Bob's from Georgia Trek 720 Restoration

Trek 720 - After

Trek 720 - Bicycle Before

This is an interesting week around the shop.  Bob from Georgia brought two Treks for restoration on Sunday afternoon while he is visiting family for the Holiday.  Which means I must have them complete by Friday.  I hope to be done before the holiday.  It helped that I ordered the parts before the bicycles arrived.

I am starting with the larger blue Trek 720.  The bicycle is well used which I love to see!!  Tires are already new, it is very dirty, has some rust and can use a good tuning.  The rear gears slip some so the cassette and chain are going to be replaced along with the brake pads, cables and cable housings.

I disassembled the Trek and had a bit of a hard time removing the bottom bracket with integrated front derailleur.  I had to clamp the a large wrench to the bottom bracket removal tool to get leverage.  The frame is free of major chips and scratches, there is a few dings to the decals, mainly the frame is dirty and very dull.

Trek 720 - Bicycle Before

Trek 720 - Bicycle Before - Front Brakes

Trek 720 - Bicycle Before - Headset

Trek 720 - Bicycle Before - Rear Brakes

Trek 720 - Bicycle Before - Front Derailleur

Trek 720 - Bicycle Before - Rear Derailleur

Trek 720 - Stuck Bottom Bracket & Derailleur

Trek 720 - Stuck Bottom Bracket - Large 16 inc Wrench

Trek 720 - Frame Before Cleaning & Polishing

Trek 720 - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket

Trek 720 - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket

Trek 720 - Frame Before - Head tube

Trek 720 - Frame Before - Rear Brake Studs

Trek 720 - Frame Before - Top Tube

I do not know what happened to the photos of the frame polished, but it turned out beautiful. I guess it will just have to be seen through photos of other parts.

I cleaned the headset and then polished it.  the headset was heavily rusted and slightly pitted.  I polished the components, its not perfectly polished but much much better then it was.  I then installed the bearing cups, greased the bearings and installed the fork.  The headset turns very smooth, a lot better then it did before.

Trek 720 - Headset Before

Trek 720 - Headset - Polished

Trek 720 - Headset Cups Pressed

Trek 720 - Headset & Fork Complete

Next was the bottom bracket and front derailleur.  The front derailleur is integrated into the bottom bracket.  This makes aligning the front derailleur very easy.  The front derailleur was very dirty and had some rust.  I cleaned it and polished it and now all looks and functions great.

Trek 720 - Front Derailleur - Before

Trek 720 - Front Derailleur - Polished

Trek 720 - Bottom Bracket & Front Derailleur
Complete

Next came the brake calipers.  The brake calipers functioned slightly rough and the caliper arms where corroded.  I disassembled the components and polished the arms.  the calipers look fantastic and function wonderful.

Trek 720 - Brake Calipers - Before

Trek 720 - Brake Calipers - After

Trek 720 - Front Brake Caliper
Complete

Trek 720 - Rear Brake Caliper
Complete

Th stem and handlebars where badly rusted.  It took a lot of polishing but eventually turned out very nice.  There is a little pitting in a few spots but a little maintenance will keep them looking good.

Trek 720 - Handlebars - Before

Trek 720 - Stem - Before

Trek 720 - Handlebars & Stem - Polished

Trek 720 - Handlebars & Stems
Installed

The rear wheel was very dirty, the grease and bearings where shot.  I cleaned and polished the hub and hub components and installed new grease and bearings.  The rim cleaned up nice.  I trued the wheel and installed the new cassette.  The wheel is a night and day difference.

Trek 720 - Rear Wheel - Before

Trek 720 - Rear Wheel Rim - Before

Trek 720 - Rear Wheel Hub - Before

Trek 720 - Rear Wheel Hub - Polished

Trek 720 - Rear Wheel Components

Trek 720 - Rear Wheel - Complete

Trek 720 - New Cassette

The rear derailleur was probably the component that was in the best condition.  It only need a cleaning, slight polishing and lubricating.  The rear derailleur functions very smooth.

Trek 720 - Rear Derailleur - Before

Trek 720 - Rear Derailleur - Polished

Trek 720 - Rear Derailleur - Complete

Trek 720 - Rear Derailleur
Installed

The front wheel was in the same condition as the rear wheel with more corrosion on the rim.  I completely overhauled the wheel.  Cleaning, polishing, new grease, new bearings and truing.  The wheel functions very nice.

Trek 720 - Front Wheel Hub - Before

Trek 720 - Front Wheel - Complete

The crank is a stamped and welled type.  Very hard to polish but it cleaned fine.  I cleaned and polished the non-drive crank arm also.  The crank looks good installed.

Trek 720 - Crank Installed

Trek 720 - Crank Arm - Before

Trek 720 - Crank Arm - Polished

To finish up the Trek 720 I cleaned, polished and touch up painted one of the levers.  One of the levers was corroded, it looks ok, not perfect.  From there I ran all the new cables and cable housings and installed the new chain.  The Trek rides wonderful.  I will take final photos when I finish the the second Trek.  That way I only have to take final photos in the cold once.

Trek 720 - Bicycle - Complete

Trek 720 - Bicycle - Complete

Trek 720 - Bicycle - Complete

The Trek 720 is finished.  I gave it a good test ride and made a few minor adjustments.  The bicycle rides very nice.  I have always liked the Trek 700 series from this era, they are comfortable and ride nice.  The gears shift crisp, the brakes stop fast with new pads.  This is my favorite color for bicycles, the slightly light blue metallic pearl, this blue polished very nice and shines nice.  Love that blue!

I wish I could have gotten more in depth with the photos and post but the post and photos are the most time consuming part off it all and I was on a short time limit.

Below are the final photos, again my favorite color for a bicycle!  Thanks for the interest.

Trek 720 - Finished - Side View

Trek 720 - Finished - Angle View

Trek 720 - Finished - Front View

Trek 720 - Finished - Rear View

Trek 720 - Finished - Drive Train

Trek 720 - Finished - Front Half