In another thread (whereupon another BF'er helped me spot the axle problem) Hillrider suggested another option - ditching the 6 spd freewheel rear wjeel and getting a 7spd freehub/cassette wheel.....I can deal with that too, but I don't want to buy a used wheel with more headaches. Is this something you all would explore? Are new wheels with 7 spd available? At that point wouldn't i just be better off with 8 spd (compatible with 9 spd too?)

I should add I tried dropping my Orbea's 9 spd wheel into the trek and it slid right in; there is a LOT of space in the Trek's dropouts with the 126mm 6-spd wheel, so maybe someone already tried coldsetting it for a modern wheel? In anycase the frame seems to track straight and can handle a 130mm rear hub just fine.