I had the same problem with my bike pulling to one side. After the dealer dismissed the problem, I analysed the deviation. Bike pulled to the right, so the front contact patch needed to be moved to the right. I impatiently lay the assembled Trek 720 atop two park benches, such to induce torsion across the front-rear axle load path, and jumped atop said bike, trampoline style, inducing huge, springy deflections. How very, very lucky I was that the needed correction occurred on the first try. Things could very well have ended differently. True story, btw.
David Snyder Calling it a day...in pleasant central California, USA Ken Freeman wrote:
My '84 610 had some serious frame issues and assembly issues that I didn't recognize until I had bought my Masi! I actually thought I had forgotten how to ride; it was my first bike in 10 years.. It pulled to the side, had excessive headset drag, and the seatpost binder ears broke off!!!
I sent the bike back to Trek after a year, via the LBS, and the binder ears got fixed, it got repainted in 1986 colors, then it still rode badly. 15 years later I decided to get everything aligned and see if it's still just a POS (yes, I am a cheap engineer!), and that, plus an overhaul and new headset, is what it needed all along. Now its a nice, nice bike!
> > Here, Burke reveals how he built the bicycle giant:
> >
> > ".....In 1984 we made some bad product...... "
>
David Snyder wrote:
> Haunting statement, ouch.
>
> Does anyone know what implications this statement entails for owners
of,
> say, bikes like my 1984 Trek 720?
> I recall an alignment issue with mine that I corrected at home, but
it's
> been great otherwise ever since. Paint and finishing work look
excellent to
> me. I don't remenber any recall or anything, but mine was literally
sold
> for 52% off as a leftover model, right after SIS became popular
around 1996.
> I finally tossed the Helicomatic hub four years later after the
freewheel
> bearing cone ring loosened a bit during a long ride. I tight ened it
en route
> with a rock and a big nail as a drift punch and was able to ride
home. I
> would repeat this roadside procedure only last year when a Shimano
freewheel
> pulled the same stunt, again with no bearings lost. Amazing how
little time
> it takes to find a roadside nail! Finding a suitable rock takes
longer!!!