'Completely agree, and yes, I must admit that most of my preference for a horizontal top tube is based on my sense of aesthetics. There may be some advantages in terms of stiffness etc, but those points could probably be endlessly debated back and forth, so yes, it's mainly just that it looks better to me.

I actually like a sloped top tube for touring bikes, when your bike is loaded down with camping gear and you might be standing on uneven ground instead of smooth pavement, for one thing a sloped top tube gives you much better standover clearance. Sometimes I put a small bag on top of my touring bike top tube with spare tubes and patch kits like in the photo, sloped top tube gives more clearance.




But road bikes, I agree with you, prefer a horizontal top tube. Both my rando bike and road bike have horizontal top tubes.

Yeah, my wife feels that way too, as I imagine many others do as well. A valid point, but personally, I've never found standover clearance to be a problem. of course YMMV.

Nice bike though!

Good point, that makes a lot of sense.

I'm willing to take the occasional nut shot in the name of vanity. I mean aesthetics, in the name of aesthetics.

'Never taken a "nut shot" from my top tube on my 520, which I've been riding for 25 years now. I think if your bike is properly sized for you there really shouldn't be much risk of that happening.

And I'm not sure why you think "Vanity" has anything to do with it. After all, I'm talking about preference in bike styles, not a face lift or hair implants.

I was trying to make fun of myself, and apparently failing. I think we're looking at things the same way.

OK, 'got it. I wasn't sure where you were coming from so I'm glad you responded.

Having done the Dempster Highway in the summer of '18, I can now report that in the summer the highway is a mud bog when it rains and until it dries, but it dries fairly quickly. Mud guards in my opinion are senseless to use. I took mine off actually on the road! The guy I was travelling with did not have mudguards and his bike did not clog up like mine did. I was stopping every 20-30 minutes and spending 10 minutes trying to clear my rim brakes, and free up my derailleurs. Disc brakes would be a better option for this ride, but rims brakes were fine. I did have to replace my pads twice because the mud is very abrasive and shredded the pads from all the mud buildup. It was a tough slog in the rain, but a joy when the sun was a out. The Dempster ends at Inuvik. The new section of highway that continues to Tuktoyuktuk is the same road surface as the Dempster. That section is called the ITH, or Inuvik Tuktoyuktuk Highway.
It is well worth doing the ride all the way to Tuk and the Arctic Ocean if you are a serious cycle tourist. The scenery is some of the best you'll every see. It's tranquil, great wild life, yeah mosquitos but use an original bug jacket and you'll be way better prepared than most others.

I think the general advice against adding shocks to a non-suspension bike is in general pretty reasonable. There are some caveats though. Certainly jumps & whatnot would be unwise. Some bikes came in both a hardtail & suspension variety. Identical frames, geometry, components, etc...The 1997 Trek 6500SHX and 6500ZX for example. SHX being RockShox Indy C with 63mm of travel & ZX being sans shock. Adding modern shock that changes the headtube angle 5 degree with 80-100mm wouldn't be super crazy in this case. How much stress is caused by bottoming out that 63mm OEM? I feel comfortable with the change so long as nothing is abused.

I see no shock equiped equivalent in the catalogue listed for your 520. My thoughts are if the headtube angle could be maintained, the rake was similar & travel could be limited to a reasonable amount, say around 60mm or less it wouldn't be a terrible proposition to swap in a suspension fork. The hard part would be finding an equivalent.

The Lauf fork is purpose built for short travel, high frequency absorbtion. So long as axle to crown & rake was similar...I'm not sure that there would be a difference in frame stress. Maybe even less so on account of the shock loads are eliminated. If only the steer tube diameter was compatible, you would have a winner with the Grit model. According to the ad copy: The 6mm sag makes for 395 axle to crown & 45mm of rake. A near perfect match for your 520.

A 700x23c wheel diameter isn't all that different than a 559x57-ish The larger air volume certainly wouldn't hurt in terms of comfort. Heck, there's only 5mm of circumference difference between the two. The same could be said for a smartly chosen 650/27.5er. Obviously only a disc brake upgrade makes this possible.

I say go for it, but a smart selection of stuff and attention to detail would be important.

I rode the Dempster quite a few years before that ('96). My perceptions from the time:
- The mud depends a bit on where you are at. I had wet weather near the Mackenzie River Delta and it was a big mess for the last 20km into Fort McPherson. Other places an occasional shower, but road surfacing was better able to handle it either because it was rocky/hard or because there was better drainage.
- Some spots with a lot of mosquitoes e.g. after Windy Pass and before climbed to Eagle Plains, but it wasn't continuous everywhere
- Road surfaces overall reasonably graded. So while a gravel road, also not extremely rough so not sure a suspension fork makes a huge difference.

After the Dempster, I cycled the Dalton (twice) and found similarities between the two routes. Still on my list is to go back and do the last little bit of road up to Tuk. I flew there in a tourist trip, but would be nice to see it on the road.

Easy! “Plug & play”’with a vintage RockShox Ruby fork for 700c road bikes. Not a bad idea. I rode one for years (25yrs ago) on a Specialized Allez Epic that is still in my basement. Has a lock out. Ruby requires another rear side pull brake b/c it uses the short mounting shaft of a Rr not a long shaft of a front caliper. I’ve seen them on EBay in 1” threaded and 1” ‘threadless. I check them occasionally in case I were to sell mine off my 56cm frame. I’ll prolly sell the bike complete with Ruby and OEM aluminum Specialized fork some day.

Rubys are still available on EBay $200-$250 “drive it off the lot”. I just copied the following from someone’s current listing I believe asking $250 NOS NIB.

NOS NIB Rock Shox Ruby SL 1" Non-Treaded Front Suspension Fork For 700c Road Bike.The Steerer Tube is 10 3/8 " long and un-cut. This complete fork set comes with owner's manual, spring set and Judy butter lube. This vintage fork is getting VHTF and will definitely take the edge of off rough roads.

Interesting to re read this thread. Didn't add a suspension fork. Didn't need one. As I mentioned above, the scenery was some of the most fabulous you will ever see because it is so different from what you have ever seen. My wife would like to go back in the future. Won't be cycling though. We will drive, maybe take in Alaska since the last time we were there was just for a cruise, so we obviously didn't see the interior or get to really explore.


Wife and daughter drove from Manitoba to meet me at the end the road!