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Getting closer to my grail Trek 720

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Getting closer to my grail Trek 720

Old 07-06-21, 09:05 PM
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Getting closer to my grail Trek 720

A bonus of my search for another Voyageur last fall was bikemig letting me know he had a 1983 Trek 720 frame he was willing to part with. Since they came out the 1984 720 was my grail bike and this was a seat tube set of bottle bosses away from it so I couldn’t resist.

The plan was to build it up with spare parts I had. The rear triangle had been spread so I just needed to add a couple 9 speed items.

I had it powder coated and today was the first opportunity I’ve had to start the project. So far everything has come together without any issues other than I failed to tell the powder coater to mask off the cantilever studs. It took some work to scrape, file, and sand it off but the brake set adjusted to the 700 c wheels fine. At least that process left me with good confidence in the toughness of the finish.

I’ll follow up as I move along but here are the results of day one.


Original frame

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Old 07-06-21, 09:33 PM
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Pretty sure @bikemig grows these things in his garage. I got my 60cm '83 720 frameset from him several years ago.
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Old 07-06-21, 09:51 PM
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Excited to follow along. I also was looking for an (86) Voyageur and (85) 720 simultaneously, with no strong preference one way or the other. Ended up with the Voyageur and always happy to see threads of either bike
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Old 07-07-21, 04:50 AM
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Originally Posted by nesteel
Pretty sure @bikemig grows these things in his garage. I got my 60cm '83 720 frameset from him several years ago.
I’m down to two which is all I have hooks for, 😉
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Old 07-07-21, 05:36 AM
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Looks fun. Keep sharing.
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Old 07-07-21, 05:59 AM
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I like the workshop with the Dutch sign, verboten fietsen, and the gravel tractor ad. All very appropriate for a bike shop.
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Old 07-07-21, 06:39 AM
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!!!! cant wait to read the updates! what model brakes???

(esp. since i've recently acquired a tatty 60cm 1984 that is now hanging around as frame and fork, waiting for inspiration about what brakes to try for 700 rims)
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Old 07-07-21, 12:17 PM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
I like the workshop with the Dutch sign, verboten fietsen, and the gravel tractor ad. All very appropriate for a bike shop.
Crap! Does this mean I have to N+1 and get a gravel tractor as well as a lawn one and garden one? Damn Marketing!
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Old 07-07-21, 02:59 PM
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I have a 1982 720 that will get built up at some point, looking forward to your finished build! Its looking great so far!

Mine does not have canti studs though :-(
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Old 07-07-21, 06:42 PM
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Wow that thing is headed exactly in the right direction so far!!!. Who did your powder? Great job whomever.
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Old 07-07-21, 07:11 PM
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What else do you have planned for it- part wise?
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Old 07-07-21, 10:48 PM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
I like the workshop with the Dutch sign, verboten fietsen, and the gravel tractor ad. All very appropriate for a bike shop.
My dad was a Gravely dealer and that’s how I got the metal sign. I still have his 1949 walk behind “convertible” model with some attachments. It has been partially torn down awaiting restoration for the past 30 years😊. Maybe when I’m too old to bike I’ll get to it!

Sorry no pics of the 720 today as it was a somewhat frustrating day. Added a Brooks Pro and then tackled the brakes. I’m using a pair of early 90’s vintage Dia Comp aero levers. I had to improvise some ferrule stops and can’t figure out how they worked when I previously had them on on my Specialized Expedition. Maybe bigger cable end stops? Anyway setting up the brakes did not get completed. Not sure of the Shimano model (I’ll post a pic tomorrow) but they have a Y yoke where the cable passes through a disk to the cable anchor arm. Not a lot of motion range but I got the rear one set up. There is minimal clearance to the rim but the brake lever nearly bottoms out when you activate them so I’m skeptical on the stopping power.

The front set set seems to have a weak spring on the non anchor arm and are pretty much a fail with that Y yoke limiting how far the lever will spring back from the rim. My next attempt will be to make a standard arched yoke and see if that helps. If not I may need to hunt down some different cantilevers😩. This was supposed to be a build to use up some spare components so I don’t need to add to the list my wife thinks are spare parts😃
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Old 07-07-21, 11:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Hudson308
Wow that thing is headed exactly in the right direction so far!!!. Who did your powder? Great job whomever.
A local metal fabrication shop was powder coating the deck cable railing posts I had made and I happened to ask him if they ever did bikes. Mostly motorcycles but he said they would blast and coat it for $70 so I figured it was worth a try for that cheap of price. I wound up buying my own powder because I wanted a good metallic and it was from a company he hadn’t dealt with. That cost me about $45 but there is enough left to do another frame. They don’t have the equipment to keep the metallic flakes mixed as they spray but didn’t figure it would be an issue on something without any large surface areas where you might notice an uneven pattern and it turned out just fine and even.
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Old 07-07-21, 11:08 PM
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Originally Posted by The Golden Boy
What else do you have planned for it- part wise?
I’ll get a list together and post it. Mainly try to keep it on the lighter side for a touring bike and comfortable for some longer unloading rides. More of a rando bike than loaded touring I guess.
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Old 07-08-21, 11:52 AM
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Here’s an up to date picture and a shot of the brakes I’m using.
Logic told me to try and wind the spring tighter in the weak front cantilever arm but after several fails I tried opening up the spring more and bingo! So I used my last Shimano QR cable hanger and my own straddle cable and have decent front brakes now. If I ever find another QR hanger I may replace the Y set up on the rear with a normal straddle cable too.



More garage “bike corner” background Miguel😊

I have a similar set on my Expedition that work wonderfully with 700 C wheels.
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Old 07-08-21, 12:07 PM
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Originally Posted by badger_biker
I’ll get a list together and post it. Mainly try to keep it on the lighter side for a touring bike and comfortable for some longer unloading rides. More of a rando bike than loaded touring I guess.
Parts I had:
Shimano 600 tricolor hubs laced to Wolber GTX 2 rims. 28mm Specialized Nimbus tires for now. 9 speed cassette.
Straight alloy seat post with Brompton adjusting clamp and Brooks pro with copper rivets.
Stronglight A9 roller bearing headset.
Suntour XCM FD.
Nitto Technimic stem.
Miche pedals.

Parts my wife thinks I had:
Nitto Randoneur bars.
Deore 48-38-24 crank.
Deore XT 9 spd RD
Ultegra 9 spd bar ends
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Old 07-08-21, 05:53 PM
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Took a break tonight and rode my Voyageur to a bike shop/brewery combo to have a brew and hear a little live music. Very cool place.

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Old 07-09-21, 07:00 AM
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Looking good. Yeah the spring tension in the canti is key. Sheldon Brown has a good write up on the y yokes. They speed up installation but they limit adjustability. You can hunt around for the right length. Personally I tend to avoid the y yokes in setting up cantilevers.

Do you ride the dairyland dare? I like the course. I think I may miss it it this year but I’d like to start riding it again. It has a whole lot of hills.

sheldon brown likes the y yokes

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-trad.html

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Old 07-09-21, 07:40 AM
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loving this.

Originally Posted by badger_biker

Parts my wife thinks I had:
...
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Old 07-09-21, 10:43 PM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
Looking good. Yeah the spring tension in the canti is key. Sheldon Brown has a good write up on the y yokes. They speed up installation but they limit adjustability. You can hunt around for the right length. Personally I tend to avoid the y yokes in setting up cantilevers.

Do you ride the dairyland dare? I like the course. I think I may miss it it this year but I’d like to start riding it again. It has a whole lot of hills.

sheldon brown likes the y yokes

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-trad.html
Thanks for the reminder. I recall reading some of that and how the flatness/steepness of the angle of the cables makes a difference. I’ll have to check it out again.

Yes I rode the DD in 2010. My son and I did the 66 mile route. I did it on my 87 Trek Elance but this build should have better gears for the hills if I ever ride it again.
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Old 07-10-21, 11:11 PM
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Originally Posted by badger_biker
Took a break tonight and rode my Voyageur to a bike shop/brewery combo to have a brew and hear a little live music. Very cool place.

Do you, by chance, happen to live near Athens?
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Old 07-11-21, 07:59 PM
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Nice, I too am working on an '84 720 trek. I plan to follow your build. Thanks for posting. Brakes for 700 wheel are key.
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Old 07-11-21, 10:37 PM
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Originally Posted by The Golden Boy
Do you, by chance, happen to live near Athens?
No I’m on the western front about 10 miles from the MN border near Roberts.
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Old 07-11-21, 10:40 PM
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Originally Posted by balto charlie
Nice, I too am working on an '84 720 trek. I plan to follow your build. Thanks for posting. Brakes for 700 wheel are key.
Let me know what brake set works for you. I’m not super confident these will be the ultimate answer for me.
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Old 07-12-21, 07:13 AM
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Originally Posted by dedhed
Crap! Does this mean I have to N+1 and get a gravel tractor as well as a lawn one and garden one? Damn Marketing!
Only if you're going to post in the Home Tractor Forum.
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