Taking the plunge
 

I've pulled the trigger. I ordered a pair of wheels for my Trek 750. Mavic A319 w/Shimano 105 hubs. My plan is to build it into something I enjoy riding in my old age.

This was my commuter in Chicago in the early 90's. Fourteen miles each way, five days a week most of the year, the dead of winter I took public trans. It is. solid bike, a no nonsense bike, great to ride, not fast but quick. For a couple of months while my Trek 710 was getting an overhaul I rode the 750 on weekends and was in good enough shape I kept up with guys on Kleins and Colonagos...

Fast forward a few years, maybe a decade and I gave this to a friend who didn't have a car for work. I actually missed it. Well I got it back and its been sitting in my basement. A couple of women friends have said "you have a lot of bikes..." and I almost donated it to a local bike coop. I now have the itch.

I'm rebuilding it with contemporary components and hope to have a touring/trail bike when finished.

The bottom bracket is, Suntour Superbe cartridge bearing with adjustable chain line, cantilever brakes (origin8 I think) Sugino AT crankset and Brooks saddle. I'm thinking of a 9 speed cassette not sure of the headset, levers, shifters or handlebars.

Looking for recommendations for handlebars and shifters.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c6debf804.jpeg

Set up before the teardown.

Drivetrains are up to 11 and 12 speeds but 9 is still a great place to be, especially if one has legacy top end components. Deore M591 is still available, and rock solid. I have one bike with it and its good. Personally I prefer non shadow derailleurs at 9 sp.

For shifters - 9 sp microshift thumbies or Deore 9sp RF+ are my pick for new-they don't have Instant or Multi Release but seem to be more durable than lower end models. If one can find older XTR or XT shifter pods, thats the way to go, especially the latter ones with Instant and Multi Release.

S also offers trekking parts which might offer a few interesting components to mix and match with, especially the brake levers with Ispec, which save a lot of handlebar space.

SRAM and Microshift have 9 speed drivetrains also, but I don't have much experience with those.

Thanks DorkDisk
 

Those 9sp thumbies are just what I was looking for.

Subscribed. I have a '94 750 in somewhat rough shape, and I'll need some new components after the re-paint/powdercoat/spray.bike. Oh, and rust treatment.

What I received in the mail today...
 

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b522fb26e.jpeg
I like them a lot.

I have those on my Trek 750 (the Microshift 9-sp thumbs). I run them in friction mode on a 7-speed cassette. They're quality units.

I really like them. They have a real quality look about them.

More items arrived...

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6358b1c48.jpeg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c21623972.jpeg

Almost there...
 

Not feeling these handlebars. I'm waiting on a new set of bars and a chain then I'll cable the gears and add the rear rack. I'm still working on the fenders. If anyone has pointers on how to get the alignment right let me know.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3aa6e0339.jpeg

I believe proper fender alignment involves a rubber mallet. :D

It's starting to look good. :thumb:

I think the fenders look good. Regarding your handlebar, it looks like it could probably be rotated rearward in the stem just a little bit.

New wheels look good. If you haven't already, I'd suggest getting new brake pads, you don't want old crud eating your new rims.

Handlebars are at the wrong angle, if they are standard risers. If they have a logo, it should be level with the ground, with the rise portion of the bar from the side being roughly vertical as a starting point.

At this point you may want to mess with bar height, and that front brake routing will not be your friend in that endeavor. Since you're updating, you might want to get a fork mounted cable hanger to let your quill stem flex its adjustability advantage, minimize the chance of fork judder, and have a shorter cleaner route.

Yeah, the brakes are not brand new but I haven't really rode them on the street.

I've had these bars for years and had them angled (I guess wrongly) far further forward and they were very comfortable just not feeling them on this build. I'm waiting on bars that will be more upright and angled back more towards the saddle.

I have two fork mounted hangers but they aren't as tall as the one you added the link to. I'll look into that one. Thanks for the link.

The fender alignment looks okay from the side, its the side alignment, left and right, that's off. I also need to trim the stays.

I can say from personal experience that the Tektro fork-mounted cable stop is a good one. It does allow you to change stem and bar configuration without changing brake adjustment (as long as you have enough cable housing slack), and my 750 had pretty severe brake judder without this hanger (which is the reason I installed it).

I have changed the brakes from the stock Shimano cantilevers (which use smooth post brake pads) to Tektro CR510s (which use threaded post brake pads). Setup is a snap with those and the brakes are very strong on this bike.

https://live.staticflickr.com/4493/2...79f798ba_h.jpg
IMG_20171022_142404919 by jnjadcock, on Flickr

I've noticed you are running wide profile brakes, which are favored for mud clearance. Tourers and dry offroaders generally prefer low profile brakes for better heel and bag clearance. Wide profile brakes use a higher straddle, low profiles will have a lower straddle and stronger braking.

For cantilevers, I like to use cams like this, but I'm not sure how well they work with wide profile cantis. I'm paranoid of snapped or loose cables and there is no fender to catch the cable in my case.

I am running the wider profile brakes. I had the low profiles on this bike when I purchased it and wasn't happy with the stopping power of them. I changed to v-brakes for a bit after. I'm trying these as a test. I am concerned with the heel and bag clearance.

I haven't ridden this bike in about ten years. I always enjoyed it when I was riding it, I just have too many choices of bikes to ride and I don't commute much any more.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c6debf804.jpeg
Before...

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...67304dff9.jpeg

After, about 90% done. Need to take it out for a shakedown ride and adjust things. The last thing I'm sorting out is lighting. I have battery operated lights on it now but I have a bottom bracket Dyno attached and I'm researching lights.

Upgrades,
Shimano 105 hubs with Mavic rims,
9 speed cassette
Microshift thumbs,
Shimano STX brakes
Velo Orange fenders
Cheap Chinese bars

Looks good. New wheels will spice up any bike.

I just noticed that you're running a Bassworm (doohicky at the rear derailleur cable at chainstay). Any reason why?

Good eye dorkdisk. It's made to help with the shifting. I don't think I need it, a friend gave it to me to help with problems I was having with my earlier setup but I lost the setscrew and it seems to be shifting well.

I remember those, they were made to make shimano derailleurs work with GripShift shifters. S was feeling the heat from OEM spec loss and changed their return spring from a strong leaf to a weak coil since S shifters had a return spring in the shifters, and GripShift did not. Bassworm introduced some tension into the system whch made GripShift work with the new derailleurs. I don't think they're necessary with thumbies, especially if the grub screw is gone - which makes the whole system ineffective.

Jmpierce , that's looking awesome. What headlight is that?

Thanks Korina!
I don't remember the brand. Its from Europe and not too pricey but not very high lumens. I'm looking to change it out for something that works with a dyno.

Pity. My elegant street steed could use something classy-looking like that, but I do need to see in the mornings.

check out spanninga
 

The headlights I have are the battery operated Trendos. I'm looking into the dyno version.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...77b28730b.jpeg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...101c5450f.jpeg


Final version until I can figure out the lights with dyne power.

Slightly different configuration on the handlebars.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4cf1a6704.jpeg