After months of agonizing over what kind of bike to get, I recently decided on a Trek 520 touring bike. A year ago I got back into cycling. At the time, I bought an entry level road racing bike, but it was not the right bike for me. I ended up selling my racing bike on Craig's list, and started riding my old mountain bike.

I eventually decided on a getting touring bike to replace the road racing bike. I originally thought about getting a Cannondale T800 or a T2000, but in the end, I decided that I prefer the durability of an all-steel frame.

I picked up my 520 this week and I am thrilled with the bike. It looks great, and I was surprised at its weight. I thought the bike would be a lot heavier than it is. I haven't measured it on a scale, but it seems like it weighs about the same, or even less than my wife's Cannondale T800. The T800 is a surprisingly heavy bike, even though it has an aluminum alloy frame. My wife's bike weighs around 28 or 29 pounds (according to the scale at our LBS) and her frame is much smaller than mine.

The new bike runs well and it shifts so smoothly. I really like the bar end shifters. The front shifter runs in friction mode only, but the rear shifter can run in an index-mode or a friction mode. I prefer to leave the rear shifter in friction mode.

I have made some changes to its stock configuration:

1. My LBS replaced the stock Tiagra crankset and BB with a brand new Shimano Deore LX mountain bike crank set (with a 22 tooth granny chainring). This greatly improved the gearing for my needs. The stock crankset was too tall for what I was looking for.

2. I replaced the factory rack with a nearly identical Trek rack that I had on another bike. This other Trek rack had a little mounting plate for a rear tail light. The factory-provided rack did not have this mounting plate.

3. I replaced the seat with a Specialized Body Geometry 2 sport seat. I find this seat to be comfortable, yet light.

I took the bike on a couple of short rides and climbed up some local hills. I really like my bike. It feels quick (much faster than my mountain bike), and the steel frame is quiet and really comfortable. The 520's ride is nice and stable. Also, I feel very comfortable riding on the drop bars (no sore wrists so far - this is a big complaint that I have about riding my mountain bike). The mountain bike crankset made climbing up the steep hills very easy. The 700 x 32c tires did well on the gravel roads and helped soak up the shock from the bumps in the road.

I am thrilled with my new bike. I think this Trek 520 will make a fine touring and recreational bike for me.

Here's a quick pic of my new ride....