side_FX, I found this today so I thought I would share
[h=2]Trek 520[/h]
Trek 520 Touring Bike
Trek’s touring bike has been the multi-day touring standard for more than 3 decades. If you’re a committed touring cyclist looking for the utmost in comfort and durability, the 520 is for you.
The bike rides great regardless of the amount of weight that is packed onto it. Unloaded, the 520 is fun to ride. Loaded, even with front panniers, you can handle the 520 in the most severe cross winds.
The key features of the 520 are the frameset, which is made of springy, strong, and surprisingly light cromoly tubing (about 2 pounds lighter than Surly’s Long Haul Trucker), the robust traditionally spoked touring wheels with DT spokes and Shimano hubs, and the complete Shimano drivetrain utilizing the best elements of road and off-road componentry.
The 520 in rootbeer
Don’t let the bar-end shifters or rim brakes fool you into thinking that this is a stale design. Cutting-edge and new is great when you are a few miles from home (and a familiar bike shop), but do you think that little one-man repair shop in the Canadian rockies is going to have a replacement STI lever in stock? Think you’ll find a disc rotor at the hardware store in Dent, Minnesota after your broken bungee cord has put a half-inch dent in yours? Trek has picked equipment that is reliable, touring tested and simple to repair in even the most out of the way places.