Originally Posted by EmmCeeBee

Seems that a question like this has been coming up every month or so on this board.

And, in the end, my impression is that the OP doesn't get a satisfactory answer. It's the wrong board.

Asking a touring board which bike to buy for speed is like asking a birdwatcher's group which species has the best drumsticks. Yeh, of course birdwatchers have to eat, but their minds aren't wired that way. Tourers commute and sometimes go fast... (?) ... but it just seems you're coming at it from the completely wrong direction.

If speed is that important to you, why aren't you looking at road bikes? Or maybe it isn't that important -- in which case, just keep riding.

No diss-ing intended, I just can't see how the 520 comes up in such a hair-splitting justification.

-- Mark