Help me find examples of old steel hybrids

I'm in the market for an old steel hybrid (or just a frame) for my 2 speed project. After wasting a lot of time trying to unseize a seat post on an old Trek 800 Mountain Track, my dear brother suggested a 700c instead of a 26". That suggestion makes a ton of sense as my 3 speed rolls 700c and therefore I'd have spare wheels and I could swap the tires, just stock one size of spare tubes etc.

What I need help with, dear Chainlinkers, is finding examples of what I'm looking for so when I post to the Marketplace and Craig's I can cite those names as the kinds of bike/frame I'm looking for.

Also, if you have a tall version of a bike or frame that meets the requirements we can cut the process short by just selling me the bike or frame. :)

Must have:

- horizontal dropouts

- 700 c

- tall enough for a 6' 3" rider. (22"+)

Nice to have:

- canti brake bosses

- lots of braze-ons for racks and fenders

- rigid fork

So help me refine the search. I'm also happy to entertain suggestions about the list of requirements. My goal is to build a 2 speed, year-round commuter/utility bike. The initial build might be a SS/fixed that I'll ride while I'm building the rear wheel.

I've had a load of trouble with fender clearance using an old road bike frame for my 3 speed build, so to avoid that, and so that I'd have more room to experiment with different tires I'd like the extra room afforded by a hybrid frame.

EDIT: per this discussion http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-713011.html the 7XX series Trek Multi-Tracks sound like the kind of thing I'm looking for.

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Permalink Reply by Legacy Frameworks on November 5, 2012 at 3:12pm

I find that people don't realize, or appreciate the sheer range of gears you can have with a single speed or IGH.

With an approximate range of 38-56 Tooth Chainrings and 13-22 Tooth Sprockets you can achieve a ratio range from 4.3:1 down to 1.7:1

Tony Adams said:

Cool. Looks like lots of eyelets too! If I get one we'll all just have to agree to keep it a secret from Howard so he won't be disappointed. :)

Thanks for reporting your experience with the SA hub - for commuting in Chicago I'm *almost* happy with a single speed. I'd just like a little help getting up over the occasional bridge or when fighting a big headwind. I have a three speed now and pretty much never use the top gear. Ideally I'd like a two speed that has a low gear and a direct drive rather than a direct drive and a high gear. But I think I can get essentially the same result by using a smallish chainring.

Also I LOVE LOVE LOVE the "REK". I reserve the right to steal the idea if I end up with a Trek donor.

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Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on November 5, 2012 at 8:10pm

Sounds like you want a Trek 930, 950, or 970 frame from about 1992 to 1996 :-)

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Permalink Reply by OLB 0.1 on November 5, 2012 at 10:41pm

Too small for Tony, but there is a 970 available now with a bunch of parts included for $100 for someone looking for something similar

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/3389352707.html

This one has been up for a while.

h' said:

Sounds like you want a Trek 930, 950, or 970 frame from about 1992 to 1996 :-)

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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on November 7, 2012 at 11:14am

I could all those components for rebuilding my old 930 that I bought for college back in '94. Anyone want to pay $25 for the frame and fork and I'll take the rest?

Otherwise I may just buy the whole thing and donate the frame to the Recyclery.

OLB said:

Too small for Tony, but there is a 970 available now with a bunch of parts included for $100 for someone looking for something similar

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/3389352707.html

This one has been up for a while.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams 6.6 mi on November 7, 2012 at 5:37pm

http://chicago.craigslist.org/search/bia?query=trek+%7C720+%7C700+%...

This is a re-usable craigslist query. In the form it looks like this:

"trek | 720 | 700 | 750| 790| 950 | 970 | via | oro | activa -800 -820 -830" with "title only" selected and a max price of 200.

It yields a lot of bikes, but so far, no luck in my size.

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Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on November 7, 2012 at 5:41pm

Take out the 720 or 700 and add 930 and you're golden. You can pass any 9xx that's 18" along to me...

Or if you want to invest a bunch of money into a bike that rides like a brick leave 700 and 720 but add 730.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams 6.6 mi on November 7, 2012 at 5:56pm

Done - added the 930 and the 730. Thanks 'h

http://chicago.craigslist.org/search/bia?query=trek+%7C720+%7C700+%...

I also negated a few more terms, women, kids, girl which weeded out about 15 or so hits.

And here is one that will spur craig's to do a "nearby" search based on Rockford and will include Wisconsin all the way to Madison (useful for me as I travel out that way from time to time):

http://rockford.craigslist.org/search/bia?query=trek+%7C720+%7C700+...