Just got this bike and want to make some enhancements. I want to change to a 1x something but have no idea what to get. Want to get used older stuff that fairly cheap. I ride about 20 miles a few times a week. Mainly flat land but some hills here and there. Any recommendations would be amazing.
If that was my bike I’d do a drop bar conversion with bar-end shifters. Upgrade the steel seatpost, and a better saddle. I’d replace the crankset with an alloy one, but I don’t see a lot of value I going 1x. (Flip the skewers around so the levers are on the non drive side). I did pretty much the same thing with an older 720 years ago and had a lot of fun with it
konishiwoi on
If you go 1x you might want to change the grips since by removing the left grip shift you’ll end up with a short grip.
While you’re at it I guess you could replace the right grip shift too but that would add to cost. I know I would do it tho, as I’m not a fan of them but if you keep the cassette as is, then at least it’ll have the right indexes if you keep it
I can’t tell if it’s a square taper BB or not, but I’ve seen people get cheap cranks with cog included by getting BMX parts and it’s something I’m considering for my own bike but depending on price, a narrow wide cog from eBay/Amazon on your current cranks might be better ? Might need different hardware to hold it on the spider if the ones on there are too long (since they would be made to hold 3 cogs initially).
Or I mean remove the small and big cog, keep the middle one with some shims/washers to fill the blank space and boom, free 1x. At least to get you started I suppose.
Other than that I think I’d just get a better saddle, I’m not a fan of big and wides
And preference based again, but I’d change the stem for a rigid one. I just prefer the look of those 7 shaped ones
Enotsnug on
My advice would be to just ride the thing first. There’s not really any point in changing anything if it all works well.
Once you’ve been riding for a while you’ll know what improvements are needed. Focus on making it comfortable and practical and avoid changing anything you don’t need to.
I went down the “mod everything” route with my Specialized and ended up spending a lot of money without making it much more fun to ride.
Enjoy the bike!
_VEL0 on
Remove the front derailleur and ride it
DryDoughnut1 on
My two cents – I’d slow down, ride it for a while, then upgrade in this order:
1. Fit – raise/lower seatpost and stem, see if you need shorter stem/different handlebars etc
2. Contact points – replace the damaged saddle, upgrade those grips, get some wider pedals for comfort on the commute
3. Aesthetics – ditch the reflectors, get a rack/basket for your stuff, find a pretty stem, hang mascots off the saddle, make it yours ❤️❤️
5. THEN consider changing the drivetrain. Personally i’d replace the gripshift – most agree that thumb shifters are easier to dial in and maintain.
Your frame is gorgeous and if it’s currently shifting well and you can ride it, leave it. The shimano parts on there are basic but bombproof and they’ll be shifting for decades to come.
Cornfeddrip on
I have an 830 with nearly the same gear set and a 2X on my road bike. The only thing I wish I could change is the 2X to a 3X. if your an experienced rider or have other bikes to ride then do whatever. honestly I wouldn’t be so quick to loose the 3X since they work really well and ride super smooth if you know how to use them correctly. All that being said the rings are the most important part, my 3x is a bit weak at the biggest front and smallest back gearing but my 2X is nearly too much to crank effectively and they’re damn close in ratio
Sacramentardo on
Do you live in Sacramento? I think I saw this on marketplace.
mrdoom on
You will need a new crank and narrow wide chainring along with the gears, chain, derailleur, shifter. It can be done but will cost a bit.
OGPangPang on
That drive train looks barely used. Nothing wrong with a 3x 8 triple setup.
minor7even on
This is a very clean and little used bike, so you might just keep it as it is. The cranks are crap however, so going 1x makes some sense. The rest of it is solid but low end stuff that will last a lifetime of street cruising. Pick up a late 90s 4 bolt crank and chainrings will be cheap for you. STX RC or Deore.
Danube11424 on
Check out Microshift components and ask their techs about switching to 1x.
PSA, if there is no suspension system on the bike, you are now the suspension system. This still applies to those of you still young and made of cartilage, you just won’t get beat up or at least won’t feel it like older riders.
I could not ride that bike with out investing in the best, tunable, suspension seat money can buy.
Beautiful bike, Congrats-
Diligent-Advance9371 on
Got a very similar 720. A newer 130mm hub rear wheel dropped in, surprisingly as a 7 speed is usually 126mm. Running a 9 speed cassette, 11 to 32, as I use on flat areas mostly. Have had a 10 speed 11 to 42 on it when it was my go to gravel bike…another bike fits that use now. Running an old road 2 ring crank on it with a 36 tooth ring on the inside and a toothless ring on the outside for chain guard. Ride it with my wife on railtrails. No problem staying with her ebike. Can hit 15mph but keep it slower on railtrails.
ihave2shoes on
I’ve built a couple bikes now. So I’m no expert but here’s what I learnt:
The first bike, I just wanted to make it cool and stripped it down and rebuilt it before even riding it further than around the block. It looked cool but didn’t really suit the type of riding I did.
The next bikes I just rode for a few months, as things broke or niggled me, I updated them. These are now my favourite bikes.
But I know you’ll want to change something straight away, so start with tyres. It can make such a dramatic difference to the look of your bike as well as the handling. Go large!
iZuLu on
I too have very limited wrenching skills but I’d change the seat and pedals and throw a front rack or basket on to carry my stuff and off we go!!
17 Comments
What’s your reasoning for wanting to go 1x?
If that was my bike I’d do a drop bar conversion with bar-end shifters. Upgrade the steel seatpost, and a better saddle. I’d replace the crankset with an alloy one, but I don’t see a lot of value I going 1x. (Flip the skewers around so the levers are on the non drive side). I did pretty much the same thing with an older 720 years ago and had a lot of fun with it
If you go 1x you might want to change the grips since by removing the left grip shift you’ll end up with a short grip.
While you’re at it I guess you could replace the right grip shift too but that would add to cost. I know I would do it tho, as I’m not a fan of them but if you keep the cassette as is, then at least it’ll have the right indexes if you keep it
I can’t tell if it’s a square taper BB or not, but I’ve seen people get cheap cranks with cog included by getting BMX parts and it’s something I’m considering for my own bike but depending on price, a narrow wide cog from eBay/Amazon on your current cranks might be better ? Might need different hardware to hold it on the spider if the ones on there are too long (since they would be made to hold 3 cogs initially).
Or I mean remove the small and big cog, keep the middle one with some shims/washers to fill the blank space and boom, free 1x. At least to get you started I suppose.
Other than that I think I’d just get a better saddle, I’m not a fan of big and wides
And preference based again, but I’d change the stem for a rigid one. I just prefer the look of those 7 shaped ones
My advice would be to just ride the thing first. There’s not really any point in changing anything if it all works well.
Once you’ve been riding for a while you’ll know what improvements are needed. Focus on making it comfortable and practical and avoid changing anything you don’t need to.
I went down the “mod everything” route with my Specialized and ended up spending a lot of money without making it much more fun to ride.
Enjoy the bike!
Remove the front derailleur and ride it
My two cents – I’d slow down, ride it for a while, then upgrade in this order:
1. Fit – raise/lower seatpost and stem, see if you need shorter stem/different handlebars etc
2. Contact points – replace the damaged saddle, upgrade those grips, get some wider pedals for comfort on the commute
3. Aesthetics – ditch the reflectors, get a rack/basket for your stuff, find a pretty stem, hang mascots off the saddle, make it yours ❤️❤️
5. THEN consider changing the drivetrain. Personally i’d replace the gripshift – most agree that thumb shifters are easier to dial in and maintain.
Your frame is gorgeous and if it’s currently shifting well and you can ride it, leave it. The shimano parts on there are basic but bombproof and they’ll be shifting for decades to come.
I have an 830 with nearly the same gear set and a 2X on my road bike. The only thing I wish I could change is the 2X to a 3X. if your an experienced rider or have other bikes to ride then do whatever. honestly I wouldn’t be so quick to loose the 3X since they work really well and ride super smooth if you know how to use them correctly. All that being said the rings are the most important part, my 3x is a bit weak at the biggest front and smallest back gearing but my 2X is nearly too much to crank effectively and they’re damn close in ratio
Do you live in Sacramento? I think I saw this on marketplace.
You will need a new crank and narrow wide chainring along with the gears, chain, derailleur, shifter. It can be done but will cost a bit.
That drive train looks barely used. Nothing wrong with a 3x 8 triple setup.
This is a very clean and little used bike, so you might just keep it as it is. The cranks are crap however, so going 1x makes some sense. The rest of it is solid but low end stuff that will last a lifetime of street cruising. Pick up a late 90s 4 bolt crank and chainrings will be cheap for you. STX RC or Deore.
Check out Microshift components and ask their techs about switching to 1x.
https://preview.redd.it/8riduw6mly1e1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c5edf5f6edc7f85585cbdd204874b6a77f2e1a0
https://preview.redd.it/9g5agcfwly1e1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ba19f10dcb16e2ca113f5b3fb2906b27b077240
The end product
PSA, if there is no suspension system on the bike, you are now the suspension system. This still applies to those of you still young and made of cartilage, you just won’t get beat up or at least won’t feel it like older riders.
I could not ride that bike with out investing in the best, tunable, suspension seat money can buy.
Beautiful bike, Congrats-
Got a very similar 720. A newer 130mm hub rear wheel dropped in, surprisingly as a 7 speed is usually 126mm. Running a 9 speed cassette, 11 to 32, as I use on flat areas mostly. Have had a 10 speed 11 to 42 on it when it was my go to gravel bike…another bike fits that use now. Running an old road 2 ring crank on it with a 36 tooth ring on the inside and a toothless ring on the outside for chain guard. Ride it with my wife on railtrails. No problem staying with her ebike. Can hit 15mph but keep it slower on railtrails.
I’ve built a couple bikes now. So I’m no expert but here’s what I learnt:
The first bike, I just wanted to make it cool and stripped it down and rebuilt it before even riding it further than around the block. It looked cool but didn’t really suit the type of riding I did.
The next bikes I just rode for a few months, as things broke or niggled me, I updated them. These are now my favourite bikes.
But I know you’ll want to change something straight away, so start with tyres. It can make such a dramatic difference to the look of your bike as well as the handling. Go large!
I too have very limited wrenching skills but I’d change the seat and pedals and throw a front rack or basket on to carry my stuff and off we go!!