Road Cycling - Trek 520 handle a 300lb guy?

Am considering purchasing a Trek 520, but my weight makes me nervous with a road bike. At 5'11" and 300lbs, I already have a Navigator 500 which suits me fine except for the handlebars which are driving me nuts... need dropped ones instead.

From reading the specs, it has wide tires, 32 spokes and seems like a great frame. Will this thing hold up?

TIA!

Check in store to see if wheels have 32 or 36 spokes. I heard conflicting reports about 2004 models and I know the 2003 and prior had 36 spokes.

I have the 2000 model, 25" frame, which came with a threaded stem. I weight only 170 lb, but have travelled approx. 8000 km (out of 16000) with a trailercycle in tow, and did many kilometres carrying lots of stuff or even doing self-contained touring. And we have potholes! I finally had to replace my rear rim last Fall because it cracked open like a tin box.

The current one with a threadless stem is a bit more rigid, which could be a bonus. Just make sure it hasn't been cut, so you may set your handlebars high enough to be comfortable. As for the bike frame, I think it will be rigid enough to be stable, even for fully loaded self-contained touring (i.e. 4 loaded panniers).

My only issue is with the wheels, especially the rear wheel. If it's a 36-spoke wheel, it should be OK, unless you tour with the kitchen sink, or towing a kid, or ride on pothole-infested roads that have seen better days. But if it is a 32-spoke wheel, I doubt it would last too long unless you have very smooth roads. I would suggest you negociate with the bike shop buying the bike, but having them swap the wheel for a 40-spoke (or 48-spoke) wheel.

And while you are there, if you live in the mountains and have to deal with multi-kilometre hills, it might be wise to get a wheel that accepts an Arai drum brake (i.e. most tandem-specific hubs do).

I think the 520 frame would have no problems at all with your weight; it was made for heavy loaded touring where they suspect that an additional 80 pounds in load would be carried, so add a 200 pound person and your up close to your weight. But I also concur with Mqaqnonlv on the wheels. You should look into what are called tandem wheels and go with 48 spokes on the rear and 40 on the front. If they custom make the rims you could look into Sun CR18 rims and have them laced with DT Alpine III dble butted spokes and brass nipples, this would make the rim bombproof for you-assuming the LBS can build rims right-which means very little adjustment and you should never break a spoke. The Cr18's are fairly inexpensive with the bare rim costing about $38.

Good luck and happy riding.

Bought a 2004 520 just 3 weeks ago - the stock wheels for this year / model have 36 hole Shimano LX hubs and Bontrager Maverick rims (double walls) holding up well at 200 miles and counting under my 270# ;) even though I have whacked one curb at speed so far. :( No apparent wheel damage -a little touch up paint and a dozen bandaids put me back in business. ;)

P.S. I swapped the crank for a Shimano LX - if you have any significant hills would advise you consider the same. (Requires a new bottom bracket as well)

Am considering purchasing a Trek 520, but my weight makes me nervous with a road bike. At 5'11" and 300lbs, I already have a Navigator 500 which suits me fine except for the handlebars which are driving me nuts... need dropped ones instead.

From reading the specs, it has wide tires, 32 spokes and seems like a great frame. Will this thing hold up?

I am very close to your size.
I ride a steel Bianchi Vigorelli road bike with Mavic Cosmos. 28 spoke rear, 24 front.
I DO have to pay extra attention to the "true" but other than that, NO problems.
Most bike frames will NOT be a problem for you. I personally would shy away from any of the "ultra-light" frames, but probably not due to any real issues.
I inquired with Felt about thier light weight scandium frame road bike, and they told me that the frame was fine for my size.

Yes, it will hold up.

I am very close to your size.
I ride a steel Bianchi Vigorelli road bike with Mavic Cosmos. 28 spoke rear, 24 front.
I DO have to pay extra attention to the "true" but other than that, NO problems.
Most bike frames will NOT be a problem for you. I personally would shy away from any of the "ultra-light" frames, but probably not due to any real issues.

Most of those ultralight frames do have a weight limit of 180 pounds as does most lighter and or racing rims. Most low spoke rims such as those you use (28 rear/24 front) are made for 180 pound riders; you may weigh quite a bit more but those rims will not last as long, and the indication for that is already happening to you-you have to true the wheels more thus they are flexing more than normal and flexing aluminum is bad. Besides that if you weigh 300 pounds your not going to notice a 1/4 pound difference in each wheel! The weight difference in percentage is less than 1%!

Stay with the higher spoke count wheels you won't be sorry in the long run.

They have smooth roads in Fort Lauderdale (Florida). Their worst roads are probably in better shapes than our nicest streets, and that makes a difference.