i've taken my Trek 520 out to all the trails at St. Edwards mountain bike trails-admittedly pretty mellow, (with panaracer full knobbie 700x31 'cross' tires) and suitably impressed the rest of the guys from the bike shop with the abilities of a touring bike.

I think a Trek 520 is about the best all around, stock bike you can buy.

its' fast too, i've had mine going 50MPH and felt like it was on rails. On one ride, doing 50MPH down Innees Arden way up in Shoreline, hitting potholes, the fella behind me said he saw my bike hop about a foot sideways, I was loving it and solidly in control for the entire bomb run.

sure, the weight of a touring bike might keep you back, but the 52-11 on the Trek 520 WON'T.

a touring bike like the Trek 520 is one of the most versatile "all arounder" bikes a rider could own.

cyccocomute, those head and seattube angles on those two bikes look very similar.......

I've got a garage full of bikes, but if I was forced by circumstance, like say a move to an apartment, I'd have to choose the LHT as my only bike.

Did you know Grant Peterson made that term up? :)

I agree with that, the price is definitely right, Trek makes a damn fine bicycle, and the new black is the hawtness.

After initially touring on a Mondia Special Swiss touring bike, a Ritchie Team Comp Mtn Bike and a Fat Chance Mtn Bike my choice for an all purpose bike is the Bruce Gordon RockNRoad with 700x47 tires.

Seventeen years later I am still quite happy with my choice. It has taken me: up and down single track at Crested Butte; over Porcupine Rim at Moab; self contained over the Divide Ride; to the grocery store; to work; through Death Valley,the Owens Valley,the California White Mountains to 12K feet; Tioga Pass from the East;the Icefield Parkway and most of the Western US and Canada including the Santa Barbara backcountry.

I do have another bike for two: a Fat Chance Mountain Tandem which also worked well on the above locations loaded for touring.

One BG RNR bike has done it all for me except for tandem time. Give it due consideration.

The dually is probably a little slacker. The fork on the dually is all the way out which gives it around a 69 degree head angle. I usually pull the travel down to mid-range for climbing or else I'm wandering all over the mountain ;)

wow. I thought Grant invented the touring bicycle.

I'm taking pre-orders for a sense of humor, I'll send you one as soon as I get them in stock.

Put me down for one too. I didn't get it (and still don't).

can I get a pre-order on some humor, a case of mirth, and an itchy wool sweater? I understand you might need to drum up some more orders before you get that mirth back in stock.

a touring bike is a all purpose bike for everything but racing. Pretty much my Klein race bike, goes unused, unless it's summertime.

You MUST own at least 15 different bikes. :D

I also apparently "need" a lot of different stems and saddles.