Touring - Trek 520: Rear rack and tires

I will be picking up my Trek 520 on Friday, I hope, and will be making some swaps at that time. What do you think of the in-house rack and Bontrager stock tires that come on the bike? Should I upgrade to a better rack and, perhaps, some Armadillos 32s while I'm there. They have already made the swap for a Brooks B-17 leather. Thanks for the tips to come.

Urbanmonk

You have chosen well on the B17 Weedhopper! :D

As far as the rear rack goes... honestly, chuck it out and off and see if they have something made from Cro-Mo like a Tubus or possibly a Jandd.

Key words... Alum=less pricey but will fail eventually and cannot support heavier loads of gear.... Steel=More expensive, can be repaired but probably will never fail and can support much more weight on it.

Congrats on your 520... may it turn many miles underneath you.

Tires... for 700c's I'd suggest Conti Top Touring 2000's... wider the better for comfort regarding width.

Or you can get a Blackburn rack. I would also go with the Conti TT. Matter of fact, a pair goes on my commuter bike tomorrow.

I will be picking up my Trek 520 on Friday, I hope, and will be making some swaps at that time. What do you think of the in-house rack and Bontrager stock tires that come on the bike? Should I upgrade to a better rack and, perhaps, some Armadillos 32s while I'm there. They have already made the swap for a Brooks B-17 leather. Thanks for the tips to come.

Urbanmonk

You will be much happier with the Continental Top Touring 2000!
I made the mistake of swapping the stock tires for the Armadillos. I did two rides on them and replaced them with Continental Top Touring 2000. Yes the Armadillos have a tougher sidewall and thicker rubber than the Conti's but that also translated into a much much harsher ride.

Some great advise. Continentals it is. Thanks, all.

Urbanmonk

Jandd racks are aluminum, by the way. That might not have been made totally clear by one of the previous posters.

There's a company in Canada that makes solid, reliable, tough aluminum racks -- Axiom is the name. They are VERY affordable. They also make a robust steel rack that can hold 90 kilos, but it's far more expensive than the rest, as it costs 120 CAD.

Blackburn have a good reputation but they aren't better -- though they cost more -- than Axiom. Reputable bike guys tell me that they've never had an Axiom rack fail. (BUT, of course I'm talking about regular commuting and so-called normal touring, and not carring 50 kilos on dirt roads in Mongolia.)

Tubus and Bruce Gordon and the other fancy cro-mo racks are great -- I've seen a couple, too, and heard about plenty -- but they cost an arm and a leg. Buy two of those and you are over a third of the way to a Rohloff speedhub.

I'd definitely replace the rack, the seat, maybe the stem and the tires. I'd even consider replacing the rims too (with the Mavic 520s) but that's just me.

Some great advise. Continentals it is. Thanks, all.

Urbanmonk

performancebike.com has got the 37mm width on sale for $20 right now - that's about half what I've seen them for other places. I just picked up a pair myself!

-chris