spacefolder

Hi Cycling Shire!

I've recently purchased a used Trek 750 Multitrack 199? 23" (Probably you can help me to verify the year too ..),
and I'd love to upgrade it to dropbars. I don't want to spend a lot of cash on an entire Shimano Sora group set right now. I'll have the bike repainted, saddle change, and new wheelset, so I'll be spending some bucks..

So, can I run the original gears and replace just the lever set with Shimano Tourneys ST-A070 3 x 7 ?
Link: Amazon.com : Shimano Tourney ST-A070 3 x 7-Speed STI Lever Set : Bike Shift Levers : Sports & Outdoors

1) Will the pull correctly the gears AND canti brakes?
2) Are they too low end and unreliable as I read somewhere?

I leave you some pictures of the bike, as it was purchased..



Thanks you
Cheers!

RoadGuy

Why would you spend a lot of money on a bike you just bought that has very little value?

That bike is a hybrid, and has very little resale value. The paint job is going to cost more than the whole bike is worth.

If the paint is so bad that you need to repaint the whole, bike, then the bike was not worth buying.

The 750 has a HEAVY steel frame. If I were you, I'd would get everything working and ride it as it was designed to be ridden. I would not blow a bunch of money trying to turn it into a road bike. If you want a road bike, sell that thing and buy a road bike. With the amount of money it would take to turn it into a road bike with downturn handlebars, and brifters, you could simply buy a good used road bike that already has what you want.

Keep the 750 as a utility or commuter bike.

spacefolder

Thanks for the fast reply RoadGuy!

That's what I want it for, I'll even add fenders and racks with panniers
I believe it's a great bike for commuting medium distances, and bomb proof steel frame as you say.
Just want to add drop bars.

BTW, a paint job here is really cheap, around 50 dollars, but a new Jamis Aurora or something similar is roughly $ 2000!
(Imports and customs are closed here in Argentina, so prices are really insane!)

I guess upgrading this old 750 sound like a good deal to me!

sonatageek

The Tourney 7 speed brifters should work fine for the rear but I am not sure it will work on the front.

The Trek 750 is a nice bike. All chromoly frame, double butted main frame.

Good luck with your project and post pics when done.

oddjob2

Trek hybrids ride great and are perfect for your intended use. I use an upgraded Multitrack 700 as my go to utility bike. Yours is probably is a 1996 ish bike.

I agree with @sonatageek, those Tourney brifters will work. No need to switch to Sora, STX is as reliable as it gets.

Limited environmental regulation = low cost paint jobs. Enjoy.

Hybrids aren't low value either. Depending on the model, refurbished hybrids bring $200-$350 if they are Trek or Cannondale. Even this chromoly Diamondback fetched $175 in June, a $15 purchase.

ncrnelson

Looks like a great multi purpose bike, I encourage doing what you can with what you've got. I'd skip the repaint and save that money for other upgrades, it's hard to stop. The paint looks pretty darn good to me in the photos, if you must repaint it just make sure that new cheap paint job doesn't look cheap.

acoffin 

RoadGuy, you are ignoring the fact that this is one od the better (and more sought after) frames from the hybrid bike boom. There are a lot of companies making similar frames today that will cost a heck of a lot more money. Let the man build his fat tired drop bar bike and be happy. It is the current thing after all.

I actually spent a bit of time looking for a Multitrak in that size but the frames alone were going for more than I wanted to spend. Just a note of caution, a repaint is most likely going to lower your resale value. It might not matter now but...

ppg677

1) YES, cable pulls should work
2) NO, they should be reliable

NormanF

Congratulations on your acquisition of a top of the line Trek Multitrack.

Its a very nice hybrid bike. Early lugged 750s were built around Trek's touring geometry!

With a double-butted cromoly frame, its a light and tough bike.

Don't let ignorant C&V posters who should know better bad-mouth your decision.

Enjoy your new ride!

BradH

Hmmmmm..............True Temper OX butted frame tubes with cro-mo fork & stays? Seems top of the line to me. Check out the MTB drop bar thread for good ideas.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...nversions.html

wrk101

The cheapest route is to use these. Yes, they are made for flat bars, but they have steel clamps which with longer bolts will work on drops. Or save more money and go with trekking bars instead.


https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Shifte...ourney+trigger

Kind of crowded, but they work:

If I did this again, I would cross the two cables under the DT, that would eliminate most of the congestion.

[IMG]1992 Schwinn Crosscut 16 inch by bill, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]1992 Schwinn Crosscut 16 inch by bill, on Flickr[/IMG]

RoadGuy

Multitracks aren't worth much out West.

Last week I missed a couple priced at $15-$30. Here in SoCal you can buy them all day for between $50-$125, more bikes than you could afford to buy and store.

Since they are worth so little, I recommend buying a nice one at the top of the market, instead of beat example and spending more than the bike is worth and end up with a bike that is not as nice as the other one which would have cost you a little more in the beginning, that you can ride while someone else is sinking a ton of money into his "bargain" and waiting to ride.

Wan to build up a touring bike? These's a 21" Trek 520 frame and fork (I think) with some other parts (canti brakes, and crankset) that been sitting on CL for a couple of months now for $49. You want a touring frame that you can paint (paint is looking tough), and build up as you see fit, without feeling guilty? That's the bike frame I would go with. I was playing with the idea of offering the Seller $20 for it, as I figure he's got to be getting tiring of renewing his ad by now.

oddjob2

^ Undoubtably Roadguy knows the Los Angeles basin market well. However, the supply and demand for Treks in Argentina is a whole different set of market dynamics. i doubt the OP would pursue buying a frame in Los Angeles for obvious reasons.

Henry III

I say build it up and see how it fits and rides. Then if all is kosher then get it painted. I love 90s hybrids and this line of Treks were the best of the best...US made and really nice tubing. I've got a 94 Cannondale H400 hybrid that I converted into my dropbar gravel bike and it gets the most use.

I don't get what Trek hybrids in LA have to do with someone in Argentina? Same difference if you go to places in Europe and you see high end race bikes we all lust over and built up as city bikes left out in the elements.

Build it up to a comfy road bike, touring bike, gravel or a not so extreme 29'er. What's not to love about a hybrid?

John E

If it were mine, I would install drop bars with classic non-indexed SunTour ratchet barcons, as I did on my beater/commuter.

My gearing is 2x6, but I know from earlier experience that a SunTour ratchet winds enough cable to handle a triple up front, and I am pretty sure 7 in back would be no problem. (Mine is an ultra-6, which requires only as much cable pull as 6 of the 7 gears on your freewheel. A traditional "standard-spaced" 6-speed would be a better test of whether a 7-speed would work, but I think it would.)

Clang

I have the same year (1996) 750; a nice bike that is sadly too small for me. Unlike the California market, hybrids fetch a premium in Minneapolis. I guess everybody's experience is different.

I always wonder why there's so many mtb drop bar conversions compared to hybrid drop bar conversions. Seems like an easy recipe for a budget touring bike to me. I'd recommend removing the rust spots and treating the bare metal metal instead of repainting the whole thing, but that's just because I like the factory Ice Black.

In any case, enjoy your new bike!

The Golden Boy 

Interesting discussion.

What makes a straight gauge CrMo, made in the USA frame desirable, and a double butted, CrMo, made in the USA frame "heavy" and having "little value"?

Is it the age?



Not that I'm trying to inflate value here- but it seems to me that a canti-equipped bike, with a relatively low bottom bracket and mid-fork rack braze ons made out of double butted True Temper OX sounds like a pretty good bike. It's actually made in the USA- so there's that. A lot of the components are relatively low end, but still quite reliable. Replace some of that stuff and I think you'd get a really nice chunk of bike underneath you.

To make a short post long, I was originally looking for a lugged hybrid 720 to play with when I came across my 1985 Trek 720.

Hudson308 

Yeah, what he said.
Remember there's a fair difference in frame quality as you go up the Mulitrack line. The 700's are decent Taiwanese straight-gauge bikes with generally lower-end components. As you move up to the 720, 730, 750 ladder everything just keeps getting better.
The 750 is nearly as good as it ever got for a steel hybrid.

RoadGuy

I didn't noticed that the OP is located outside the US.

But it still stand to reason that it would be less expensive to buy a road bike, than it will end up costing to buy the Trek 750, and replace everythin on the bike except for the frame and fork. After all, isn't that what the OP is talking about doing? OP is talking about replacing the seat, wheels, shifters, and how the gears are worn (front and replace, hinting at replacement. What does that leave?

I'm aware of the cost of buying a bike and replacing everything except for the frame. I've done it several times myself (most recently on a Trek 1100, which came with a 3 X 7-speed freewheel, and Suntour components, and now sport all Shimano 3 X 8 drivetrain and new wheels). I just got in a 94 Trek 1400 frame and fork, and plan to install my choice of Shimano 8-speed components.

The Trek 750 is already a good flat bar utility bike. It sounds like the one the OP bought needs some serious overhauling. I hope he got a good price on it, because it sounds like he's headed for a 100% rebuild.

spacefolder

Hi guys, thanks for your great tips!

Great info here. Though the original question was if the original bike components would work with dropbars equipped with Shimano Tourneys.


Glad to read this!

Where could I find some info on this?
It´s realy my MAIN CONCERN!


Shure, that should work fine, but i intend to use that valueable cockpit real estate for "cyclo cross" interrupt brake levers. I`ll be cummuting in really chaotic and high traffic zones!


I`ts also a very good idea. Although i`m a bit concerned with the comfort of this type of shifters. Really never used them before. Are they good for commuting in traffic and gearing up and down in every corner or traffic lights?


Regarding paint. I also REALLY like the original ice black, but.. some parts are badly scratched. But I`ll clean the bike, purchase some tyres and test it for some weeks. if it meets my expectations (pretty sure it will) I`ll have a paint job. More questions about this in another post, hah


Obvious reason$


I`m hoping not to! Just adding dropbars, paint and saddle. Remember that a new cromo steel bike can certainly go up to $2K down here (Jamis Aurora, etc.). Plus getting a 23" frame is not an easy task! I feel quite lucky with it.


100% agree. This summarizes my ideas

Cheers!

SkyDog75

Trying to answer the front dérailleur question... In general, Shimano road front dérailleurs and mountain front dérailleurs use a different cable pull ratio. The ST-A070 shifters are intended to be mated with road components. Your STX front dérailleur is a mountain bike component. My guess is that they won't index properly with one another. You can give it a shot, but I'd keep an eye out for a road dérailleur, just in case.

clasher

I would definitely go ahead with the tourney brifters. If the FD doesn't play nicely, and it might considering the age of the STX parts I dunno, but if it doesn't a sora or tiagra front derailleur will work fine with your crank I think.

I would also hold off on the paint and just give it a good coat of carnuba wax.

bikemig 

This advice is really helpful to the OP who lives in Buenos Aires.

bikemig 

I own a bike made in Argentina. Here's the thread, https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...ine-parts.html

The Trek 750 is a nice bike. I concur with the others that I would not paint the bike but simply touch it up to get rid of the paint. This is a close call though as the paint job on the top tube has some issues.

Drop bars are not a bad idea but it can be tough to get the geometry right as the bike was built with flat bars in mind. A better choice might be trekking or butter fly bars. Your existing brake levers and shifters will work just fine. You also get a lot of hand positions and they won't change the geometry of the bike.

Buena suerte; I'm not sure I'd want to ride a bike in B.A.! The traffic there is, well, interesting.