tourbiker

Hi all,
I've been reviewing various touring bikes (14 brands so far) but can't find one that's comparable to the original Trek 720 Touring bike which seems to be one of the best production touring bikes ever made. (was last made in mid 80's) Does anyone know of something that's comparable with its long chainstay and wheelbase, classic steel frame, ultra-low hill climbing gears, etc? Custom bikes take 6+ months so they aren't of interest.

Note: I currently have a 1983 Trek 620 Touring bike and want to upgrade.

Thanks.

dang133

I'm happy with my Trek 540, but its hard to find.

bsyptak

Gearing is easy to swap out, usually only requiring a crank replacement.

The Rocky Mountain Sherpas are pretty nice. There's a thread on them somewhere. 853 steel, which is a step up from the 720's 531. Not lugged however, which was nice.

I think you could get a custom lugged frameset built in the 720's exact geometry in a short time. Check Bruce Gordon BLT too.

tacomee

Don't get me wrong...I love purple bikes...and gold graghics! (not that the grey 720s are ugly), but just what about a Trek 720 makes it better than....say a shiney new Surly Long Haul Trucker? Lugged frames are nice, but the Surly has a much wider and lower gear range, stronger headset, bottom bracket, indexed shifting, stronger rear hub...the list goes on.

As a guy who road back in the 80's and still has a few old steel rides hanging around--- I'm perplexed to why old bikes are better than the new ones. I love old bikes-- but the new ones are awful nice as well.

Bekologist

a new Trek 520 with the crank swapped out is one of the best production touring bikes you can purchase today.

Or build up a Long Haul Trucker to your personal desired specs.

both are extremely capable machines for touring.

karmantra

1986 Miyata 610 & 1000 models--a beautiful 1000 is currently over $700 on ebay with 3 days to go...Both great touring bikes!

damselfli

well, if you have waited this long to upgrade.... why are you in a hurry? i upgraded from a 1973 french made road bike. it took me 18 months to pick out the new bike and ... about 3 months to get it custom made by co-motion.

the trek is heavy-duty steel. i don't know how close it is in regard to length of chainstay, etc, but if you are really in a hurry, you might take a look at the touring bikes made by Bianchi.

there is a great resource online : Sheldon Brown
https://sheldonbrown.com/bicycle-links.html

good luck!

Bekologist

Bianchi's current 'touring' bike, the Volpe, plays second fiddle to both the LHT and the Trek 520.

Tuffwolf

personally i have 1 major problem with the lht and 2 with the 520. i would rather have down tube shifters or brifters instead of the bar end shifters i felt unstable shifting with the barends. and the 520 crank set comes to big.

spencer_x

in China, we assemble all of parts together go to a whole bike by ourselve, shimano, cal', sram is beauty

why don't you assemble it yourself?

clayface

Why the need to upgrade from the 620?

ken cummings

I started in the early 80s with a Miyata 1000, a classic tourer for its' times. Replaced with a Bianchi Volpe in 87 after crashing the Miyata. In those days it was what Bianchi called a hybrid bike, what might be called a comfort bike now, but had all the right attachments to serve me as a tourer. When that got mangled 6 years later a LBS pal sold me a C'dale touring frame for $60.00 and assembled a working bike out of the parts of the first two. It still runs yet has been replaced in use by a Bruce Gordon BLT in a slightly larger frame size. Now there is a pure loaded touring bike. Bruce will sell you a complete bike or equip it with whatever you want. To a point. Like if you want one of his touring frames equiped as a fixie forget it. He can custom make anything you want with time. A BLT can be had much more quickly. www.bgcycles.com

tourbiker

Hi all,
Thanks for the comments.

I've considered the Sherpa 30 (made less than 10 miles from me) but it has more of a upright/hybrid-style frame. A Bruce Gordon BLT takes about 9 months. Surley LHT - they are sold out of complete bikes so the LBS would have to buy the frame and build it for me which would be fine except that the local Surley dealer is a new bike shop that I'm not familiar with. As for the 520, the most popular production bike on this forum, there's a few things I don't like (as others have pointed out) plus, not keen to go from a 620 to a 520 - even though I'm sure it's not a step down, it just sounds like it. I've been looking for 1-2 years and considered 15 brands so it's time to make a decision. In the meantime I've bought both a road bike and a mountain bike - those were much easier decisions.

As for why I want to upgrade from the 620... I want better brakes (the '83 620 has side pulls unlike the 84), full braze-ons (the '83 model lacks many that were added in 84) and I'm assuming/hoping that a new bike with the latest components, etc will handle better and be faster and lighter. My 620 has had a number of upgrades over the years but, can't do anything about brakes and braze-ons. The problem with any touring bike that I'm interested in is that it would have to be special ordered so I wouldn't be able to do a test ride and might find out that it's really not much better than my 620. I won't know until I spend the money and take the chance.

tacomee

Hey tourbiker,

What kind of sidepulls are you running now on your 620? I've had good luck with Tektro long reach calipers and those fat, short reach Tektro levers on older bikes. Depending on who you talk to, cantilever brakes aren't a huge upgrade from sidepulls. I think plenty of folks run nice touring bikes with sidepulls. Shimano makes an even better long reach sidepull, but it's spendy.

It might be possible to get a new fork with braze-ons and it's possible to use hardware to set up any rear rack/fender combo. Here's a link to some products to help you get you're old 620 spifted up a bit.
https://www.thetouringstore.com/TUBUS...ONS%20PAGE.htm

Good luck.

Cyclist0383

You can always drive over the border to fine an LHT if you so desire.

Bekologist

tourbiker,

jump on the Amtrak and come on down to Seattle.

There are plenty of bike shops where you can test ride both the Long Haul Trucker and the Trek 520. Gregg's Greenlake has usually got some 520's kicking around. I think you'd be suitably impressed with the 520 despite your misgivings about the series number.

Tuffwolf

that is a good idea you aren't that far from the states go down to seattle and test ride a few... and you are right they do like the 520 on this forum... LOL

mkyy

have you checked with mighty riders? they are solid and do carry Surly.

badger_biker 

Also look for Specialized Expeditions of the same era. Virtually the same as Miyata. Good geometry, full braze ons, plenty of room for fenders and wide tires. Often compared on or above par to the 720.

tourbiker

Hi again,
Thanks again for the tips and suggestions.
I'll look into the LHT a little further. I've talked with Mightly Riders, as 'mkyy' suggested, but they can only order the frame then build the bike because there's no complete LHT's currently available. Bellingham or Seattle is an option but, I'd prefer local since I anticipate several visits to the shop and border crossings can take a couple hours.

Tacomee: I currently have Dia Compe G sidepulls (originals on the 620). I've already looked into the Tektro long-reach Calipers (as recommended on sheldonbrown.com) but I think some kind of modification is needed. I'd contacted Trek's tech dept to see what brakes they recommend but, since I use 700c instead of the original 27" wheels, they simply told me that I can't change the brakes because the 700c is larger (they fit fine, despite what the techie said). So, I give up. The current brakes are okay but, I've always wanted better stopping power for fully-loaded touring. I've changed the brake levers to Cane Creek SCR-5c and love them. I can get by without lowrider braze-ons because my Blackburn lowriders can mount without them - it's just a hassle putting them on and off and they rub the paint finish. The 620 also only has one water bottle braze-on - I can't mount another water bottle because I don't want to damage the Trek decal that is still in mint condition. The 620 will continue to be a great commuter bike - I still love it.

bgcycles 

I'm not sure where that number comes from? Currently delivery time on BLT's or Rock 'n Road Tour's is about 6 to 10 weeks.
Regards,
Bruce Gordon
www.bgcycles.com

balto charlie

miyata 1000 It does the body good. The most comfortable I've ever ridden and I'm old I was able to ride the entire C&O canal in a day w/ that beast. Charlie

jpooch00

I own an '84 Trek 720 and I have to agree that it's the finest production touring bike ever built. Nowadays, the only bikes that I know of that would equal that kind of quality would be a Belinky or a Beckman - which is custom hand-built only. Both are pretty pricey, especially the Beckman, but ya get what ya pay for.

I've got a Beckman on order right now to be delivered in July 2011.

Good luck.

531phile 

If you like the geometry of the Trek 720. Just get the Trek 620 from '84 or '85. It has virtually the same geometry. Go to vintage Trek online and you will see what I'm talking about. I have a '85 620 and it's a good bike. The 720 just has a bit lighter guage of reynold 531. Some folks think the 620 with it's more rigid verson of 531 is better suited for loaded touring. The 720 is overpriced, you can find the 620 for cheaper. I got my for $250 on ebay about 3 years ago.

If I lived in Canada, I'd be riding a Rocky Mountain Sherpa 30 with 853 tubing. It may not have as long as a wheelbase and chainstay as the older Treks, but the 853 tubing would make for a more livelier ride.

Also, I have a modern 2008 Trek 520. I think it rides better than my 620. It might have to do with the fact that it has a slight sloping geometry vs. the traditional geometry of the 620. (I am partial to sloping geometry bikes b/c of my long torso/short legs body proportions) It might also be the fact that I am running Bontrager Hardcase tires on the '08 Trek 520 vs. the poor ride quality of the Specialized Armadillos on my '85 620.

You can't go wrong with the modern Trek 520. unless it doesn't fit you that well.

kaliayev

Your not interested in the 520 because it is a step down from the 620, but you are considering a LHT??? That's quit a bit of a step down IMHO.