Korina

There are three possibilities; the wheel isn't in the dropouts correctly (the easiest fix), the wheel is out of true, and/or the rear triangle isn't straight. You and your LBS will have to figure out which it is.

xaztec

Flip the bike upside down and gently set it on the seat and handlebars (you can put towels down to protect them from scratches or dirt). Loosen the rear wheel and make sure it's all the way down in the dropouts and tighten. Check the wheel at the chain stay bridge and the brakes and see if it's evenly spaced. If not, you can sometimes loosen and play with the axle position a bit to get it centered in both spots. When it's centered, tighten it down. Spin the rear wheel and watch the distance between the brake pads on each side and the rim. This will tell you if your wheel is out of true. if it is, take it in to your LBS and have them true and dish the wheel. You should probably do this anyway. It's usually only $20-$30 per wheel.

If it's still off, take the rear wheel off and take a long piece of string and loop it around the head tube and bring each end back through the dropouts. Tie the ends off between the dropouts and then measure the distance from the string on each side to the seat tube. They should be relatively equal (it's probably not going to be perfectly equal but it should be close). If the distance on one side is significantly different from the other, then you may have a bent frame or chain stay. cool thing about steel is that they may be able to bend it back if it's not too far out and not cracked. Cold-setting the rear spacing is also usually a relatively nominal cost.

nathand

Here's the rear of mine; the wheel and tire are well centered.

tairy

I actually just noticed that it looks like whoever owned this bike before me tried to correct it with a washer used as a spacer on the left side of the wheel. I noticed the rear wheel needed to be trued when I first bought it but it didn't occur to me the fork may be misaligned as well.

Thanks nathand for confirming!

xaztec

It's possible someone messed with the axle spacing but the tire sits too far to the left (NDS) correct? There doesn't seem to be much space on the DS. If that's the case and it's relatively true, it probably needs to be re-dished or the frame might be bent...or both. I'd check the frame with the string test previously described. If you take it to get it trued and dished, you might want to think of what you want to do with the bike. If that's a Shimano hyperglide cassette, you can swap out the hub body ($30-$50) and upgrade to 9-speed. If you plan to do that, wait, because you'll need to get the axle spaced properly and likely will need to get the wheel dished anyway. If you're going to leave it as is, take it in and get it re-dished.

Hydrilla

It might be time to admit that I have a problem. I really need to stay away from Marketplace for a while. I started with the 720 Multitrack I posted here recently, then found a really sweet 950 Singletrack for cheap, and today I just bought this awesome 730 Multitrack for $60. How could I pass on a 730 in this good condition for that cheap? I have only ridden it briefly, but I think the 21" frame is going to be more comfortable for me than the 23" 720.

Brizn

That wheel is WAY out. Person before you probably jacked it all up. The wheel was made incorrectly. Did the bike shop not help you? Just get a new wheel

dmark 

I understand; you are not alone.

HelpSingularity 

I feel your pain, brother

StumblingCorgi

lol i thought i may have made this post. I found a 17” 700 in the trash and it inspired me to find a bigger frame, found a 21 looking for a 23 still without luck. In my travels i recently found a 1998 950 in great shape for a steal because the shifters weren’t working. I degreased and cleaned them now they’re in top shape. I had to make a vow to only go after a bike if it’s a 23 inch frame. My 21 700 and 950 fit well enough but i want it to be perfect. If anyone is near Long Island with a 23 inch 7X0 series let me know.

ja1124

Just a friendly fyi - your bike has one fork and the front wheel is inserted in it.
I second the diagnosis of a bent frame/chain stay or incorrectly dished wheel, with greater suspicion of the latter. If you rule out a bent frame or chain stay, I second the prior advice to get another wheel. If you're around Atlanta I may be able to hook you up with a good used one n/c - just hit my dm's. If at some point you get into wheel building, you can use your old wheel for another project if the hub and rim has enough life left in them.

ja1124

Being a shrewd shopper is a problem? If your 720 is as nice as your 730, I'm confident you'll clear at least $90 ($150 - $60) when you sell the 720. Some folk are asking as much as $350 for clean steel MultiTracks where I live, so check your local market before you price it.

tairy

Thank you for the offer! I'm in Pittsburgh so unfortunately I can't take you up on it. I stopped by my LBS and my guy said the fact that the wheel is a little off-centered is ok. It's probably not ideal but it rolls. He thinks the reason I get a little lurching from the back brake and not the front is that I have Kool Stop pads on the back and he said they grip pretty hard, which I can affirm is true. I'll probably get a new wheel eventually, but for the time being I'm just gonna roll with this one.

Next, I replaced the original bars with these more upright bars with sweep I know this is probably a little unusual for this kind of hybrid bike but I noticed my right knee which has been prone to some tightness issues, seems to feel that tightness after riding this bike. I don't know anything about bike geometry, but am starting to think that perhaps having a slightly forward riding position is necessary on this type of frame. One thing I changed is that I had a C9 big wide comfy seat on it and just replaced it with a thin Giant saddle. The C9 was placed back all the way. I thought I should have my entire butt on the seat while trying to remain upright. Now the new saddle is forward and I tried to even ride on the bars near the stem so I was forward at times. I feel like my knees feel more comfortable in this position even though perhaps not as great on my shoulders. Do you think I should try going back to the original bars that have a little rise?

Also, what to do Multitrack owners with baskets or racks like to use? I decided I don't really like having a big rack on the back because it makes it more clunky when I park it on a rack or trying to lean the wheel against a tree or post. I'd like something I could throw my lock in, my backpack and carry a small amount of groceries. I was thinking perhaps a small front rack with a removable basket?

xaztec

Go to Sheldon Brown's web site and do some reading. There is a wealth of information here from the very basics about bikes to all sorts of technical/mechanical instructions. Read up on bike fit and proper riding position and things like that. Knee pain could be from being in the wrong position if your knee joint is forward or behind the pedal axle when the cranks are parallel to the ground. Could also be that you just have bad knees.

these hybrids are all-rounders, meaning you can outfit and ride them however you choose. The geometry is relaxed, so cruiser bars work just fine. The short top tube means you have a lot of adjustment in your reach by replacing the stem. If you get a quill step adaptor, you can use modern threadless stems and handlebars. I did this on my 790.

.

tairy

Really cool bike! I like the color scheme and the seat looks super comfy. I think I've identified my issue since mine is an ebike convert. As I mentioned, I've been experiencing right knee pain while riding my Tongsheng converted Trek Multitrack bicycle. My partner said my knees look like they're bowed inward and looks awkward. In fact I've been feeling a lot of right knee pain since riding this bike. My other bike is a non e-bike Peugeot road bike and the distance between the seat tube and the crank arm is less than 50.8mm. The Tongsheng converted Trek distance between tube and crank arm is around 88.9mm. I think I may need to find a set of crank arms that will be compatible to this motor.

Kobe 

[QUOTE=xaztec;22578470 If you get a quill step adaptor, you can use modern threadless stems and handlebars. I did this on my 790.

.[/QUOTE]

Your adapter looks great on the 790, sometimes they end up looking awkward.

tairy

I feel like I've been overusing this forum. So I just wanted to show y'all one more photo. Two Multitracks converted to e-bikes together.

HelpSingularity 

Any chance we could have a close up of the e system? I'm kinda curious about how that stuff is put together and whatnot.
And if you don't mind what does a setup like that run?
And how do you like it, has it met or exceeded your expectations?
My big test for stuff like this, would you do it again knowing now what you know?
Inquiring minds wouldn't mind knowing.

masi61

I am converting a Trek Multitrack to a road commuter bike. I had is powder coated and no longer have the decals. I don't remember but it may have been a 720 or a 750. The powder coating is a nice powder blue. Does anyone know where I can order a head tube badge and some decals?

DorkDisk

Don't know about the decals, but some model years had the model (and size) stamped on the BB shell

tairy

I love my new ebike convert! It'd definitely exceeded my expectations. Even though you use a motor assist to ride, there're studies done that show people ride more when they have an ebike. I feel more comfortable on the streets because drivers here can be kind of agro about bikes. There are also a lot of hills in Pittsburgh. It's actually a lot of fun when you're tired and have one giant hill to go up and you're going like 14mph up it.

So you have to buy the motor. My setup is a mid drive motor. It's pretty easy to install as long as you have the tool to take out the bottom bracket. The motor I bought was from Tongsheng TSDZ2. It's 36v and 300w so it's on the lower powered side but can go about 21 mph on flats. with assist. There's another called Bafang that's pretty similar. My motor cost $290 and the compatible battery had to bought separate. These rang anywhere from lower $100s to as much as you want to spend. I spend $280 on the battery because I had the supplier use Samsung cells. Some cheaper cells don't hold a charge as well over time.

If you're interested in retrofitting your ebike with an electric motor I'm happy to answer more questions. You should also check out the forum Endless Sphere. The people there are just truly helpful and geeky about anything ebike. I can give you links to where I bought my battery and motor too if you're interested in doing a similar setup.







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bdumas35

www.velocals.com have what you want. I've had good experience with them on several Trek projects.

tairy

My local LBS said that the radial trueing of the rear tire is difficult. Since these wheels have so much use I'm just going to get a set of new ones. I have my 700c x35c tires that I'd like to keep. The cassette is 7 speed 13-34T Shimano HG compatible cassette.

My 7 speed cassette

I was looking at getting a pair of these EVO Tour 20 wheels. It's made for Shimano HG 8, 9 or 10 speed cassettes. I saw on a reply on the REI page that you can use spacers for it to accept a 7 speed cassette. If this is the case, has anyone ever done this and if so how tricky is it to get to work? Would I just need one spacer?

EVO 20 rear wheel

For a pair I could get them for around $133 which seems pretty cheap. If you think these are too bottom of the line, do you have any suggestions on a good quality set of wheels that are fairly inexpensive and would work with my bike?

ja1124

If you have a local bike co-op, I would look for a good used 7 speed wheel.

tairy

That's what I'm thinking of doing. Thanks!