Originally Posted by
Atlas Shrugged
. . . Sales of touring bikes and gear in Europe are strong, and, related to this thread, the good news is that the 520 Disc Frameset is still listed in Trek's 2026 catalogue in several European regions and the UK. Trek now positions the 520 as a "builder's bike." Since serious touring riders often have very specific preferences for drivetrains (like 3x10 setups) and saddles, Trek sells the chromoly steel frame and fork separately so you can custom-build it.
Great post. Here's the
page for the 520 frameset in the 2026 UK catalogue. To clarify, the 520 frameset comes with a chromoly frame and an aluminum fork.
From that page:
"520 is a steel touring bike made for the open road. It's the longest-running model in our line-up, and it's built to carry you and your gear on your longest journeys. Extra mounts, an aluminium touring fork and included headset, headset spacers, cable guides, front quick release skewer and seat post collar, make this frameset the perfect platform for your custom adventure companion."
Steel forks are available from Trek UK, but they're all listed as replacement forks for Trek's Verve e-bikes, from what I saw.
My guess: Trek went with an aluminum fork for the 520 so that they could meet the stringent modern EU safety standards for bicycle forks while keeping the weight reasonably low. The steel Verve forks are probably built to be quite a bit heavier to meet those standards. Trek must have figured people buying e-bikes don't worry about fork weight.
__________________
You are always the same age inside.---Gertrude Stein
My aluminum bikes: Light, strong, cheap, and comfy.
Last edited by Trakhak; 02-25-26 at 06:05 AM.