M Rose

you can put a 29x2 and run fenders. And a 2.1 won’t fit fenders or not.

RB1-luvr

^^ thank you.

M Rose

2022 Trek 520 Grando with XR Team Issue 29x2.0

Matadors

My Trek 520 is the best go-anawhere bike I have ever owned: Poncha Springs, CO to Del Norte, CO on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route

JimQPublic

Family of four with four 520's:
My wife has a 1989 that she bought new.
My son bought a mid-90's 520 a couple years ago.
I bought a 2017 520 disc a few months ago.
We just bought a 2012? for our daughter.

Definitely in the fan club!

wstephenson

Hi there, this is my first post on this forum. I've just obtained a 1991 520 (the penultimate (EDIT off by one error, 1993 was the last year) lugged year, with True Temper AVR tubeset), one owner, well loved but well used. I am in the process of restoring it and rebuilding it as a drop bar tourer, as it had been set up with flat bars by the shop when it was new.

I've been down a lot of 520 rabbit holes recently, but I haven't found any discussion about why the bottom bracket drop shrank (higher BB) to about 48mm between 1990 and 1992. Lugged 520 frames before that and TIG frames after that had a 20mm lower BB. This 'small' 19"/48cm frame actually has the same 55.5 cm top tube and because of the high BB, standover height that is close to my much newer 56cm steel gravel frame.

Does anyone with more 520 experience have insight why the BB was so high in those years? Was it an attempt to make handling more lively even when fully loaded? Or was it simply an economic decision, saving money by sharing the high BB cast lugs for the chromoly road bikes with the mountain bikes?

RB1-luvr

what fenders are these?

M Rose

I’m not sure…. They were what was in stock at the LBS.

mstateglfr 

They look like Planet Bike Cascadia fenders. The Cascadia line has a bunch of fender widths and one is 65mm wide, which handles up to 2" tires. The 65mm comes in both polycarbonate and aluminum too.

bikemig 

I'm curious are the lugged Trek 750s from the 90s allowed into this club? I know that they're hybrids but at least for a few years they had the same tubing and geometry spec of a 520; or at least that is my understanding.

robow

I have no insider information but I bet your idea of manufacturing cost savings by Trek was likely the reason, as so often is the case.

padeg

Beautiful bike, unfortunately the Trek 520 Grando is not for sale in Italy...

M Rose

nor anywhere else in the world unless it’s NOS in a LBS somewhere. Trek discontinued the 520 as of 2023 MY.

M Rose

nor anywhere else in the world unless it’s NOS in a LBS somewhere. Trek discontinued the 520 as of 2023 MY.

wstephenson

I'm not qualified to make a ruling here, but are you aware of the dedicated "Show your Trek Multitrack!" thread in the Hybrids section? Or if you're using a 750 for touring, maybe it should be in this forum...

wstephenson

Now I can post pics, here's my 520 project. 1991 19" in purple white and conch. Obtained from a retired lady teacher and former tourer in the Upper Palatinate. It had some too-narrow straight bars on it when I got it, it was covered in a 30 year thick layer of grunge and Ballistol, and gear shifts took about a week. The frame still needs a proper detailing but it's clean, the parts on it all work now and it's a fun and comfortable ride:


Nitto Grand Randonneur B135 bars, Panaracer Gravelking Slicks 40mm on Wolber M59 on Deore XT hubs, XT/DX drivetrain and brakes.

Bill1227

I use my 2021 for everything …….and love it!

M Rose

My 520 stripped down for a gravel race.

wstephenson

Looks good! How does it handle without a load? There was some discussion on r/x-biking recently about the new 520s having a slacker head angle and more trail than the 90s ones and whether this was noticeable when trying to ride fast and hard.

M Rose

it handles extremely well without any weight. I was cutting and carving the corners during the race with ease. I didn’t notice any ill effects in handling at all.