Originally Posted by
Jmpierce
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.
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.