NEW Bike Build!

[Zen]

where have you been doing 40 - 50 mile rides?

(and I still give them a D, the backward wheel is a big deciding factor there )

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My husband recently rebuilt his 10 year old Trek 730 as well. It's like a whole new bike, and looks and rides great. Those old steel Treks are wonderful bikes and worth upgrading. Your Trek should last you many more years.

I have mountain gears on my road bikes as well. One thing that pops out at me on your setup is that it seems to be a really big jump from your 39 tooth ring to your 53 tooth big ring. Were you not able to get a middle ring somewhere more in the midrange between your granny gear and big ring? Are you having trouble shifting between your middle and big ring at all?

Your rear cassette is the same as mine (12-34), but my gear rings are 24/36/48. I opted to give up one or two of the very highest gears to get the lower range for steep climbs. My highest gear seems to be plenty high for long speedy descents, for me anyway. At 40mph I stop pedaling anyway!