Danmozy66

this is not my bike it’s from an earlier post from this same thread, i was using as inspiration. I am pretty sure they said it was cannondale cruise control! Looks sweet huh

Korina

Have you checked the trueness of the wheels? They may just need a tweak. As for the cockpit, ride it awhile and you'll figure out what you want. Definitely show us pics when you have it dialed in. Have fun!

DorkDisk

So "full chromo" is good, as cheaper frames will have heavier hi-ten stays.

The last 750s will be the name-brand double-butted tubing (less material, same strength) and the made-in-USA construction (American flag decal). Some Treks had USA fronts with Taiwan rears as well.

Practically, the main difference would be the double butting, which provides a nicer ride and lower weight.

This was around the time steel bikes were eliminated from the manufacturer's catalogs, companies like Jamis would be one of the few with high end steel bikes for many years. Trek, like others went Al for mid range.

hokiefyd 

Thanks -- yes, this looks like the one. Thanks! https://www.amazon.com/Cannondale-Cr.../dp/B07XNJ4NLW

Danmozy66

like I mentioned a couple times, there was no 750 in this catalogue year though. So no name brand tubes at all?

nathand

I have a 1998 730; label says "Cro-Moly Main Frame." No name brand tubes (as compared to, say, my slight-older 930 that says True Temper). Someone shared this comparison of steel Multitrack frame materials a while back, in this thread I believe https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...NHc/edit#gid=0 which might be interesting.
That said, I very much like the way my 730 rides, and I don't think I could tell the difference if it did have name-brand tubes.

Danmozy66

thanks! Same

DorkDisk

I never said there was, you asked how they stacked up to previous "top end" hybrid steel

Nope, and no butts either

Danmozy66

gotcha, this makes sense. Interesting point about ride quality. This non butted one…coincidentally doesn’t feel very good to ride actually

DorkDisk

FWIW, my 96 750 is not very plush either. It tracks straight and cruises downhill but its not a lightweight snappy ride, the fat 31.8mm seat tube is what I blame for the thuddy rear. I don't blame it, its derived from a tourer.

nathand

Help me with a Multitrack sizing question - how much different is a 19" vs a 17"? I'm 5'8"; will a 19" likely fit me, or be too big? I have two 17" Multitracks - one from '92 and the other from '98 - that both feel a little small (especially the '92), so I'm thinking the next size up will fit well, but I also have an 18" 930 SingleTrack that feels slightly too big. Seems like there's a lot of variation year to year for the same listed size. Looking at buying a 19" 1996 730 but it's far enough away that I don't want to make the trip there if it's not likely to fit.

hokiefyd 

I would recommend looking at the sizing charts in the old techincal manuals on vintage-trek.com. I bet the 18" 930 has a longer top tube, which makes it feel large. The 19" 730 might have a shorter top tube, helping it to feel like a shorter or smaller bike.

nathand

Thanks! I put together a spreadsheet comparing my mid-90's Treks, and the does 930 have a significantly longer effective top tube (580mm) versus the 730 (555mm) as you suggested. Conversely, the standover height on the 930 is an inch lower (29.5in) than on the 730 (30.6in) which is making it hard for me to picture how that's going to feel. I'm pretty sure the 730 is going to work for me, though; I can manage that standover (slightly less than my much-newer gravel bike) and the Trek manuals list the reach for the 19" 730 (648mm) as between the 17" 730 (589mm), and the 18" 930 (683mm) so that should be about right. At worst I might need to swap for a shorter stem. Should be picking up the bike next week!

ja1124

I'm also 5'8" and I have owned a 19" 1995 700 and a 17" 1992 720. The 19" was perfect for me and a real joy to ride. (It was stolen in July 2013.) I can ride the 17" with no issues but it feels a little small.
I've also had a 17" 800 and it was a good fit and a great ride for the mean streets of the ATL. (Lots of potholes in da dirty south.)

wstephenson

I've just acquired a considerably worn 1991 750 in that year's Black with White on Yellow and Silver colourway. It is basically stock except for saddle, tyres, brake blocks and rust. What's the opinion on the stock Suntour XCE drivetrain? 7 speed, screw-on freewheel, OG Rapidfire-like shifter pods which are extremely mushy and slow to shift right now, but do shift. Is it worth servicing and saving? There are mixed messages out there as to how well a set of Shimano shifters would work with the Suntour XCE derailleurs. Has anyone else tried this?

DorkDisk

Suntour XCE would be lower range but still all metal, so pretty decent.

Xpress shifters were pretty cool IMO BITD and I do recall that they do work well. The only issue is that they use a non-standard cable; its not a big deal as they are still available.

Having said that, Suntour indexing was not as good as Shimano's, due to the lack of the floating top pulley. This makes Shimano derailleurs easier to index with than Suntour's. Personally, I've gone the other way - Suntour shifters w/ Shimano derailleurs with no issues. If anything, I'd swap the shifters to thumbies.

But if you need a new freewheel, I'd start with that. See what you can find first. Suntour used slightly different spacing between cogs, so if you cannot find a Suntour freewheel you can use a Shimano one. At that point, a Shimano shifter would be a better idea. Something like a Sachs Arris might let you keep your shifters as they could play well with either.

daywood 

While I haven’t tried this specific combo, I do this kind of thing all the time. The spacing on that freewheel and crankset should be standard and I think the indexing in newer shifters should work fine if the derailleurs are in good shape. It’s an easy and low-risk thing to try if you are near a community bike shop and can get a used set of newer shifters dirt cheap. Even new trigger shifters are inexpensive now. I suggest you give the MicroSHIFT offerings a look, too.

wstephenson

I'm undecided as yet what to do with the cockpit. I just restored a '91 520 and used Shimano 7 speed bar end shifters on drop bars. I am sort of tempted to try the Microshift brifters too, if I put drops on this one. If I keep the swept 'moon bars' off my current town bike, it will be some form of thumbies, but original ones in non-thrashed condition are hard to get/expensive in Europe.

Wow, I just assumed that Suntour and Shimano hubs used different screw-on threads. It's been a loong time since I thought about screw-on freewheels. Thanks for that very useful piece of information. I haven't opened the hubs up yet to see if they are going to be usable. The front one is rough feeling (uh-oh) and the rear hub is loose.

Unfortunately in my corner of Germany, community bike shops or coops aren't really a thing. There are just bike shops that look at you funny if you come in with anything over 5 years old, and bike shops who will try to help you, but it will be at MRRP. I will clean and flush everything and see how well it runs. If it's still mushy, I'll probably put a Shimano drivetrain on as suggested, drop bars and a set of used ST-A410 brifters or Microshifts and see how things work out with the Suntour drivetrain.

DorkDisk

Suntour used a different spacing between cogs, cog thickness, and overall width than Shimano. The derailleurs had the same actuation, however.

daywood 

Luck may have been on my side or my SunTours may have been of uncertain vintage but I haven’t encountered problems mixing and matching. But they are cheap experiments to run and the worst case is that you will have components to start or grow your parts bin for later. 😀

wstephenson

So mainly "because I can" but also because I have to completely strip the frame down to rust treat it, I'm going to start with an old 105 R5700 groupset and drop bars and see how that looks. The 53.5/55.6cm frame dimensions are close to enough to my 'modern' 2015 steel cross/touring/gravel frame that is currently being repainted. After i get tired of that, i will probably do a period build with a bunch of Deore DX parts I have left over from the previous project and some poor man's Gevenalle Tektros using 3D printed parts that a nice person on ****** linked me to. Then it will be a matching partner to the 520.

wstephenson

Also, does anyone have experience of using an oxalic acid solution bath to remove interior rust on vintage Trek frames, particularly whether the paint and decals (some of which are scuffed so the clear coat above is not intact) will withstand this treatment? It's supposed to be less harsh to paint than a phosphoric acid treatment, and more effective than OTC rust converters, as long as the acid is neutralised afterwards and the frame cavities treated with a rustproofer like Weigle's.

fishboat

For what it's worth.. I recently installed Microshift brifters(as I wanted to try them also as the cost about the same as very good condition used brifters) on two bikes(drop bar conversions of a mountain bike and a hybrid) and I like them. The hoods feel good and they shift very well. My other bikes run mostly Ultegra shifters..MS are good too.

(I also responded to your PM..though you have less than 10 posts so you may not be able to see it yet)

mixteup

I haven't posted here for a long time, but I saw this, and can speak from experience.
Oxalic acid won't affect most colors of paint, or chrome, or decals, from my experience with it - BUT, do NOT use it on anything RED colored.
The acid has an affinity for rust only, and won't affect un-rusted steel, but rust is iron oxide, and it's related to the pigments used for red paint.
It will bleach out red paint, and turn it to a pink-ish color.

wstephenson

Thanks, that's helpful. However,I found a set of VGC used 105 so will use those with my spare 5800 set (the STIs I have with that are the ST-RS685 non-group hydraulic ones). I assumed you were the author of the inaccessible PM from my profile visitor's list. Since I got the bike, and it has a blue TT AVR decal, I guess that's what you were telling me. Now I should be at 10 posts and able to access the mailbox.