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TREK 520 Fan Club

Old 03-07-09, 05:55 PM
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TREK 520 Fan Club

I know your out there. Who just loves their 520? (Or loved and misses it) I thought we'd just start a thread to talk about why. It would be fun finding the words. Most of all, I want to see all the pics!!
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Old 03-07-09, 06:10 PM
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I'm a fan
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Old 03-07-09, 06:28 PM
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valygrl, Great looking bike! Where is that picture taken? I can't figure out what the sign says.
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Old 03-07-09, 06:30 PM
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I love my 520. I have beat the living crap out of this bike over the years, and it just keeps going and going. This year it gets new wheels/tires, another new paint job, and a double kickstand.

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Old 03-07-09, 06:32 PM
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So am I. Since yours has Planet Bike fenders, what is the largest tire you can mount on a Trek 520 and still fit on fenders?
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Old 03-07-09, 06:44 PM
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Originally Posted by kyakdiver
valygrl, Great looking bike! Where is that picture taken? I can't figure out what the sign says.
Thanks! That's at Sunwapta Pass, in the Canadian Rockies, on the Icefields Parkway.
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Old 03-07-09, 06:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Thulsadoom
I love my 520. I have beat the living crap out of this bike over the years, and it just keeps going and going. This year it gets new wheels/tires, another new paint job, and a double kickstand.

Hey, those are the same panniers I have! I had a black pair just like yours, they died in a car wreck, and found the red ones for sale used in perfect condition on Adv. Cycl.'s web site. My Arkels just sit in the closet now, the C'dales are so much better.
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Old 03-07-09, 06:57 PM
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Originally Posted by valygrl
Hey, those are the same panniers I have! I had a black pair just like yours, they died in a car wreck, and found the red ones for sale used in perfect condition on Adv. Cycl.'s web site. My Arkels just sit in the closet now, the C'dales are so much better.
I'll be, so they are! I got mine way back at a LBS in 2001. They had been sitting around for awhile and they sold them to me, along with matching front pans and a bar bag, for a good deal. I've had no problems at all with them. I like the inner framework, and the outside pockets work out real well also.
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Old 03-07-09, 07:48 PM
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I like my Trek 520. It has about 10,000 miles on it between my legs, and I bought it used when it was 7 years old.

Over looking an old mill on the Brazos River, Texas.


Local ride


In front of Eskimo Joes in Stillwater, OK. Oklahoma Freewheel, 2008



On tour, with panniers, somewhere in southern Oklahoma

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Old 03-07-09, 09:35 PM
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Me ol Trek
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Old 03-07-09, 10:33 PM
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Behold my still new 1989 520.
I don't yet know what will become of this time "time machine". I may sell it and buy that vintage Miyata 1000 or put it in a museum.
What would you do?

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Old 03-08-09, 02:21 AM
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WOW, these are great bikes!! Keep them coming, I love it!
I thought mine looked good!
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Old 03-08-09, 02:24 AM
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nice views

Originally Posted by valygrl
I'm a fan
It's amazing how much the view behind the the bike makes it even hotter.
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Old 03-08-09, 04:02 AM
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Old 03-08-09, 04:24 AM
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Here is mine, on a tour down the Katy going to New Mexico.

since sold to another BF member.







I loved that bike, which I called Elephant Gerald. I recently sold it to another BF member, I hankered for a TI ride.
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Old 03-08-09, 07:21 AM
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Originally Posted by NormanF
So am I. Since yours has Planet Bike fenders, what is the largest tire you can mount on a Trek 520 and still fit on fenders?

I've run up to 38s on mine, and there's still plenty of room.
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Old 03-08-09, 07:25 AM
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Here's my 2005 520, at a rest stop in Westport, NY, along Lake Champlain, on Day 1 of a 10-day tour of northern Vermont. I love this bike, though I was glad I geared it down for this trip.
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Old 03-08-09, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by ricohman
Behold my still new 1989 520.
I don't yet know what will become of this time "time machine". I may sell it and buy that vintage Miyata 1000 or put it in a museum.
What would you do?
Find an up-and-coming family member, neighbor, etc., and give it away. I gave my old tourer to my 24-year-old nephew. He rode it from Vancouver, B. C. to San Francisco and had the adventure of his life. He asked if I wanted it back. I told him he could keep it as long as he wanted to keep riding it, but if he ever thought about selling it or giving it away, that's when I want it back. I'll recycle it again then.
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Old 03-08-09, 03:44 PM
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I picked this frame and another 520 frame out of the scrap iron pile on my brother in laws farm. When I asked what he wanted for them he said just get them out of here. I put parts I had laying around to put this one together and hopefully some time this summer I can get at the other one. This one is going to my nieces boyfriend.
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Old 03-08-09, 03:48 PM
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some people have all the luck!

Man I wish I ran into these finds!!
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Old 03-08-09, 04:16 PM
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I bought an early 80's 520 off CL last fall, and so far I've just used it as my winter commuter. I love this bike! I haven't put the Rivendell bar-end shifters on it yet, I've been too lazy to chase down a cable stop for the downtube. But I replaced the wheels with newer ones, replaced the bent rear derailleur, and it rides like silk.

I'm looking forward to doing some touring out in California on it this summer, depending on how the triathlon training goes.

Thanks for all the great pictures!
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Old 03-08-09, 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by jbpence
Here is mine, on a tour down the Katy going to New Mexico.

since sold to another BF member.







I loved that bike, which I called Elephant Gerald. I recently sold it to another BF member, I hankered for a TI ride.
and some said this bike isn't for heavy touring!
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Old 03-08-09, 07:03 PM
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I brought my 520 home from the store yesterday and all those amazing pictures are inspiring.
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Old 03-08-09, 07:17 PM
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A few more







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Old 03-08-09, 08:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Raffi
and some said this bike isn't for heavy touring!
yes, a good joke indeed. That looks like a huge load, and it IS about 60 pounds. Mid way thru that trip I had shipped 15 pounds home. this was my first tour. these days I tour with about 45 pounds, including an the weight of an extrawheel trailer.
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