Thanks to all who gave me advice while I was considering what touring bike to purchase. I finally decided on the Trek 520. Although I had been considering the Bruce Gordon BLT, as well as a few other reputable online dealers the determining factor ended up being the fit of the bike. After a phone conversation with Bruce Gordon left me feeling a little uneasy about his recommendation of frame size I decided that I was going to find a shop that had bikes in stock that I could be fitted to and also give a test ride.

The local Trek dealers don't stock the 520 because it's not a fast selling item. When I'd try to discuss doing a proper fitting so I could order one they either weren't interested in spending the time or simply asked me what size pants I wore and looked at the chart and recommended a size! To make matters worse the last LBS I went to looked at me and said "You want to buy a touring bike???..... Why???" I guess with the local Trek dealers if it isn't a racing bike or a full suspension mountain bike they don't want to mess with it. (Funny thing is this is the second bike that I've driven out of town to buy!)


Last week I drove 200 miles to a dealer in Texas who keeps the full range of sizes of the 520 in stock. They also knew what they were doing when it came to fitting people and bikes. It was no surprise that the frame size that the LBS had recommended was way too small. The size that the online frame builders were recommending would have been too small also. Even the size that I was sure to be the right fit turned out to be wrong. The size I ended up with was based on the fact that my femurs were somewhat longer than average for my height. The size that I purchased has the right top tube length and even with the largest tires I still have an inch of stand over height. It also worked out that with the uncut steerer tube I was able to get the handlebars level with the saddle.

The bike fits comfortably and rides great. I've had it a week now but due to bad weather I've only been able to put 75 miles on it. Although it's considerably heavier than my Litespeed it has a very comfortable ride. I don't regret my decision to buy it and I can't wait for the weather to get warmer so that I can start taking some short trips.
My next objective is to choose some panniers. For the rear I'm considering the Jandd Large Mountain pannier or the Ortlieb Back Roller Clasic as well as some lesser known /cheaper bags i've seen.


2004 Trek 520.
XT crankset
Speedplay Frog pedals
Continental Top Touring 2000 700x28 tires
Terry Fly (Gelissima) saddle.
Specialized Turbo Pro computer
Jandd Expedition rear rack (not installed yet)