Trek 8200 offset seat/chainstays normal?
 

A friend was given a Trek single track 8200 MTB with an aluminum frame. He wanted to clean it up and ride it but the chainstays and seatstays are offset to the right about an inch. The rear tire seats all the way to the rear of the dropouts and ends up being uncentered in the frame. It seems to ride ok but he thinks that the frame might be bent and is worried about it breaking under hiim in the hills.

I think he's right about it being bent but I thought I would check here to make sure that offset thing isn't some design we've never heard of.

What do you think?

have you checked if his back wheel is dished properly before jumping to conclusions ?

One inch is an awful large discrepancy for this to be attributed to wheel dish, not impossible but I'd suspect the frame is bent. If you have another (good) wheel to try, that'll narrow it down.

edit: unless by single track you mean single speed, some folks convert to single speed and re-space the rear axle to adjust the chainline on a freewheel hub. If this is done you must correct the dish to re-center the rim in the frame.

btw: if the frame is indeed bent that much, it's probably not safe to ride.

Single track is the model of the bike. It is a 7 speed mountain bike. I have no idea how to tell if it is dished correctly. I doubt he does either or he would have mentioned it. Actually, I can see plainly that the frame is offset.

Flip the wheel and see if you get the same result.