Hello everyone this is my first message on this beautiful forum and I know it is a frequently asked one but still it goes into it a little deeper.
As you can guess I am out to buy a touring bike but there is a dilemma that won't let me decide.

My plan is to bike from spain back home to Leuven(Belgium). Now, I work at my lbs and am able to get a new trek 520 for €860 buuut I am also able to buy a new surly troll frameset for about €300-400. I do like cruisin the dirt but I like surfin the road as well, maybe even more. I would be camping out in the woods most of the time.

There is no possible of trying any of them and I haven't found a shop with a size 63 as of yet.(height: 1m89 weight: 95kg)

Please push me in the right direction because I really cannot decide.

Welcome! Hope you enjoy your stay here.

My choice would be the Troll. The frame is so much more versatile than the 520. You could have several different sets of wheels to match your adventures, and you could run disk brakes or rim brakes. The frame is more robust, has more braze-ons, and is Rohloff-compatible. The Surly Troll is a clear winner from my perspective.

I tend to agree about the troll, but I'm biased toward Surly in any case, and the troll is pretty much my #1 choice for a conventional touring bike.

That said, you said you'd get the trek for 860, but the troll for 300-400 for the frameset? So I'm assuming the Trek is a complete bike. I would want to get a good estimate of what the troll is going to cost for a complete build, so I could compare apples to apples price-wise if that's one of your deciding factors. Building up a frameset is usually quite a bit more expensive than buying a complete bike with comparable components, unless you're transferring parts over that you already own.

I was leaning towards the troll myself but it would indeed be more costly. The price for the Trek is for the complete bike. I don't have any extra parts laying around so I was leaning towards a full shimano xt t8000 group which would come to 550 something and 26" 42s wheels because of my weight. This would already come to a 1000-1200 euros not counting for racks or bags haha.

Would you recommend a lower groupset? I just want it to last a long time that's why I would go for the xt. I don't have a lot of money as I am a student but I'm saving every penny for a bike. Used to ride a full carbon fixie but it got stolen so now it's time for something different. Exploring the world with a bike and a tent seems to me like the best holiday I could imagine

I'm severely biased since I just bought and build up a 520 myself (rim brake version), but it is a very lovely bike, and I would highly recommend it. I run 38c Panaracer Paselas with room for fenders, so double track forrest and gravel roads shouldn't be a problem, plus they roll very well on the road. I'm 186 cm tall and the size 60cm fits perfectly, and I think it would fit you too.

I can see that if your priority is off road capability, the Troll would probably be the better choice, but I cannot speak from first hand experience on that one.

If you decide to go with the troll, I can fully understand the wish to build it with a high end XT group. With that said, I have great experience with the regular Deore 10 speed drivetrain from a touring/commuter bike I built for my girlfriend a year ago. There have been absolutely no issues, and it shifts very well. The Deore will be cheaper to replace when on a budget, if anything breaks.

I have a Troll and a World Troller. Never ridden the 520, but obviously I really like the Troll. If you plan on flying with your bike, the S&S coupled World Troller is the way to go.

My understanding is that the World Troller is now hard to get in most sizes (but the OP may need the largest size, so that may be possible). Also it's considerably more than the regular Troll frame, so the OP is trying to keep within a certain budget, the World Troller frame alone may carry a cost comparable to the 520 complete.

That said, I agree with you. The S & S option is very useful. My World Troller is packed up and ready to go to the Southwest with me in the near future.

I've never ridden a 520, but it's often compared to the Long Haul Trucker, which I've ridden quite a bit. I switched from my LHT, pavement touring bike to the Troll because it is a lot more versatile. I don't feel that it handles a full touring load as gracefully as the touring bike, but it does well enough, and in all other ways, I like the Troll better. It rolls with more confidence on a variety of surfaces. It's more nimble. It's more upright, which is more of a preference thing, but I like it. And it does fine on pavement with the right tires. If you were to say you wanted to ride pavement always, I would say the 520 might be the best choice. But if you want to switch between pavement and dirt, I think the Troll is your bike.

You could save a bit of money on the group set by going 8 or 9 speed . The only thing is tracking down quality shifters, especially in 8 speed, NOS or used only. You'll probably want to change out the chainrings anyway 48 36 26 is maybe a bit big.
I just started building up a Troll for my partner, it sure does have a lot of options...

Finances would dictate the Trek, then buy the bicycle of your dreams after graduation. The Troll wouldn't need a group beyond Deore.

Brad

My opinion is that XT is overkill for touring. In building up my Troll I went expensive with bottom bracket (Phil Wood) and handlebars (Jones Loop). My drivetrain is 9 spd Deore. It's completely competent for touring/commuting, and I've even ridden MTB parks. I have a sister-in-law in the industry, so was able to get a HED Belgium+ wheelset for cheap. Much of the rest I purchased through FB and Craigs (Cambium Saddle, Ritchey Comp Seatpost, BB7 Brakes).

As stated above, the Troll is just a great, great frame. I just switched from Big Apple 2.35" to 2", but I've also used 32mm. With something like the latter you could ride a 29er wheelset without any issues. It would raise the bottom bracket a bit, but no more than do the 3" tires many people are putting on their Trolls. If I were you, however, I would stick with the 26" wheelset for a stronger build, and doubt seriously that you would need to go with 42s. Put on a pair of the 2.35" Big Apples at 40 psi (you'll be surprised how well they roll) and you take a lot of strain off the spokes.

One more thing that needs mentioning. The 520, with longer chainstays, is built for rack and panniers. The Troll is better with bikepacking gear, as the shorter chainstays would mean heal strike on panniers unless you extend the rack farther back, and if you do that then you're taking away some of the nimbleness of the frame. So if you want to go the racks and panniers route then go with the 520. If you want to do framebag, bar harness and saddle/seatpost bag (and I believe you can put Salsa Anything cages on the newer Troll fork) then I would recommend the Troll.

Another vote for the troll being more versatile. Get the more versatile frame and save some $$$ on the build by going with a lower-tier group than XT. XT is great, but Deore is absolutely fine and will last as long in touring conditions. You'll go through multiple groupsets over the years on a frame like the Troll so saving some $$$ now for something functional and more versatile down the road is a good idea. SRAM is a good option as well if you go with mid-tier mtb components for the build. I managed to get most the range of a triple with an X7 crank from them mated to a large 10sp cassette.

World Troller is no longer in production according to my QBP working friend. Only XLs are left in inventory. MSRP is $1200. Even if you ride XLs typically you'd want to check measurements because the Troll has a quite-long effective top tube length. I'm 6'2" (aka 189cm), typically like a 61cm traditional frame and found the XL too long for me (63cm Top tube). Which is one reason I ended up with a 60cm Travelers Check.

In the US, the Trek 720 (not 520 as I had originally posted) was recently recalled due to wheel failure. If I recall the recall correctly, it was because spokes were breaking in the 24-spoke wheels and getting caught on the brake caliper. So it might be checking to make sure the 520 has better wheels.

Having said that, I had a 1990 Trek 520 and it was a great bike.

Cool. Anyone want a size large World Troller frame? Rare. $5,000 firm. Free shipping.

Parts availability in Europe is quite different than in USA. So, I can't comment on the XT group compared to other groups because I do not know what else is available. But, I can say that some parts you want to have good quality, others you can scrimp on.

That would mean a bit more work by finding specific components that you want instead of picking one grupo. For example a rear XT hub version M756A is a bargain when available, I ordered one about a week ago. But since that is considered older technology, that is unlikely part of a group package. For rim brakes I usually buy Tektro, you don't need XT level. Working at a bike shop, you can probably find some used parts for a very good bargain price too.

Thank you guys for all the welcome information, the troll is definitely winning at the moment but I do like the idea of panniers and racks so I can haul more stuff. When I go hiking I already carry a 95 liter bag with 25kg of gear.

The reason I didn't really like the trek is indeed because of the rumour of the failing wheels and the rather basic groupset but if those are both ok it will be a hard choice. The troll just looks so damn awesome!

The Troll just IS so damn awesome!

Fixed that for you...

Haha I will just have to buy both arghhh.

Buy Troll frame. Piece together the build from what you can find at a good deal / at the shop.

If in the future you have the opportunity to travel a lot with the bike (flying regularly) you can easily have someone retrofit S&S couplers when finances permit.

Trolls also have the most common wheelsize in the world. Plus are built for long stretches of dirt/gravel roads. The 520 is not. 24 spoke wheels, even well built, are not ideal for fully loaded touring.

I use racks and panniers on mine with no heel strike issues. Size large frame, 6'0", size 11 shoes and Ortleib Backrollers. The panniers have adjustable mounts.

Troll MTB like 26" wheel, 520 is a 700c wheel .

I have bikes with those wheeltypes, but not those , MY LBS sells Trek, and can get QBP stuff

Surly and Salsa are the QBP brands..

no problems with either of your choices..

a 3rd option, since you are tall, is a 29er trekking bike , 700c wheels,

but capable of taking wider tires than will fit the 520.





....

With disc brakes, you can use 700c wheels.

That is cool re:700c. What sort of max tire-size do you think fits w/ 700c?

Pretty sure a 700x50 will not fit. The widest tire I use is 40. Rear tire has less clearance than front.

I believe it was the 720, a totally different bike.

Again, it is not the 520 that has faulty wheels it is the 720. The Trek 520 is a fine, well proven touring bike.

I've actually ridden from Spain to Belgium by a rather circuitous route, it took me 4900 km to get there. The Trek will more than handle anything you encounter. if you like cruising the roads better than dirt, the Trek would be my choice. I have never seen a reason for running tires bigger than 35 mm, and have used 32 mm tires for 99% of my touring. On one tour in your part of the world part of the world, our route took us over 650 km of dirt and unsurfaced roads and trails, and over 800 km of cobble , sett stones and paver surfaced roads and trails. The 32 mm tires handled everything without any trouble.

I look at a lot of touring bike setups I see on the road being similar to using a pickup truck to pick up the groceries. If you need really wide tires, or tour in places like Vietnam, the Troll would be the bike.

32 mm will handle most conditions.