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Old 07-03-17, 07:06 PM
  #10  
fire
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Tampa Bay area, Florida
Posts: 217

Bikes: '09 Diamondback Insight 1, '05 Trek 3700 ( now a hybrid street/cross trail bike), (Vintage model) Kent Supreme 10 speed road cruiser, BMX (just for fun), Trek Multitrack 720 and a homebuilt recumbent low-rider.

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Originally Posted by sarahbruce
Nice 720! Looks like a great setup!
Bruce
Thanks, Bruce.

It's basically a paved trail/roads only bike now, very unlike yours. 😉
I have a 3700 which is very much my off-road/on-road/street/go anywhere, bike, so this one became my alternative hybrid,(from the diamondback), and now my wife rides it even more than me when we go to the withlacoochee trail, or any of the other rail trails.
When I bought it 6 years ago (yard sale, from someone who hadn't taken care of it at all), it was stock, filthy, unlubricated, had the original (cracked) stock tyres and rode horribly. Even after new tyres I couldn't seem to make it go at all without feeling exhausted, and put it down to the gearing. It felt like riding in treacle, and was uncomfortable in the riding position, probably because the bars were too high for my riding position.
I ended up trying some 25's street tyres that could stand 120lbs, changing the bars and it went great after that.
I replaced both wheel hub bearings and put a new chain on. The stock bars I replaced with some shiny silver unbranded flat mtb bars (goes with the wheels and seat post), and the round half grips with generic ergo grips. I finished the "cockpit" off with the bar ends which I stretched some inner tube over and doubled it up.
I changed the saddle out for a mongoose mtb saddle, and the pedals replaced with (again) generics from my LBS, mainly because the bearings in the originals were shot, too.
A couple of black ali water bottle cages, a Topeak rack and bag (Craigslist 25 bucks) and that's about it.
I'll eventually put a computer on and I'd like to do what you did with the threadless head, and some thumb shifters.

It took a lot of effort originally just to make it look shiny, and cleaning the wheels and spokes tested my patience a bit, but that thing has since been my favourite bike (of the small collection) to look at.
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