Lanovran

I only just now saw this (took me a while to notice ). My saddle is level on that bike, or at least the part that I sit on. It's a curious feature of Brooks saddles that they tend to be nosed up a bit when the actual sittin' spot is level as it should be. I admit it looks a bit weird, but it's mighty comfy! Besides, it looks even more nosed-up than it actually is due to the photo's perspective and the angle at which the bike is sitting.

AL2052

Here is my new 520, picked it up on 12/22. After 25 miles I can say this is going to be a fairly long relationship. Reading comments on this thread made it easier to pull the trigger on the 520.

Tandem Tom

A question for you 520 owners! What is the largest tire, with fenders, that you can run? I am looking for a randonneuring type bike as I have a LHT. Would like an '80's vintage frame.

headloss 

I can only speak for the 2002 model, not sure how the current frame compares... max is a 45mm fender. I haven't pushed a tire to the limit but probably 38mm, maybe a 40mm.

walksomemore

I LOVE this bike. Smoothest, and most well-designed I've ever ridden - not that I'm an expert, but it just does what it is supposed to do, and does it in great comfort and style.

I believe it is a 1990. Mostly all original, and pristine. I did put a B17 seat on her (like you're supposed to...), updated the handlebars to a 440 Ergo Deda bar, and I converted the 1" stem to a 1 1/8" threadless. Running Gatorskin 28's now but may swap out for 32's before my long tour next month.

Velorific

What a nice find. Have a photo (or two)? Is yours equipped w/a 7 speed cassette?

dalenixon

Mine has the 7 speed cassette.

bloomrae

I've had this for about a month. Love it!

headloss 

Love the green! You should ride that beast on Crush the Commonwealth!

MAK

I have a 2004 or 2005 with 45mm fenders and Continental Top Contact 37mm tires. I might be able to fit slightly wider tires but would have to raise the fenders to their limit. I'm not sure and won't be experimenting as the 45/37 combo works great for me.

Velorific

Very nice! Thanks for the info & the photo. Enjoy your 520!

kerrkid

Im sure this question has come up before but Im going to ask anyways. I am not a big fan of laying my $1500 dollar 520 on the ground so how difficult is it to add a kick stand to the 520? What are my options?

Mark Stone

I owned a 1985 Trek 520 (I rode it for 25 or so years) and used a device called a "Flickstand". It attaches to the down tube and looks like this:



Heck I don't even know if they're made any more, but it made it really easy just to lean the bike up against something. Maybe you can find on on Ebay or somewhere

AL2052

I felt the same way, so had my dealer pop a kickstand on when I picked mine up last month. It mounts back at the rear tire, took him about 2 minutes. Look at post 178 on this thread to see it.

headloss 

Adding to the chainstay is easy enough (unless you have disc brakes)... I wish Trek would just put the braze on there for a kickstand that is common on European commuters. You may want a double kickstand if you will be using it while loaded up with gear. I don't use a stand and haven't had any issue finding a rack or somewhere safe to lean my bike.

KFC

I love my 2010 Trek 520. I have a little over 21,000 mile on it. I have used it for ultra light touring, but now I want to do a cross country fully loaded solo tour. I would be very interested to hear any opinions or reccomendations other owners may have for FRONT RACKS. I like the type with a top platform that still allows low mounting of the front panniers. Any opinions out there?
thanks

Lanovran

It looks like the new 520 has a mounting point for a certain type of rear-mount kickstand, but if you have a previous year model, you can still easily attach various others. I've attached a photo of my 2013 520, which has Bontrager's rear-mount kickstand that clamps onto the stays (but with the no-damage-to-the-frame kind of clamping ).



I've used Jandd's lowrider rack with a pair of 20L Axiom panniers. If you're only using a couple of panniers, it works great, but if you also want a platform on the front rack for a heavier load, then there are other options.

Velorific

I DIG the discs! Previous to seeing your photo I didn't think I'd like the look of a 520 w/ Disc brakes. Enjoy!

slide13

Just built this one up today in anticipation of spring!

Lanovran

Ooh, I see you went with the "deep evergreen" color. Very nice! I particularly like the brown saddle and bar tape. If I didn't already have a bronze 520 (with green saddle, albeit with the original black bar tape), then I'd be looking into picking up a green one like that.

Ghazmh

Nice! The stock saddle was the first thing to go on my 2014 520. I like the matching bar tape

Uncle Chuck

Greetings,
I just scored a (new) 2013 (root beer) brown 520 frame & fork on ebay. I'm trying to gather all the bits & pieces needed to build it up. Having never done this before, I have a few questions such as - What size wheels ? The new 520 use 26" wheels on the smaller frames (mine is 51 cm). All the info I've seen on-line thus far seems to indicate the 2013 models were spec'd with 700 wheels. Can anyone confirm or deny?

I'm clueless as to what type front derailleur to buy - clamp on / braze on ? Top pull / bottom pull ?
Headset suggestions ? (I plan to use the stem & handle bar off my old Trek 5200)
Seat tube clamp size?
Thanks, in advance for any info / suggestions.
Carl

slide13

Wheels are 700c, that is true for 2013 as well as the current models.

Stock derailleur would have been a clamp on, bottom swing, using a 31.8mm adapter to fit the seattube diameter. You'll need a bottom or a dual pull, either will work. Personally, when buying a new front derailleur I like to get a braze-on style and then a braze-on adapter clamp....just seems more versatile should you ever need to switch things up, but doesn't make much a difference functionally.

Seatpost clamp diameter is 31.9mm.


Hope that helps!

Hugh Morris

Slide13, that looks wonderful. What kind of bars are those? Love the profile, hoods and drops look super comfy compared to the Bontrager Select bars that came on my early 2000s forest green trek.

slide13

They're just the current stock Bontager Race VR-C bars. The do have a great bend profile to them, very comfortable.