Do you want a heavy duty touring bike or a light gravel bike unsuited to carrying rear loads? I did most of my touring ultralight on road racing bikes.

man am I out of touch

If you do a rear rack it’ll be for top loads like what goes off a seat or med. dry bag and not panniers. Short chainstays road/cross/performance bikes don’t have the geometry for rear panniers.
If you’re wanting a light sport/gravel/road bike the Checkpoint is good but it you want a load carrier maybe the 1120?

For anyone interested, that crack location is a known issue with newer generation (2012 onwards) 520's. If you do a search online you'll find plenty of similarly cracked 520's. Incidentally my wife's 520 cracked from that exact spot. Got a new 520 frame as a warranty replacement. I wonder what we'll do when the new frame cracks...

Could a really long seat post help to prevent a recurrence ?

I think not, but perhaps a frame builder will comment.

Those are not my only options. I will likely buy a Checkpoint SL6 gen 3 and use it for quite some time before my next tour rolls around. I might find the gearing is just fine for touring and no changes are needed. If not, I can look into changing the drive train to get lower gear

The bike is size 60 which is the proper frame size for me. I am 6'2" and weigh 195

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I doubt it. My wife is not heavy (at the time around 130lbs) and there was plenty of seatpost in frame. She usually gets my 400mm posts I'm too lazy to cut shorter.

I suspect the issue is with the integrated seat collar. I don't think those were ever a good solution but it's especially bad with a sloping top tube and more than a fistful of exposed seat post.

Just posted in another thread on same subject, see bolds:

I was keenly aware of this issue when outfitting my folder. I hadn't even tried to put panniers on the low Dahon rack it came with, I could see the problems with that. Fortunately at the time, Nashbar had on clearance sale, an expensive Blackburn rear rack that holds the panniers behind the rear axle, and, a lower tier for the panniers that makes putting a trunk bag on much easier. It was intended as a "commuter" rack, I think that's why the aft position, it would have heel clearance on a short-chainstay 700c or 26" bike. (It was cheap because they had a reputation for breaking the U-lock holder which I never used anyway because it requires removing the trunk bag.) It was also large-wheel height, which is perfect to keep the panniers from scraping a tall curb. The included rack stays were ridiculously too short with the high and aft position and the low chainstays on the folder, but Jandd made some extra-super-long stays available for $10 at REI. A little bit of adaption to make those mate with the rack. Zero stability issue with the panniers that far aft, I think 3-4 inches behind the rear tire, and the rack works perfectly to stand the folded bike on its behind, as when I have the handlepost and bars folded, my aero bars extend down far enough to hit the ground.

Axiom also makes some well-aft racks (with changeable lower secton to adjust how far aft), one with lower pannier tiers, and wide platform for trunk bag that I prefer.

Pic to make more clear:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8d2e95b720.jpg

The option you describe above is a terrible option when it comes to your initial post and subsequent comments.
But if you change the parameters for what your end goal is, which is seems you have, then yeah the option above could be a good option since it gets you a $4000 bike for $2800.

Have you asked your dealer how much they would give you for the Checkpoint (essentially a new bike that they can sell as such) that you can then use to purchase a bike more suitable to your touring needs?

This sounds like the best idea so far, especially if they're also a Surly dealer so they'll get another sale out of the turnaround.

Surly is owned by QBP, so in theory every bike shop is a Surly dealer.

Right, but Magic Cycles is a lot more likely to work with you ordering a Surly than a Trek bicycle store.

what’s wrong with the Checkpoint ?

see them often on bike trails loaded up - especially on the GAP and Montour trail

this guy rides all over creation loaded up on a Checkpoint :



this guy rode across the US on a Diverge (?)

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fa30c7a56.jpeg


this guy rode across the US on a Ghost gravel bike ( Asket ?)

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5669154e4.jpeg



.

I would not go so far as to say it is a terrible option. My future touring will likely be credit card touring for a week or two, nothing like my 4,200 cross country trip. I have seen quite a few Checkpoints used for this purpose with slightly lighter loads than I was carrying

Since my future touring is likely to be of the credit card variety, I do not think I will be carrying heavy rear loads. A carbon frame graven bike might work just fine

Sounds good to me. I toured ultra light as I was light and liked riding my road bike. Funny how frame packs were nonexistent back then. Three lbs on a small bar bag, maybe eight on top of the rear rack w camp pad. Didn’t ride much different than unloaded. But once you stick 20 lbs + off the rear wheel of a short chainstay bike to clear heels it’s not a fun bike anymore. Those kind of bikes are better w front low ridersrs if you need load carrying otherwise get the weight under you.

Ended up ordering a Trek SL6 gen3, should be in next week. The bike has a lot of things my two current bikes (LeMond Poprad and the cracked frame 520) do not have

1. Carbon frame
2. Electronic shifting
3. Tubeless tires
4. IsoSpeed
5. 1x which is a single chainring up front

I hope it works for you. If they allow you to keep the 520, keep it. Touch up the paint so it won't rust and looks good. Ideally you could find a bottle of nail polish that matches the paint close enough.

They will let me keep the 520 but with a crack that extends halfway around the frame below the seat I will not be riding it. I will strip the components, try to sell a few of them, a few of them will go on my new bike (bottle cages) and junk the frame

The frame might be worth holding onto for use on an indoor trainer if you use such a thing. I know I was tryng to find a similarly damaged frame for a while but usually the manufacturer requires the frame to be destroyed if they warranty it.

hydraulic (disc) brakes ?

( Poprad has them ? )

Yes, hydraulic disk brakes