Thanks guys,

I just ran up to a local shop with a decent repair dept and asked them what they thought of the hub, did they have an axle, etc.

Two people there - guy at parts counter and mechanic in the back each told me the hub looked okay, axle definitely NOT bent (???) and that the off-kilter thing was 'normal'...hmmmm.....I know a freewheel is supposed to float a bit but it seemed weird to me That the axle was normal like that...hey, what do I know?

I drove to another shop down the street, a store where the sales guys will aggressively try to get you part with your cash any way they can and they too told me it looked fine and if anything the bearings had a bit too much play, hence the wobble.

So maybe I can salvage the old boy with less cash than I thought. I am debating though, lots of food for thought here.

Thanks for the offer on the brakes, sydney - assuming I keep/tweak the trek I will probably go with new levers first (Looking at the Tektro 200As, $18 vs $30 for the Cane Creek version) and if they improve the feel of the stock calipers I'll proably stand on those - if not I will let you know and I am sure you'll have something for me that will improve the bike. It's more the hand sensation/modulation than the stopping power I want to improve and those tektros appear to have a nice wide hood to boot (plus as I've blabbed about on other threads I'd be going from exposed cable to aero hoods and a new stem and grooved drop bar, so that three pc upgrade at about 75 bucks all told seems okay to me for the benefits derived).

As always I kick myself when I think of all the nice old Modolo and Ultegra calipers I dumped some years ago on ebay thinking "when will I ever need THESE again?"

anyhoo assuming the wheel is indeed okay and I have some options on used calipers maybe it won't be so fiscally painful to keep the extra bike after all.......