On 12/4/2017 2:31 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2017 2:59 PM, sms wrote:
On 12/4/2017 10:46 AM, wrote:
On Sunday, December 3, 2017 at 5:41:21 PM UTC-6, sms wrote:

Trek's touring bicycle selection has always been lousy,
they have the
Trek 520 which is inferior to other brands' touring
bicycles.

Trek has the 520 for loaded touring. Most every other
bike company has exactly ONE loaded touring bike too.Â
The 520 is very similar or the exact same as every other
loaded touring bike sold. There are no differences in
loaded touring bikes. They all have steel frame and
forks made in China. Shimano or maybe SRAM mid/low
level components. Bar end shifters. 9 speed cassette.Â
Triple crank. They are all the same. None are
inferior or superior to the others. They are all the
same. Only difference is price. Nashbar and Bikes
Direct are at the cheaper end and Trek is at the higher
end. Same bike.

I assume you have never ever in your life been loaded
touring. The Trek 520 works just fine as a loaded
touring bike. I have several months and thousands of
miles to back this up. You just want a bike that works
just fine day after day. Nothing fancy or wild.

You can tell the difference between loaded touring
bicycles by looking at the type of steel, the geometry,
the components, and the included, if any, racks.

As Russell said, the components are fine. 2018 Trek 520 has
a Deore rear derailleur, Alivio front derailleur and Dura
Ace shifters. Most other components are decent Shimano
stuff. The steel is butted chrome-moly. It comes with a
decent rack and fittings for front low riders. I don't know
what more you want. The bike has a very good reputation and
it's well deserved.

A big advantage in newer models, is disc brakes, i.e. the
Surly Long Haul Trucker Disc model. These would have been
very nice to have when doing loaded touring on steep long
downhill runs.

Ah yes, now that disc brakes are on the market, the brakes
that served us well for decades are suddenly inadequate.
Fashion is everything!


And you have the wrong rim size.
Probably an out-of-date BB format as well.


--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971