I think the issue with toe overlap is something that would annoy me. Hats off to Surly for going with a 26 inch wheel in the smaller sizes to avoid this issue. And I always assumed the 520 could run 35mm tyres with fenders, so that's a bit of a surprize -guess I was wrong?

I really like the look of the Trek 520 -but I just think they'd be better off doing some obvious changes (well at least obvious to me and some other posters on this board at least) such as gear selection and a better rack. That's not to say the 520 isn't an excellent bike, just that with a smidgeon of thought it could be more attractive to a touring cyclist. And since Trek doesn't do that, you have to think what do they think of touring? Looking at the Cannondale touring bikes, they seem to be better thought out spec wise.