Originally Posted by
The Golden Boy
$90 for a full on "grail" bike.
Congratulations! Welcome to the Trek 720 club- your clubhouse keys are in the mail and you'll be taught the secret handshake and all that.
Every year of the 720 it had among the VERY finest in touring/ATB components, although most will probably suggest you swap out the wheels for something that's... engineered a little more... robustly. If you're staying with 27" wheels, you can use all kinds of different cantilever brakes- the brake selection gets a little tougher when it comes to going to 700C wheels, as the canti mounts are higher and narrower than a lot of cantis can adjust to.
There are those who's opinion on bike parts I almost implicitly trust that like the DuoPar- I do not- and I'd suggest swapping out the DuoPar for something like a long cage Suntour or a (more or less) period correct Deore XT. IMO, that Simplex SLJ is a great front derailleur- it's unique and it works really well.
Again, congratulations!
Thanks! I couldn't believe the ad when I saw it. I plan to stick with the 27" wheels, as I don't want to deal with the issues you've laid out. Are the stock rims not worth much salt? If I do replace the wheels, I'm under the impression that getting away from the Helicomatic is a good idea.