I am in the market for a new road/touring bike. I have always ridden bikes, even for a few multi-day trips with the fam. I have had an old Trek road bike for about 5 years but I want to upgrade to something that I can do some serious touring on. I'd love to ride VA to CA when I get out of grad school. I am looking at a Trek 1500. I would love some other suggestions. I am a woman who is 5'2", 125 lbs. I don't want to spend more than say... $1200.

You say you want to do some serious touring. If by that you mean put some racks on the bike, strap on some bags and camping gear, then the Trek 1500 isn't the bike. It's a lightweight road/sport touring bike. If you mean you want to ride long distances, take along a change of clothes and spend the night at B&Bs, then you might be able to do that with the 1500.

For real loaded touring (racks, tents, all that stuff), there is the Trek 520 which is a good start, but lots of people (like me) find that you have to modify the gearing and some of the other components (rack, saddle, etc.) With the right bike shop this can all be accomplished at the time of purchase for little or no extra $$, but it makes buying the bike more complicated.

There are other threads on this forum about loaded touring bikes. Look at them for an idea.

Companies like REI, Jamis, Fuji, Bianchi make touring bikes in your price range.

The Trek 520 lists at around $1,200. Fuji has a similar bike for much less, but it is almost impossible to find.

You might also consider looking on E-Bay or at local shops that current "pre-ridden" bikes. The "hay day" of loaded touring was from about 1980 to 1986. Lots of those bikes are still around, some in excellent condition. I bought a 1983 Centurion Pro Tour 15 very cheap, and it is in almost new condition. It is a great touring bike, and in my case, a great groceries hauler.

I noticed something interesting on the Trek website. The geometry of the Trek 7300 FX is similar to the geometry of the Trek 520. The similar geometry is not noticeable in photos, because the Trek 7300 FX uses a dropped top bar. The next time I am at my neighborhood Trek dealer, I am going to ask the tech how "doable" would it be to add a heavy duty touring rack to the bike. The 17 1/2 inch chainstay is a good size, but the angles of the seatstays are rather low.

If the 7300 can be fitted with a heavy duty rear rack, it would make a nice touring bike for just $400 or so. It has slightly wider tires and rims than a traditional tourer, which I regard as a plus: greater stability and comfort under loads.

The 7300 might benefit from bar ends, or a Rivendell "noodle bar" to provide a variety of hand positions on a long trip. But, even with new bars, it would cost half the price of the typical 2005 traditonal touring bike. And, the lowered top bar on the 7300 provides extra stand-over room for people with legs that are less than long.

I have a 520 and love it. I purchased it for 999.00 out the door. The only thing I've changed is the crankset which if I would have asked when I purchased the bike they might have done for free.

Don't know if this available inthis country or not, but check out the link:

https://www.bicycledoctor.co.uk/cat_smaller.html#table

At 5'2" you may have to look around to find a touring bike that fits you. I'd check out the Trek 520 and the Cannondale 800

You can build a Surly Long Haul Trucker for about the same price as a new 520. Framesets are 350-420 depending on where you order it from. I'm piecing one together right now and should be done for less than $900.

Here's some links:

https://www.surlybikes.com/longhaul.html

https://photos.yahoo.com/murraylove

Mark

This is a good option as the 2005 Trek 520 is now over $1,200.00 USD. I wish Trek would just sell the frame.

One thing to watch for on the Cyclecross bikes is that they will have 41-42cm chain stays. This could lead to interference problems between panniers and your heals. Most touring designs have 44+ cm chainstays to prevent this. I like the Surly with 3 bottle mounts, the spare spoke holder, and canti brake bosses. I pick it up tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure I won't be disappointed. If I were a bike shop I'd be offering a build based on this frameset. I wonder if Sheldon Brown is reading this. Wink, wink...

Just re-read the original post. Check out Crystal's LHT at https://www.girlbike.com

ThaNK YOU ALL FOR THE SUGGESTIONS. iRONICALLY, THE TREK that I have now is a 520 from the mid to late 8o's. I really love the feel and the fit but I am done with the shifters on the down tube. Plus, it feels pretty heavy. I will investigate the newer 520s before I sell my gem.

Also check into having the shifters on your current 520 upgraded to bar-end shifters. That is what the newer 520s have and what many people prefer for touring. Bar-end shifters have been around a long time and I think they can be adapted to down-tube setups.

The 520 is a (relatively) heavy bike, no matter what year. I think they are about 26-27 pounds for a mid-sized model. A loaded touring bike has to be sturdy to carry the full load. You might be able to save a lot of money and still have a great bike just by having some upgrades done on your current bike.

Why not spend $200 upgrading your current Trek. Move the shifters to the bar ends, new drivetrain etc. Then you would have $1000 left over to outfit yourself with gear such as racks and fenders, panniers, and camping stuff if needded. There will even be plenty left over after all that to fund a short tour somewhere. Don't fall into the gotta have the shiny new bike trap. The old 520 you have still has one of the sweetest rides out there.

https://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/lifestyle/newbike.htm

Ken makes a lot of sense in his article.
All the Best

a steel trek 520? there's your touring bike, purpose-built for touring with all
the braze-ons and the proper geometry. and rides nicer than alu models.

you can upgrade and refurbish for a couple hundred bucks. put either bar-end
shifters or bartop thumbshifters on. in place of the downtube shifters, you can
get little chrome thingies that screw on and are used to hold derailler cables.
i've seen downtube cable stops on ebay for $5-10.

don't worry about the weight - the difference can't be more than a few ounces,
maybe half a pound? insignificant if you'll be doing serious touring, loading the
bike down with bags and camping gear.

there, i've just saved you $1000. now where's my 15% ??

I'm considering going the other way on mine. I have the bar end shifters currently, and
may go back to down tube shifters. I seems to do a lot of double shifts, riding gears
that use either the middle ring and a small cog or the large ring and a middle cog.
At least with the down tub e shifters, I can go back to double shifts with one hand.
I have an older bike set up this way that works OK for me - just another opinion.

At 5'2, you are too small to be riding 700c. Surley use 26" MTB style wheels on their smaller frames. The advantages of these wheels for small riders far outweight any notional disadvantage in rolling resistance.
https://www.surlybikes.com/longhaul.html

Hi! My name is Joe. I'm a student at the University of Connecticut. I too am a newby but am very interested in touring. My interest was sparked by a week family bike trip during the summer after my fourth grade year. My dream is to go across the US. I would really like to make this journey this coming summer. You said you wanted to do a similar trip when you finished grad school. When would that be? Are you looking for a riding partner?

As for what bike to choose: I have looked over a number of bikes online. The Fuji Touring really interests me. My budget is somewhat limited. This bike seems to be pretty good and costs about $850. I will put a post to try and get some reviews on this bike. Good luck with your selection.

If you are going to be doing LONG all day riding during your tours, or pulling a trailer look into a good touring recumbent like the RANS Stratus. To keep the cost down you might be able to find one used at a reasonable price. The benefits of a recumbent for touring is that when you arrive at a destination you will in better shape to do some sight seeing rather than nursing sore body parts. Mind you this is just a thought and recumbents aren't for everybody.

'bent Brian

Joe, I'm currently building the LHT. I will probably have $800-900 in it when it's done. I am keeping tabs on the build, and where parts come from. I'm not counting that I have some ergo brake levers a saddle and seatpost sitting here. I'm also not sure of the component level on that Fuji Touring. My build is including XT hubs, CR18 rims, DB14 spokes, XT rear Der, Ultegra triple front, Sugino XD cranks (46,36,26), UN73 bb. The way I look at it, any bike in the $800-$1000 range I would rapidly start changing out components on, but that's me. I have experienced Dura Ace shifting and 105 shifting, along with Campy Chorus. Campy wins hands down, but DA is really good. 105, well, it does change the gears, but it doesn't have the crisp feeling. So, think about building up a bike vs buying one ready to go. That's me however. Oh, and it's hard to find MTB hubs laced to 700c wheels, I'm building my own.

Mark

www.Rivendellbicycles.com has the bar end shifters to upgrade an 80's touring bike. They also stock Brooks saddles, leather saddle bags, high stems, and other gear designed to increase the pleasure of owning and riding a "classic" steel framed bike.

On E-Bay, older Trek 520's can sell for serious money. The frame and geometry is exactly what many touring riders are looking for.