Is the Trek 520 a Good Choice for a Touring Bike?
Is trek 520 a good choice? touring bike less than 1700usd dollars? (Choice regarding price range and quality) or what would be an alternative bicycle do you suggest? Thank you.
I’m sure the 520 is a good choice, this is my Trek 920 which is awesome, more expensive than the 520 though.
almost the same as the 920 best touring bike yet
, nice, which model is this one?
920
Which they don't make anymore but if you can find the frameset which I heard they're still making you should get it
oh right, never seen that colour, am just about to fit Jones loop bars on mine, although I think the drops look good I don’t find them comfortable if on the bike for several hours.
I painted the bike
check the frame fit for you before you spend any money. drop bars are a kind of extension on the reach, straight handlebars are closer to your chest and the jones is curvy which makes it even closer.
yes thanks, I already find the 920 with drops to be extremely long for me, I’m laying way forward, of course, I understand this could be changed with a shorter stem, but I’m fitting the Jones for comfort and better control on the rougher ground. I’ve seen somebody do exactly this with his 920 and it worked really well for him.
your choice might be to go straight handlebar + Ergon GP1 grips with long curvy horns. I find them really comfy for long rides. here below are cheap grips I had to grab in Bangkok but the horns are just perfect.
Wanted a 920 but I was 1 year too late ... Hard to find aftermarket.
yes, I only learned recently that they are no longer made.....I believe you can still buy the frame and build your own.
yes, I have some flat bars with Ergon grips on my Boardman hybrid. comfortable enough, and at least the horns give a choice of a different hand position. for my 920 it was either gonna be Butterfly bars or Jones and although the Jones are expensive I got some on an eBay auction, the person had bought them two years ago to fit a certain bike, Covid hit and their plans changed.
Woo team 920! Not too many of them around. I have the 2016 in Matte Olive (good) with the bar-end shifters (less good). It has served me incredibly well over the years as a tourer, commuter, daily driver, roadie, trail bike, bench, backrest, pillow, and clothes rack.
Yes, I think so too. I opted to rebuild my 1986 Specialized Expedition (Miyata 1000 clone). No regrets. (I had actually decided on a Kona Sutra but they were sold out. This was in November 2020 and I wanted a 2021.)
excellent, I think they’re a great bike, they roll along so good, and have good racks.
For me, trek 520 and Fuji touring are the best value for money for a touring bike, Got the Fuji myself, and I like it equally to my much more expensive Koga world traveller
The Trek 520 is a classic. It’s been updated, and it’s actually better and cheaper than ever!
, It's the oldest continuously produced bicycle in Trek's lineup. I have a '93 model and it has served me well. About the only thing original on it at this point in time is the frame. No matter what, things wear out or alternative options have been my modifications,
I had a 1994. Green metallic with gold highlights. LX gear set. I tricked it up with Brooks saddle, bar tape, racks, Nitto stem, etc. I loved it but sold it when I built my Thorn Nomad.
I owned it for 20 years. This is what it looked like when I sold it.
LOTS of happy folks on 520s out there!
Seems like a good bike for that money. Steel. 36 spokes. Very beautiful colour too. Not sure what Trek was thinking when they did the 920 and 1120 with 28 spokes only. They were probably not thinking at all. Shame they did not continue with the 520-way of thinking.
I have a 520 (and I used to work at trek!). It's an excellent choice, especially if you're looking at mostly paved riding. But be sure to carefully inspect the actual bike you'll be buying because we had a tendency to receive wonky frames from the factory that made brake and derailleur setups inconsistent
It's one of the best choices if you have in mind what it was made for. In rough ways, the 920 is a better choice, for even worse terrain the 1120 is better than 920 and so on till you hit a fat bike.
Fuji touring is an excellent choice with some little changes (pedals, tires and saddle).
Same features as other much more expensive touring bikes (Sutra, Hobootleg, etc)
Trek 520 is another excellent choice also
Packing to fly to & from tours Often? not locked in on 'a touring bike' has to have big wheels?
Check availability. According to a local shop, there are zero new Trek 520’s available right now, and he searched across the entire 180 store inventory. Apparently, Trek paused production of the 520 to deal with part shortages. Interested to hear if anyone knows more about this.
Just got a Surly Disc Trucker, which is a little more expensive than a Trek 520, for my wife. She loves it. Since she’ll ride it for years I didn’t care about a few hundred dollars.
Buy an 80s Japanese touring bike and install sti shifters... voila.
My friend has one and loves it. More a camping tourer than a credit card tourer due to weight but creeps up hills with the triple.
I'm happy with mine. The longest tour with it was 4000 mi. No problems.
My husband has a Trek 520 and loves it and says it's well worth the money
Trek 520 on the Silk Road tough bike
We have done over 20000kms in the last two years on trek 520 including 6 months touring Australia awesome bike strong for heavy loads
My 520 was very reliable, and it handled very well under load, even on fast downhills. Eventually, I gave it away after I came to love riding wider tires (48mm) than that year 2012 model 520 could accommodate.
The 520 has always had a good reputation, and I bought my 1986 touring bike new. (Edited for typos.)
I had one I like but the steerer tube had no extra length so if you like an upright position you might struggle.
Looking for some info, classific these 4 are the best for me: Cinelli Hobootleg is my, also good Trek 520, Kona Sutra, Salsa Marrakesh. E.g. this is in Italian, the best for travelling. https://www.redbull.com/it-it/migliori-bici-da-cicloturismo
VSF Fahrradmanufaktur. I was gonna go with Trek touring-ish bike, but decided at the last min on VSF and couldn't test ride a Trek. No regrets. The entire brand is just made for touring trips of different lengths
Great bikes. Decided to go with the disc trucker over the 520 tho due to the increased load capacity
