Well, after 100 miles or so on the new/old Trek, I like it pretty well. I needed to install a lower gear, a 39 front, to make it up the hills around Boulder. I finally decided that the 20 year old Shimano 600 derailleur had lived a long life but it needed to go. So I grabbed my NOS Shimano XTR 952 mid-cage and installed it along with a new 9 speed chain. The new chain worked pretty well with the 8 speed front rings and 7 of the cogs on the 8 speed rear cassette. Annoyingly the inner links were hanging up on the 11 cog, causing skips and pops. No good, so I spent 10 minutes shaving the teeth on the 11 cog to be narrower. Now it is perfect. I think it shifts quicker, more precisely and is quieter now.
Now I'm a happy "fred" with my 20 year old bike loaded up with mismatched parts, unravelling bar tape and a set-back seat post.
2 hours ago