cccorlew

My wife and I have two self supported rides planned this summer. We've done a couple of rides with just panniers, but not carried food and such.
This time we're going full tilt and wanted front panniers as well.

I took my gravel-esque titanium bike into a shop near where we recently moved to see about a front rack. (Shout out to Trek Bicycle Geneva NY) and was told "Nope. you don't want to put a front rack on a carbon fork."

I lamented that I'd feared that, and told them I'd done research and had thought I'd like to buy a Trek 520 if I could find one, but in these pandemic times I've read tales of people looking for months and then driving states away to get one. I figured I had no chance and that I'd better start working on a plan B.

They told me I looked like a 54cm size guy and that they had a 520 Grando that would fit me that arrived two hours before I got there. TWO HOURS!

So, BOOM, I bought the bike. Right then.

I know it's not the usual, but I love brake shifters, which this comes with, so I'm thrilled already. Plus, check that crankset. 42-28. An actual useful double! I may see if I can stretch to a 40 tooth max cog in back to replace the 36 it shipped with. I hear it MAY work. It doesn't ship with a rear rack so I ordered a Tubus Logo Evo. I've already swapped the pedals.

The rest of my tale is that I got the bike in the Finger Lakes region of NY and promptly flew back to my previous home in California where I have to finish some work before permanently moving. So I have a new home, and a new bike I can't ride because it's at the new home. It's just sitting there waiting for me until June.

But when I do arrive home my wife and I have planned several rides: The Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany, the C&O and GAP from DC to Pittsburgh and a week in Cape Cod. Can you tell I'll be fully retired in June?

Here's the bike with a temporary rear rack. I hung two panniers on it just to see how it looked. Yes, the bars are rotated up too much. I'll fix that. And add water bottles.


Check this 42-28 crankset!

Tourist in MSN

Great story about getting lucky and getting there after the bike arrived instead of before.

Some carbon forks are build for panniers, but they are unusual and generally not fitted to a new bike. And cost a fortune. I bought my Lynskey Backroad before they bundled it with a fork, I used a LHT fork with mine. Now that frame is sold with a carbon fork that can take panniers. But I do not mind a steel fork for touring.

IPassGas

Looks like a nice bike. Opining, touring is of course not just about the bike or the gear. It is about being outside and moving within and enjoying nature, but helpful that the typical speed on a bike is just a bit faster than most bugs. Good luck with finding interesting new places to ride on your new bike.

Bogey Speedwell

Very nice and great easy score, must have been fate.

djb

*I copied this stuff I had written from another thread about the bike.*
Enjoy riding it, and buying light camping stuff etc

-----------------

The stock gearing gives about 21.5 to 104/5 great inches, which is really not bad. A bit lower for heavy load and or steep stuff would be nicer, but really all in all its a good range with pretty typical jumps between gears that are perfectly fine in real life riding.
Gearing will be a bit higher with a 2 inch tire on, the above numbers are with 38s on.

Not sure if stock derailleur could take a very common 11-42 ten speed cassette to lower gearing. (Longer chain of course)
I ride this 11-42 cassette on a fat bike, works fine but I'm riding at generally low speeds and in steep and technical terrain so slightly bigger jumps not an issue.

cccorlew

Well, yeah! If it only about the bike we'd all stay home and ride the trainer in the garage. But you do have to have a bike :-) And one that will do the job you need done.
We rode from the across France Channel to the Mediterranean on nice carbon road bikes, but that was a supported ride and we slept indoors. This is us out in the world self supported.
As Mr. Natural says "Use the right tool for the job."

Tourist in MSN

That is a nice range of gearing. When you do not count the cross chained gears it is nearly free of duplicates. For a double crank (instead of a triple), that is one of the better sets of gears.

robow

I wonder if I could sneak a 44 chain ring on that crank? Still would be only a difference of 16t but wonder about the bolt distance.
Anyone know what make of crank on the bike ?

M Rose

from the Trek Website

*Crank Size: 48, 51
ProWheel forged alloy, 42/28, 2-piece, 170mm length Size: 54, 57, 60, 63
ProWheel forged alloy, 42/28, 2-piece, 175mm length

rm -rf

I used to follow the Riding the Catskills blog. It's rarely updated now, but the old rides are still there.
I've applied his category, "Worth the trip" to some of my regional rides! Yes!

It's not "that" close to the Finger Lakes, though.

Worth the trip ride reports with great photos. I rode one of these a few years ago when I was passing through on the way to a great Vermont week long group ride. The nicely groomed gravel roads were so smooth.

I really liked Vermont. Nice small towns, quiet roads. We started in Burlington.