Sounds like your ride deteriorated a bit at the end. Are the high water levels a seasonal thing or just the result of adverse weather? Not a lot of dedicated bike trails in my area so I'm usually on the road dealing with auto traffic. I've started cutting back on my rides due to morning temperatures beginning to dip below freezing and black ice patches on the roads. Once the snow flies I find it safer to shift my pedaling to an indoor trainer.

I installed a Bontrager BackRack on my bike. It seems to fit my 19" 1990 750 nearly perfectly. Plenty of clearance over the guards. I've had no problems getting paniers to fit, but I typically use Dry-Lite saddle bags. They fit snug to the sides of rack for a raddle free ride when I'm on dirt roads & trails.
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19” ‘97 restored.

smooth winter training machine

she has some battle scars and evidence of a commuter in a past life that was leaned up on the drive side tubing daily
non-drive side BB was stuck pretty good, used some penatrant and put the tool on the vice to rotate frame, that did the trick to reveal a nice Shimano UN-52 with the $35.99 price tag. Also came with meaty Jagwire brake pads that cleaned up nice. Shifter cable change on these early Gripshifters was a chore.
g-one tires (700x40mm) took all the tricks in the book to get on: heated rubber, thinner rim tape, tire levers for first and second bead. It was all worth it, inspired by this thread. Took it for a couple of good rips this weekend. Saturday for some hill climbing up the Niagara Escarpment then Sunday a wind through my city of Burlington and along Lake Ontario (showed her off at the local Trek store enroute)

The drivetrain in the middle ring can’t take full standing power but I can work around that. Need all the tall gears to climb where I go. Enough low gears to pass a drop bar rider too! Fenders were dreams in the pouring rain.

Plus wtb volt saddle, zero setback seatpost, shorter stem, bontrager fenders, wellgo SPDs, Jagwire cables & housing

used Evaporust on components, Krown T40, Meguiar’s scratch x 2.0 and carnauba wax on frame, Triflow lube on chain and derailleur pivots, Castrol MP grease for hubs/threads

love how she handles imperfect roads, sidewalks and hard packed gravel and mulch so far

if all goes well she may race Paris-Ancaster in the spring

???

bad chainring ? and / or cassette or chain ?

it could be 1, 2 or all 3 components causing chain slip under very high load. Chances are drivetrain wear is past the point where changing one component will help. Also, Shimano STX chainrings are not standard.

Great looking bike! I would start with the freewheel if I was trying to narrow it down. It’s an inexpensive experiment and a bonus is that you can try a new cog range that might better suit how you ride. But for me, this would also be a slippery slope because, while I was at it, I would probably put on a wide range 8-speed freewheel and swap out the grip shifters for trigger shifters. 😀

I wouldn't want to get caught out with a flat with one of those tires. I assume those are the original rims. I ran into these 2 bikes at a consignment shop down in Rhode Island a couple weeks ago. Nearly identical to yours.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...efebc95c4a.jpg

I, too, have a '97 with the original Matrix wheels and they're a real pain to mount a set of tires. I've found that tubeless compatible tires (such as those Schwable G-Ones) have beads that are even a tighter fit than you might normally be used to. I had a set of tires that were so difficult to mount, they need a bead jack to both mount and dismount them. Just keep that in mind when you venture out. I have found some tires to be easier to mount to these wheels than others. Panaracer Paselas aren't too bad and I've also had wire bead Schwalbe Hurricanes on it before (non-tubeless design) and they practically mounted themselves they were so easy (at least relatively easy). A consideration for venturing out for sure...

Nice ride!

The rear cassette silent hub & STX crankset severely limits options so I’ll be rockin’ the stock setup for some time

nice his and hers in stock form with little wear! I am mindful of the limitations of the tight tires and cary some hefty tire levers and don’t venture too far from home at the moment. I will remedy that before I venture too far. Thanks hokiefyd for the tire recommendations

Ah. OK. I thought it was a freewheel. You can also easily replace the freehub if that’s the cause of the slipping under load. RJ the Bike Guy might even have a video on it. Another Shimano of the same depth should work fine. Then you can continue to use your existing 7-cog cassette if you want to keep things original.

not going to mess with it. Silent clutch hub is listed under the exceptions for freehub body transplantation

Yes, I think the roller clutch hub uses a bespoke freehub body that isn't compatible with others (since it's not the traditional ratchet-and-pawl design). I think Shimano likely made 8/9/10-speed versions of the silent hub, but it's probably not worth swapping.

I have done an 8-of-9-on-7 setup on my '97 750 before, and it works nice. That is, using 8 of the 9 sprockets of a 9-speed cassette...on a 7-speed freehub body. This requires either friction or 9-speed shifters (since the sprocket spacing will have 9-speed spacing), but it works well. The STX derailleur even works reasonably well, as long as you keep the largest sprocket to a reasonable size.

Thankfully just changed a flat no problem, Rubber may have become more pliable with use. Mild/wet forecast this weekend...fenders rule

730 Multitrack showed up 4 houses down on the way to church this morning with a sign that said "Free." I'm not sure of the age but it looks to be well preserved yet in need of love. I gots this!

Wheels - Acera X hubs and Matrix Vapor rims and probably original tires
Acera Crank/derailleurs
SRAM grip shift

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b569b075e.jpeg
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It looks like a ‘98 in cactus green, sweet!

Congrats Trav1s on the good luck. Seems Christmas came a little early for you. I'm sure that will be one sweet bike soon.

Happy Holidays!

The fork looks non-original. It appears to have a bit of flair up near the crown, sort of like a faux lug. I think I've seen similar on some Tange-branded forks. Does the decal on the side of the fork give any clues as to its origin? The quill stem also looks interesting...it looks like an over-sized (25.4mm) stem that Trek seemed to like to use in the day, as opposed to the standard 22.2mm, but I didn't think the MultiTrack series ever used oversized head tubes to allow for the larger steer tube. Is that stem indeed an over-sized stem?

Very nice find regardless of price...even better as free!

More pics for reference. I cannot see any identification on the for other than a sticker on the side.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0aa16d136.jpeg

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A few pics of the stem and headtub which looks like 22.2mm to me.


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[MENTION=501594]Trav1s[/MENTION], Vintage Trek is a treasure trove of information, including the catalog and tech manual for your bike.

Thanks for the reminder - I'll spend time there next week during my time off from work.

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The 19” frame with stock 120mm stem and stock bars would be too big for me (5’7.5”) but with these Soma Sparrow handlebars the ride is phenomenal. Very comfortable position with tons of leverage. The handlebar shape with longer stem flexes to provide some suspension. Bend provides additional hand position to tuc. Would not use these aluminum bars off road, I think they would move or snap. Amazing 3 hour jaunt in the wind and rain today along parts of Lake Ontario, not winter yet

1995 Multitrack 730
 

My second bike and first steel bike.
I got this off facebook marketplace as my first project bike, in November. It was in rideable condition (except for the brake pads) and came with all the original parts except for saddle and pedals. I’m still on the heavy 35mm Bontrager tires it came with. The pedals, I replaced them with MKS Sylvan Stream pedals. And I replaced the saddle with a modern bontrager road bike one. It’s also got a carbon seatpost, and I got rid of the big seatpost lever clamp.

I recently ordered some Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M’s in 35mm, hoping to try out some more serious gravel riding in my area. I also purchased a pair of Deore V-brakes, but I’m not sure if I actually want to replace the cantilevers because the v brakes + new levers + cables is costing me $100+ and I’m either gonna not do it, or do it with nice components. The cantilevers stop fine, but there’s not much modulation and they squeal like crazy even with new pads compared to my road bike. Next upgrade is going to be wheels, and possibly tubeless.The 14 internal diameter rims are way too narrow for the 35mm tires (even though they came stock with 38mm tires back in 1995), but I don’t know what to look for when buying wheels. Am I limited to 135mm QR wheels like the ones I currently have? Or can I put common, rim brake thru axle wheels? Also, I’m not sure what size it is, I’m guessing 21 inch?

I don’t mind putting money into this bike since I plan on putting many miles on it. I love the paint and the geometry. Any suggestions are welcome :)

Sounds like you got yourself a great project bike! I believe mountain/hybrid bikes of that era were sized by measuring the distance from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube.

I haven’t heard of a non-surgical way to put thru axle wheels on vintage bikes, but there may be adapters out there that I haven’t come across. I haven’t look hard because I find there are a lot of good wheel options available for the way the frame is constructed, and a lot of the OEM wheels are still good wheels but may just need a little love, like cleaning, regreasing, and making sure the axle cones are adjusted well. New bearings might be in order, too. If thru axles are important to you, I’d recommend sourcing a modern frame that’s set up for them.

I’m not sure why you believe that the stock wheels that came fitted with 38mm tires are too narrow for 35mm tires. The math doesn’t work for me. 😀 In my experience with bikes and wheels from that era, the main limitation for tire size has to do with the clearance between the chain stays and whether you want to run full fenders.

Have fun with it, whatever you decide. Post some pictures when you clear the ten-post threshold for that.

'92 790 drop-bar conversion
 

I've had some time this past week to work on converting this '92 790 to drop bars, and now it's rideable!
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d27118949b.jpg
I recycled a lot of components (cables, a rusty chain, etc) as I didn't want to put much money into it until I had sense of whether it would be worth it. Now that I've taken it for a short spin I'm ready to spend a bit more to make it nice.

Looking for suggestions/thoughts on the following:
- I'm using the original Exage 500CX rear derailer, in a 10-speed drivetrain with a compact 50/34 crank. What's realistically the largest rear gear I could use? The Shimano documents say 30 tooth, but that's with a triple up front. Can I run a larger range cassette in back because I have a smaller range double in front, keeping total capacity the same?
- There's not much clearance between the frame and chainrings; will this cause me problems? I don't think there's enough flex anywhere for them to touch.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0ca6bebfac.jpg
- What color bar tape and cable housing should I use? I have both silver and red tape on hand but I'm not sure either is right for this bike, although the red would make it patriotic. The black housing is recycled and should probably be replaced for long term use; also I need to adjust some lengths.

The bike has a mix of old and new components. Original wheels but I swapped the freehub body with one that could take a 10-speed cassette, and replaced the front axle and cones. Modern bottom bracket because the cones on the original square-taper axle were pitted. Original cantilever brakes, although I might replace them (and they need new pads, unsurprisingly). 10-speed Shimano 105 shifters/levers. Kind of amazing that parts made 20 years apart work together fairly well.

Here’s my non-expert two cents from my experience: I believe the largest diameter cassette you can run is largely determined by the length of the cage of the derailleur. If your derailleur is spec’d for a maximum of 30T, you may need a long cage derailleur, assuming your current one is medium cage. The longer cage has a longer arm to the upper pulley, allowing it to lever the chain up onto a larger cog, and a longer arm to the lower pulley so it can take up more of the slack of a longer chain when it’s running on the smallest cog. You may also need a longer chain.

I don’t think the clearance you’re seeing between the frame and the chain ring is necessarily a problem if it doesn’t rub, though I’d recommend checking the chain line to see if the chain rings are aligning well with your cassette. You can do that by running a straight edge from a point between your chain rings to the center point of your cassette—for your 10 speed, that would be between the 5th and 6th cogs. That path should run roughly parallel to your rear wheel. If it’s off by quite a bit, you may want to consider a crankset that provides less offset to the chain ring mounts in order to move your chain rings out from the frame if that would improve the chain line.

Good luck. I look forward to seeing where you go withe project.