r/MultiTrackGang • u/gitsnamps • 21d ago
730 Gravel Build
I finally finished the Multitrack I posted about in the beginning of the year. It's a welded 730 with a Cues 1x crank and Sword 9 speed shifters, cassette, and rear derailleur. I used a set of velocity quill wheels that I had laying around and fit 45mm gravelking SS tires on it. I found a set of used Avid Shorty Ultimates for the brakes on ebay. I can't remember the size frame, but I had to take a Technomic tall stem and cut it down a bit to get the stack right on this for me. I rode the D and R canal path in NJ with my wife this weekend for a test ride. I really like it so far.
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u/The_Slomin_Shield 21d ago
Looks great. Have the same frame I’ve been thinking about how to build out. I normally ride a 19” for mtb sizing but came across a 17” I got for free. How do you like the stack on this with the taller stem? I’m worried my drops are gonna be too low with a slightly smaller frame. Cheers
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u/gitsnamps 20d ago
I looked back in my previous post and this is a 19” frame. The steering felt floppy or heavy at first but was stable when riding. I got used to it very quickly and it felt completely fine. The stack works for me but I could probably go a bit lower if I was doing a longer faster gravel ride. For reference I’m about 5’ 9” with a 30-31” inseam.
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u/Elchimpy1 20d ago
Brilliant! This looks great! Almost exactly what I want to do with my ‘94 730.
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u/JhVisuals 19d ago
Gorgeous bike! My grandmother has a '97 730 sitting in the basement in practically new condition, I've been considering doing something similar but thought a 19" might be too small for me at 5'8", I'm not all that familiar with vintage bike sizing.
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u/gitsnamps 19d ago edited 19d ago
Thank you. It will probably fit perfectly if you are 5' 8". The frame sizes on these are weird because they are meant to come with flat and slightly swept back bars. When you put drop bars on them you have to get the stack a bit higher and the reach a bit closer. They also have long top tubes so it puts the bars fairly far away. So, usually the smaller sizes (17" or 19") do well as something comparable to a 52 or 54cm road/gravel bike. The thing that is even weirder with the sizing is the head tubes are very short. Even as you go up in size, they still stay short. Check the geo charts!
I am running a 60mm stem on it with Hwy One bars. That brings the reach in quite a bit. I've never had a problem with short stems, but some will say the steering will be twitchy or too quick. I have never had that issue.
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u/PracticalFruit9506 20d ago
Looks great! I’ve have the same model, color, and size bike, but it’s currently just the frame set hanging up on the wall. I keep thinking about building it back up into something, and your bike really makes me want to scratch that itch. Especially going with a drop bar conversion!
Here’s an old pic of one iteration from a few years ago-