I got the drivetrain installed, and man, it was painful.

Attempt the first:
Went to the Bike Kitchen on Wednesday night. My usual volunteer shift, but I got permission to work on my own bike.

First thing first, find a 700c freewheel rear wheel. This should be easy, right? Wrong. None to be seen. But there was a lower-end Mavic rim on an Acera cassette hub that I figured I could make work. Start looking for cassettes. The 7-speed 12-27 cassette turned out to be an 8 speed missing a cog. The only other ones that would work are all 9 speed with 32T. I guess I can't use the Superbe. Bummer. Finally get a working cassette put together, grab the last 9 speed chain on the shelf, start putting the chain on the bike. It's too long. Need the chain tool. Walking back from the pegboard to the repair stand, I happen to glance under one of the workbenches, where lurks a previously unseen box of wheels. Hello, what's that?



Rim
Why, it's a Matrix IsoC rim on a 600EX freewheel hub!
Needs some love, which I don't have time to give it, as it's closing time. But at least I have a chance to return to The Plan.
I spend several hours later Wednesday night researching the wheel. Eventually, I learn, from this forum and from vintage-treks.com, that my wheel most likely came from a 1987 Trek 560EX or 1200.

Attempt the second:
Returning to the Kitchen on Friday evening, I start by overhauling the wheel I found at closing time on Wednesday. It's been years since I trued a wheel, so it takes a while. I think that it's had a spoke replaced at some point, because every nipple I turn takes the green Park wrench, except one, which wants the red one. Weird. Then to repack the 600EX hub, which is in excellent shape. You can even still tell that it had red grease.

On goes the freewheel.
Into the frame goes the wheel.
All the way to the bar goes the brake lever.
Gotta adjust the brake.
"No problem," sez I.
"Oh, yeah?" sez the fender.
Much wailing and gnashing of teeth ensue as I try to adjust the cable, recenter the caliper, and not have the fender rub the tire.

Fortunately, the derailleur mounts right up. Once I adjust the limit screws, put chain and cable on, and set initial cable tension, it looks like that Superbe might even clear a 28T cog, even though it's supposed to be a 23T max:



Freewheel

So here's how it ended up, after all was said and done.



Drivetrain


--Shannon