Lscico

Oops. I did now that you mention it.
Scratch my comment. That bike is worth saving.

Doesn't even look like it needs a 300 overhaul. Probably a quick tuneup.

I had in mind a recent experience with a friend who wanted to fix up his old bike. It was a mess. He spent 100$ and an entire afternoon. Rode it for a week and then bought a new Trek for 1000$.

JDandy

This.

MRT2

OP's bike is likely a 16.5 to 17" frame, which she says is maybe a tad big. That translates to 43 cm, give or take a cm. In what world would a 50 to 52 cm frame be smaller than a 43 cm frame?

MRT2

15 or 16" is not 52 cm. I wouldn't necessarily accept that the frame is too big for OP. Maybe she needs a 15" frame, IDK, but I think a picture is worth 1,000 words. Some beginners ride with their saddle too low, others need the bars raise up bit, or the saddle moved forward or back.

Second, as I already pointed out, now that a pic of OP's bike is up, it clearly is a bike that is clean and probably needs less than $100 of work. Clearly, the dealer she went to is more interested in selling her a new bike than in repairing her old one. As for the co op, this is a good idea and I would bet the volunteers at a local coop would get OP on her way on her old bike for very little money.

Bikerdave38

on previous attachment you said you were 5”4 which in real time would put into small frame which are usually around 50cm then medium are 53-54 large 56-58

MRT2

This is a confusing area as some frames are compact geometry, others not. So I now ride a 55 cm frame, and my bike is not compact geometry. If I were riding a compact geometry frame, I wold probably need a much smaller frame. This is an area where a beginner needs to try a bike out and/or work with a fitter.

I used to ride an old frame similar to OP's bike and I am between 5'8" and 5'9". I rode a medium frame, or about 18". After years of riding, I finally concluded that bike was a bit too small for me. I gave it to my cousin who is about 5'6" and it fits him perfectly. For a 5'4" woman, a vintage 17" frame should be perfect, or might be a tad big, but I think with some fitting adjustments, it could work. A small size might be a little too small.

JDandy

That would be the bike world. Mountain bikes and most hybrids are measured in inches. Road bikes are measured in centimeters. They are measured differently which is why a small hybrid bike might be identified as 15-16 inches or listed as 50-52 centimeters from the same manufacturer.

Since the OP's bike appears to have been sold as a 1994 model, it is most likely a 17 inch frame as that was the smallest size listed as a woman's model for that year. Trek also sold a 15 inch model that year but strangely not as a woman's model. I agree that the OP's bike may not necessarily be too big as we all have different torso, arm, and inseam dimensions regardless of our overall height but chances are that the OP's bike is just a bit too big for her as that is what she is describing as feeling. It's probably not off by much (and maybe can be corrected by other height and reach adjustments) but it is possible that what she is feeling correlates to the frame size being too big.

I also agree that the OP's bike does appear to to be in better shape than the initial repair estimate would lead one to believe. It definitely looks worthy of tuning up/ repairing but in the OP's case it might not be worth it if the frame is too big.

Dk20

OP here again. It's been quite a while since I used my bike which is still at the shop awaiting my pick up (not repaired). I *think* my pelvic area touches the top bar/tube when I stand up with both feet on ground, though, I'll have to revisit that when I get the bike back. When stopping, I lean the bike to one side as I put my foot on the ground and my butt comes off the saddle. I remember having to place foot back on pedal, place button on saddle, and give myself a push or two with other foot to get myself moving again (from a stop position).

Thanks for all the replies and a shout out to Mad Honk. He and I talked at length the other night and he gave me some ideas on checking out the saddle height and moving the handle bar a bit to see if these make for a better fit. He shared much knowledge ear to ear. Nice guy.

Just for giggles, I may take the bike to another non-Trek bike shop or two to get their estimates. I wanna know "if" the Trek shop is ripping me off and/or adding non essential/needed repairs, etc., or perhaps they have freaking expensive service rates. We'll see.

I will look in to the Trek FX along with the Verve when they get them back in stick. Then, it's decision time on new or fix, or new and fix.

greatscott

You can't buy much of a new bike for the $315, in fact you can't even buy much of a bike for twice that figure or so that it take to build you're back up again, if the frame is in great shape than just restore it. Be careful restoring it, all of that retro stuff from back the is superior to stuff made today, so keep as much of it as you can.

https://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.com...-trek-720.html

Just look at how much a new version of the 720 would cost you today if you could buy the last year made as new, right around $2,000, that's how much you would need to spend to get anything close to what you had.

So I would have it restored and keep as much of the original parts as you can.

dedhed

She has a 720 Multitrack Hybrid, NOT a 80's top of the line touring 720 as it has been shown in the previous posts. Here is what the new version roughly would be.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...rCode=greydark

hb88banzai

Small note: from the photo of the OP's bike, it is definitely not a women's model.

The 720w was a step through frame, with the top tube joining the seat tube about midway between the seat stay and the bottom bracket. So the photo shows a men's 720 with what looks to be a small 17" frame. It's definitely about a size smaller than my wife's 19" Multi-Track of the same year. Note that Treks of this vintage took their size from the full length of the seat tube, measured center of bottom bracket all the way to the top of the tube, to the seat post opening rather than to top of top tube.

Oddly, though my wife is also 5' 4" and her (mens) 750 is a size larger than the OPs 720, it still fits her like a glove, with a good 1" of clearance in standover using stock tires.