Originally Posted by
HendersonD
I purchased a Trek 520 in November of 2021 and used it this summer to complete a 4,200 mile cross country ride on the Transamerica route. In Missoula Montana a bike shop discovered the bike had a cracked frame. A crack developed about an inch below where the seat post enters the frame. Luckily the crack did not spread and I was able to complete my ride
Trek warranties the frame for life and they have agreed to give me a $1,300 credit towards a new Trek bike. My local shop said a good replacement would be the Checkpoint ALR 5
Are there any other Trek bikes I should consider?
My 520 "granny gear" is 19.9 gear inches and there were a bunch of times on my tour I used it. My only hesitation with the Checkpoint ALR 5 is the drive train which appears to not go as low. The one I linked to has a 1x with 40 teeth at the front and a 11-44 cassette. If I did the math correct, the "granny gear" is 25.1 gear inches.
Have not asked my local Trek shop but perhaps the Checkpoint can be outfitted with a 2x in the front and a different cassette
In addition to looking at the linked bike page, I did a quick search. The first link I came upon was to
this version of the bike, which has a 2x. Yes, check with your local Trek shop, but it looks like equipping the Checkpoint with a 2x setup shouldn't be a problem.