Touring - just got a trek 520

at last! after several weeks of waiting - a 23 inch frame was out of stock everywhere in the uk, i had to get it shipped from the u.s. - i got my 520. and after putting it all together i am pretty pleased, although i feel you grow to love you wheels more and more you use it so im giving it some time before i wax lyrical. but i am already thinking of some changes and wouldn't mind some opinions of more seasoned tourers i am new to this lark you see.

first the rack doesn't fit the braze ons on the bike i am just wondering if this is a trek error and they put the wrong rack in the box it seems pretty fragile so i think ill swap that anyway - it just seemed odd.

there seems to be a slight buckle in the rear wheel which i hope can be trued up and the avid brakes seem quite tricky to adjust may put calipers on???

i am going to swap put the saddle asap stick a dark brown brooks on there. but the most radical thing i was thinking was ditching the drops in favour of bullhorns and was curious if that was sensible regards to a tourer with bar end shifters. im used to riding in this position as i commute daily on a single speed conversion and find it comfortable at least for the 10-15 miles i do a day.

what you fellas think?

i was also going to put some cross top levers on it.

jon

Congratulations! I love my 520.

I'm not a fella, but I'll tell you what I think anyway. :) :)

The rear rack is notoriously flimsy and should be replaced.

The wheels should have been good, that's a bummer.

The brakes are easy to adjust with a little practice, and the stopping power is very good, much better than calipers. Also with calipers you may lose the clearance you need to add fenders.

I personally love the drop bars, they give you a lot of different hand positions, which you really need for long tours. but that's me, other folks like other bars.

valygrl, how old is your 520?
The rear rack on mine (07) seems quite sturdy. I'm wondering if Trek recently changed this due to frequent complaints.

The first one I had was an '01, and i ditched the rack after my first test ride. my second 520 is an '07, and i told the shop to keep the rack, so i haven't actually used it. i saw an '08 in a store recently, and the rack looked the same, flimsy.

i guess it depends on the bike size, too - on a small bike (i ride the smalles, 17") the aluminum stays that attach to the seat stays are really long, so you end up with a lot of lateral flex. the rack design itself doesn't do a lot to prevent that, so it's a bad combo. my first riding partner had a 520 in a very large size, and he was able to use the stock rack, although he didn't like it.

i'm a tubus user now. you could haul a truck on that.

SORRY, not a tourer,just an old slug that pretends to wanna be racey (and fails).. I will say that the times I test rode THAT model, for size and because it was steel, I was VERY impressed over-all. I always recommend that model, a winner with no downside. Trek could set a higher price, it'd STILL be worth it.

[QUOTE=valygrl]

I'm not a fella, but I'll tell you what I think anyway. :) :)

!! sorry about that i was thinking about that when i wrote it. thanks for your comments, i was just wondering though whether anyone has had a stock rack that doesn't fit [on the brazeons on the seat stays]? i agree on on the brakes they are really strong and when i load it up that will be important. i posted a while ago asking about size and based on advice from the forums went for the right size for sure.

jon

just teasing you. not offended.

my experience with installing other racks (jandd, tubus) is they take a little bit of tweaking, bending, possibly washers. Didn't do a trek rack install, so i have nothing to add on that one.

cheers.
anna

trek DOES make two sizes of their rear rack ( I work at a large bike shop that carries Trek, also own an '05 520)

its possible they put the wrong size rack in the box. replace it regardless, its a marginal rack to begin with, and the curves and welds of the rack make it less-than-ideal for attaching panniers.

trek DOES make two sizes of their rear rack ( I work at a large bike shop that carries Trek, also own an '05 520)

its possible they put the wrong size rack in the box. replace it regardless, its a marginal rack to begin with, and the curves and welds of the rack make it less-than-ideal for attaching panniers.

I'm curious on the specifics of the stock rack that is bad. Is it the goofy front, that bends at a 45 downward to the stays?
I haven't had any problems *yet* (on the rear I only carry about 7 lbs. each side) but I don't want to invite trouble that inevitably happens in the middle of nowhere.

One other thing....I'm not sure the cross top levers will work with Avid v-brakes. (short pull levers and long pull brakes)

Trek could set a higher price, it'd STILL be worth it.

What's a good price for a 520?

the struts at the bottom are definetly not stout. and the curves of the rack don't let a user set the panniers fully far back, nor optimized for Ortliebs.

One other thing....I'm not sure the cross top levers will work with Avid v-brakes. (short pull levers and long pull brakes)


yeah your right, thats a bummer. i kind of assumed so its my own fault. im debating whether to switch the avid v brakes for something else now. it seems silly though getting a good solid purpose built touring bike and swapping everything out - saddle, brakes, rack... not to mention expensive. maybe i just need to change my riding style rather than the bike!

I love the v-brakes on the Trek 520-- they are much easier to adjust than cantis and have plenty of stopping power. There are a lot of good touring bikes out there and each has a reason to buy it. The best thing about your 520 is that it's the easiest touring bike to work on. It doesn't take a lot of skill to dial in v-brakes and bar-con shifters, there isn't a lot of parts and I've even adjusted v-brakes in dusk in the rain. Try that with those fancy disc brakes!

The stock 520 is so classic, I would ride it awhile before making any changes. You're going to love this bike.

Hey awer1, I've got a heavily modified 2007 Trek 520 I just completed, if you want to see some pics of it, just let me know. I've posted them on heaps of threads about the 520 already...:)

I've got an '04 and found the rack to be suspect also so I swapped it out without any problems.
I was a little confused at first with adjusting the brakes (SD-5's) so I went to the Avid web site and downloaded the instructions (amazing huh?). After the first try it's quite easy. I've got short fingers so it's nice to have the short pull levers.
I agree with the suggestion of riding the bike for a while before doing major modifications. I did this and realized that the small chainring was too big for grinding up steep hills so I changed it out for a 24T. Other than that and some comfort items (saddle, clipless pedals and extra handlebar padding) it's all stock.

Have fun!
Sam

One other thing....I'm not sure the cross top levers will work with Avid v-brakes. (short pull levers and long pull brakes)

I don't know if I'm just lucky or what, but I have some no-name cheapo crosstop levers on my '06 520 and they get along with the Avid V-brakes just fine.

at last! after several weeks of waiting - a 23 inch frame was out of stock everywhere in the uk, i had to get it shipped from the u.s. - i got my 520. and after putting it all together i am pretty pleased, although i feel you grow to love you wheels more and more you use it so im giving it some time before i wax lyrical. but i am already thinking of some changes and wouldn't mind some opinions of more seasoned tourers i am new to this lark you see.

first the rack doesn't fit the braze ons on the bike i am just wondering if this is a trek error and they put the wrong rack in the box it seems pretty fragile so i think ill swap that anyway - it just seemed odd.

there seems to be a slight buckle in the rear wheel which i hope can be trued up and the avid brakes seem quite tricky to adjust may put calipers on???

i am going to swap put the saddle asap stick a dark brown brooks on there. but the most radical thing i was thinking was ditching the drops in favour of bullhorns and was curious if that was sensible regards to a tourer with bar end shifters. im used to riding in this position as i commute daily on a single speed conversion and find it comfortable at least for the 10-15 miles i do a day.

what you fellas think?

If you want to ditch drop bars, that's OK. I'm fixing my Trek 520 up with Nitto Albatross handlebars from Rivendell. I liked the design so much, I've put them on all my other bikes. I'm no longer as young as I used to be and for me, being comfortable is more important than fitting in with the crowd. Its an individual setup preference.

From my experience, you can get away with only replacing the attachments not the whole rear rack. The rack is fine but you can bend the attachments with two fingers! I had mine replaced at a bike shop in Germany for five bucks.

Quote: The rear rack is notoriously flimsy and should be replaced.

i saw an '08 in a store recently, and the rack looked the same, flimsy.


Are the '08s out? I was in the LBS a week ago and they were telling me beginning of August.

hey my gf is riding a 07 520 right now, im on a cannondale.

The brakes on the 520, much more powerful, but harder to adjust, and can have problems with the recoil of brakes if the cables catch on anything... Dont need to change them, ive road both loaded; and they are much easier to pull and quicker to stop.

The rack... Yet to be defined... 15 days in... no problems.. IF it breaks, youll prob hear ang scream.

Changing to bull horns.. Well we never use our drops either, but if you mean getting rid of the bar end shifters, was that not a waste of money??

Ang never used them before, but loves them now, and even i admit again, they are good, and probably less can go wrong with them; in comparason with my triples

Just got an '07 520 myself. So far so good. The panniers I have (Ortliebs) adjust to fit the rack reasonably well. I haven't toured with it yet (750 miles coming up in August), but I use it on a 35 mile commute thrice weekly and the rack has held up with both panniers fully loaded (books, mainly) just fine so far. It's wicked windy in my part of the world and those drop bars come in mighty handy for getting your head down.