


> This is my first post on this forum but I have been browsing around here for a while and decided to get off the sidelines.
> 
> Anyway...the 1993 Trek 8300 ATB carbon composite.
> http://www.airfreetires.com/specs/Step5.asp?BikeId=19338&Brand=Trek&Model=8300&Year=1993
> ...


http://www.mtb-kataloge.de/Bikekataloge/PDF/Trek/1993.pdf

I have no first hand experience with that bike, but I don't think I've ever seen one fail and brought in for warranty. That could either be because they didn't make a whole lot of them, or a testament to their construction. Welcome to the forum; there's a LOT of knowledge floating around here...


----------



## Caffeine Powered (Mar 31, 2005)

musket said:


> I can't seem to find much info on the 8300 anywhere....Wondering if anyone has any experience with this bike?


In '93 I was working for a Trek Dealer. We didn't sell many 8300's, but Trek made it easy on us by keeping their products pretty similar wne it came to the frames. Back then, they were gluing their frames together. Road, Mountain and Hybrid frames that were aluminum or carbon were all glued to aluminum lugs. So the 8000 in the other post was the model immediately under the 8300. The difference was the main triangle, carbon on yours, aluminum on his. Parts were parts. You'll be happy with the SunTour stuff until you break them or wear then out. I had a mix of SunTour on various bikes and their stuff worked great. Would your hubs happen to be equipped with the "Grease Guard" fittings? If so, they'll last a good long time. The only down side to SunTour hubs was their attempt at a freehub body cassette. It worked great, but unfortunately the splining is different from anybody else (ie Shimano) so once the cassette cogs wear out you'll be hard pressed to find replacements. They're out there, but they'll be hard to find and maybe even costly. Cog spacing is the same for Shimano so if you put a Shimano hub back there it will work. If the hub takes a spin-on freewheel you'll be better off. Sachs made great freewheels, I think they're owned by SRAM now, so if SRAM makes a freewheel you'll be fine. I've got a Sachs on my wife's Mavic 550 hub and it works fine. But then she shys away from mud too.


----------



## Zanetti (Sep 18, 2005)

jimsbbc said:


> I have the 1993 Trek 8000 for what it is worth. I listed it on ebay recently to see what it is worth and it didn't get much at all. Its better off to rebuild it a little and have a nice back up bike or commuter. It is a fast, light, and agile bike IMO. I love riding it and have been considering making it rigid again for fun.


The bike pictured is a 1994 model. :thumbsup:


----------



## jimsbbc (Jan 18, 2007)

Ok, so the bonded frames were produced through '94? I bought it in 1994, and it was "last years model on sale". I just assumed it was a '93. Some guys that I rode with said that the bonding could fail and yield a loose lug or other part of the frame. I have never had any problem with this. Has anyone ever heard of this failure or seen it? Those friends of mine were into hard, all-mountain riding back before it was popular. I think its cool that the frame has no welding, but as as far as being a weakness, I thought the aluminum would fail before the adhesive would.


----------



## Zanetti (Sep 18, 2005)

Trek produced the bonded aluminum frames through 1997. There were a few bonded joint failures, but not in any greater numbers than welded aluminum frames of the time.


----------



## hillbillypolack (Apr 25, 2007)

I actually have an 8300, and some spares. I dont know if you're still looking for bits, but drop me a line if you need any.


----------



## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

musket said:


> This is my first post on this forum but I have been browsing around here for a while and decided to get off the sidelines.
> 
> Anyway...the 1993 Trek 8300 ATB carbon composite.
> http://www.airfreetires.com/specs/Step5.asp?BikeId=19338&Brand=Trek&Model=8300&Year=1993
> ...


i had one. the model built w/deore dx. beautifull color, built and all around finish. the ride was... hmmm... not exciting. i loved the tange ultralite rigif fork but i was happy to trade it on a steel khs.


----------

