maximum01

I have the new Trek 520 and love it. I'm 44 years old and have been bike touring for a long time, taking trips to Europe and frequent short tours in my native Scottish Highlands. Up here the roads are like a rollercoaster ride and the weather very demanding. Therfore you might find my opinions reasonably valid and borne from experience.

This is the first Trek touring bike I've owned having previously ridden all steel Dawes, Ridgeback and Jamis touring bikes.

A couple of initial observations in direct response to some of the opinions in this thread.

1. The alu fork is absolutely fine. With nice spongy 38 tires road vibration is sufficiently damped and I notice zero loss in comfort from my last full steel Jamis which came with 35mm tires.

2. The STIs are actually a joy. Yes, it's true, and I've surprised myself saying it. Why the obsession with bar end shifters? They're actually pretty awkward to use, especially on steep uphills requiring one hand off the steering, and can take the joy out of quick changes on descents. I can now cruise along in the drops and adjust my gearing for optimal comfort and speed. Feels great and a definite step forward.

3. The MTB gearing is a godsend in a market obsessed by component name tags but little consideration for the impact on ride exoerience. Hauling my stuff up huge hills in Scotland has taught me how critical low gearing is, especially under a heavy loads. The gearing on this machine is perfect and I applaud Trek for thinking about the needs of the rider when selecting the drivetrain on this bike. There are so many gravel touring bikes out there with completely unsuitable 105 drives. I had to.eliminate all these candidates when narrowing my list down as I know from experience regret will sink in on your first big climb.

4. Nice attention to detail. Solid front and rear racks with multiple high and low luggage mounting points on the front and loads of space for lights ect. Extra bottle mounts on the main frame and fork. A nod to gravel touring with solid top platforms on the racks and comfy 38mm tires. This is good.

So overall I've really pleased and can see this bike lasting me many years. Oh, and did I mention it has a lovely red paint job? Anyone with experience holding onto bikes over the long haul will know it's best avoiding the dramas over group set names. Components will eventually wear out and need replacing. You'll then appreciate a lower tier drive that's nice and cheap to replace and service, and that's very true of failures and servicing on an extended tour too.