Found that exact model this summer in Chicago, from a guy who had bought it for his wife in 1984 and she really didn't like to ride. It probably had about 80 miles on it. It fit my husband perfectly, and he uses it as his commuter bike. But, we paid about 4 times what you did! He put a Brooks Champion Special on it. IIRC from the literature, this bike originally came with a Brooks saddle.

Bingo I think you've expressed it perfectly...

Part of the problem is that all my bikes I put a lot of work into. So even if the bike *IS* a POS, I still love it sooo much. For example, I had a kick-ass fixed gear which I built up myself, built the rear wheel and all. The bike was a totally run-of-the-mill 10-speed from the early 80s, but it was quite dear to me nonetheless. Eventually, I sold it to help recoup the cost of building my fabulous touring bike, but not without some regret.

The previous owner told me that the downtube levers are indexed (?) – I haven’t tried them yet.

I’m not sure which way to go. I’ve never used either set up.

Complicating this decision is the unique chainring setup. The 48/44 rings are in “half step” . This may mean more left-right-left shifting which would favor the BarCons. The rolling hills around here may have an effect on this as well.

One thing that I don’t like about the BarCons is how the cables were originally routed on the handlebars. Looks like it would get in the way of hand positions. Although, I’ve seen picks of alternated routing that looks better.

I figure that the downtube levers are on now so I’ll try them for awhile then (maybe) swap them over to the BarCons. At that time I'd go with a larger handlebar - this one is very narrow for me.

Yep $300 would be a fair price, I think. How does he like his?

I looked into getting a the Brooks saddle. That would cost me more than the bike! I’m still thinking about it.
I figure I need to prioritize my spending.
1. Hooks to hang it from the ceiling.
2. Rustproof the frame interior and wax the exterior
3. Cycle Computer
4. Something to carry tools and spare tube - (seat bag or small trunk?)
Then, Maybe, and in undetermined order:
Larger handlebars and maybe swapping the shifter levers
Clipless pedals
Brooks saddle

As promised - here are some better pictures.

Mike,

A Brooks B17 (very appropriate for that frame) isn't all that
expensive.
Check Bill Laine at Wallingford he has a 6 month money back
guarantee and given he is in NoLa probably could use the support

You can either get a seatbag or given the racks in the rear just get
a pack that attaches to the top of the rack.

marty

I check it out. Tanks.
Although I just had to add to my buying list today. The tires blew out after about 5 miles today. Seems that they are dry rotted. The rear wheel is out of true and out of round. I'm heavy so a sturdy rear wheel is imperative. Now I have to decide between staying with the 27 inch or going to the 700 wheels.

I remember someone on this newsgroup talking about having wheels made for the 720. I gota find that post and ask him/her a few questions.


So a Brooks is on the list - it's just further down the list now.

Most of them shifted very poorly because few bike shop employees understood that the primary parallelogram of the DuoPar had to be at 45 degrees from horizontal for the secondary parallelogram to work properly.

The half step gearing worked poorly in this area (Minneapolis) as the hills are rolling, and constant gradients are rare.

A local rider has about 80,000 miles on one, although at about 50,000 miles the head tube broke in half, right in the middle. An English friend sent him a beautiful Jack Taylor Super Tourist, frame, fork and racks to replace it, as a retirement present. But, he liked his 720 so much that he had it repaired instead. He never built up the Taylor, and years later sold it to me.

BTW here's how the Taylor turned out after I built it up - Taylor
Since the photo, I've added SunTour BarCons. Wonderful devices, I've been using them since '77.

Holy Cow, Guy! Don't you have problems with sun glare off of those fenders?

Beauty-ful!

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!

They aren't all that shiny up close. They're 42 year old aluminum LeFols, the ones the Honjos are copies of. They have lots of miles on them and a nice patina.

I had to take out a couple of minor dents and drill a new mounting hole. Not at all easy - this is some of the hardest aluminum I've ever worked with.