Inutero303

Hi .. cant decide between the trek 920 or the Speciliazed Sequoia .. planning on doing long rides with my wife .. off road and pave road .. i always been a fan of specialized but i recently found out about the 920 and looks like an amazing bike too .. maybe it can take harder roads and mud better? .. any experience with the 2 bikes

thank u !

DropBarFan

I haven't tried either but I'd lean to the 920. Lighter alu frame, full-hydro brakes & lower-gear chainrings, plus wider tires to soak up bumps. 920 OTOH is notorious for 28-spoke wheels, a heavier rider might want to go with 32 or 36 spoke wheels.

fietsbob

We see 920's out on the coast because of a Trek travel program for returning war Vets,,

newest ones got a Sram hydro , road Brifter....

a 29er with racks F&R.. sequoia is a Conifer that grows in the Sierras..

indyfabz

What's wrong with the Crux E5 CX bike you say you just bought for the same purpose?

Inutero303

khutch

I've been looking for a new bike recently and have test ridden both of them. Both ride very well and they are similarly equipped/priced if you compare the Sequoia Elite to the 920. I ended up getting the 920 because I wanted to be able to run at least 2 inch tires and I prefer a metal fork, even if it is aluminum, to a carbon fiber fork. The 920 is geared well for touring and since it uses mountain bike drivetrain components it can be tweaked lower if you need that. Comes with decent (based on the reports of others) racks and plenty of bottle and fender mounts so you should be able to accessorize it to taste. The stock tires are not the best for paved roads or smooth, firm limestone trails. The Specialized definitely has it beat there. But you can change tires as needed and I've no doubt the stock tires are better for some road surfaces that the Specialized tires. I liked them both, a lot, really. In fact there were several more that generally fit the bill for me. The Trek checked off the most boxes for me in the end and I picked it up two days ago. Only had time to put 20 miles on it so far but I am well pleased with it. Trek, disk brakes, through axles, brifters, that is all new to me and it has been a long while since I've had a bike with drop handlebars. I feel at home on it already however and I'm planning to do a century on it in early September. Still debating on whether to run those tires or put some decent 38mm road tires on in their place. Don't get me wrong, I know which I SHOULD run but which will I actually run? If I wasn't an iconoclast I would have bought a far more traditional touring bike....

The Trek 920 is rated to 300 lbs for condition 2 riding (surfaces at least loosely defined as "roads" and up to 6 inch drops). If I read the Specialized weight chart correctly the Sequoia Elite would be rated to 275 lbs, the base model Sequoia to 300 lbs and both are rated for condition 2 riding. So generally both are suited to the type of road you are talking about. I've recently gotten back from RAGBRAI where I did the optional "gravel" loop the first day. This year the gravel was more like sand and well chewed up/rutted by other riders by the time I got to it. I was running those nice 38mm road tires on a Fuji hybrid, both of which have eaten RAGBRAI's previous gravel loops in one bite and asked for more. This year I felt definitely "under-tired" so if you are serious about being able to run on soft road surfaces you need to make sure you can do that on 45mm tires if you go with the Specialized. The Trek will take 56mm knobbies and some report that it will run 64mm smooth tires. I did measure the tire clearance on the Trek over the weekend and it does look like smooth 64s will fit, but I cannot guarantee that.

Obviously the Trek is aluminum, the Specialized are steel and CF, if that matters to you. The Trek is SRAM mountain 2x10, the Specialized is Shimano road 2x11, if that matters to you. The Trek tires are just placeholders as far as I am concerned, the Specialized tires are rubber that I would keep and potentially replace with the same when worn out. The Trek has 28 spoke wheels which earns it no friends in this sub-forum, the Specialized has acceptable 32 spoke wheels. Because of the tire clearance I think the Trek would suit you a little better but if you really prefer the Specialized for other reasons I don't think you would regret getting it. And that is why it is so hard to choose a new bike!

seeker333

+1 OP what do you weigh? If you are >180 lbs you'll want to upgrade wheels for loaded use (an additional $500?). There were a number of wheel failures on the 920, reported on the Trek site and others.

+1 Good points. Road parts are usually limited for low gearing and the cost to swap to MTB is not insignificant. The base model Sequoia has a steel fork, which will support a front rack. It is unknown if models with CF fork will support front rack as it states "you'll be thankful for the extra water bottle mount found on its fork leg" - so perhaps limited to ~5 lbs of water.

low gear s 32/36 t 28/36
tire width max s 45 t 64
chainstay length s 43.5 t 46.5+
wheels s 32 t 28
s/r t more upright
toptube s 51 t 54
racks t included
cost s 1400 t 2000

Fit-wise (ETT) you will barely fit on the Sequoia and not at all on the 920. I suggest you instead consider a Surly Disc Trucker Complete, as it will fit you at least as well as the Sequoia while having longer-lasting wheels, lower gears, wider tires, longer chainstay to prevent heelstrike, no toe overlap with 26" wheels and a proven reputation, at an additional $150 cost based on MSRP.

Inutero303

thank u so much for taking the time to write this .. very helpfull ..

so just got back from the bike shop and had a chance to test the sequoia ..i liked it, def comfortable and super heavy compare to my road bikes .. I think im going to go with the Trek .. i think if im not touring i could ride it on the woods and local trails with those big tires .. the sequoia looks a bit more of a road bike . which i already have ..
I tested a 52cm sequoia ,, do u think the 52 trek will be similar sizing ?

many thanks !

khutch

You should consult with a Trek dealer about the fit before you order but the two look similiar:

Sequoia 920
Seat tube angle 73.3deg 74deg
Reach 381mm 388mm
Stack 546mm 567mm
Standover 750mm 743mm
Stem 90mm ???

I think there would be enough adjustment range to accommodate these differences for you. People tend to say the stem on the Trek is too long and that the Trek is "big" for its size. I did not personally find either to be true. A 56cm 920 fits me very well, my Fuji fits well too and it is a 54cm. But your Trek dealer should be able to sort this out with you.

Patriot1

J.Higgins 

I agree with your advice about the higher spoke count, but have any of us here ever seen/heard/experienced wheel failures due to the 28-spoke wheels? I can't recall reading anything about it since Trek introduced the 920. Has anyone here?

saddlesores

quite a few, actually. during the early days of the micturator, he-who-shall-not-be-named was praising the 920, many reports of broken spokes and wheel failures were found on the comments sections of bike reviews....

indyfabz

+1.

J.Higgins 

I think I got in right before he was booted, so was not aware of such. Sorry to bring up a sore subject.

DropBarFan

Trek 920 also comes with serious racks, it can be nice to have racks designed to fit vs time-consuming experimentation to find ones that fit right. Trek's "Blendr" accessory-holding stem is interesting too.

veganbikes

Sequoia Elite hands down. Super comfortable bike soaks up bad roads like a champ and has plenty of rack, fender and bottle cage mounts. My first ride was as soon as we got one in and built when I had to come in to shut down the registers because nobody else could do it and even though I was feeling like crap due to sickness I couldn't say no and man-o-man that bike was just a dream to ride. If I hadn't just recently finished up my Co-Motion, I would probably own one right now and am still highly considering getting the pro module and building one up. I like the tape on it, a nice cloth feel but some cush to it which if they did in some other colors I would be all over. Plus that Jim Merz Edition was so incredibly sexy and the fact they got him back to build a few is so cool.

I don't like cheap Tubus clone racks and Trek did just that for their 920 racks. They apparently can only hold 55lbs which is plenty but the Tubus can go to 88 and if I am going for a ligher capacity rack I would go Topeak and have the quicktrak system. Not coming with a rack is not a bad thing and you won't have to experiment with the Sequoia at least I haven't and I have installed a few racks on them and on other bikes people deem hard to put a rack on. My boss complained to me when I was installing a different rack on a bike we sell then the one we recommend because it is too hard to do and I said bluntly all you need are longer stays (which in this case Topeak makes but so do many other brands) and it is not any harder then the rack you recommend. I personally like being able to choose a rack myself.

If I needed more tire clearance I could go 650b on the Sequoia or go for the AWOL and I can even get a model with a dynamo, lights and a Tubus rack at the back which contradicts my last statement though I would probably stick with Tubus unless I went full custom. If I needed mountain bike tires I would probably go with the Moots Baxter and then I could run the eeWings ti cranks from Cane Creek!

saddlesores

you haven't missed anything.
no, i mean you literally haven't missed our friend.....not if you've got a post count >1, in which case you've shirley experienced a number of our little friend's innumerable "marionnettes de chaussette."

J.Higgins 

I do remember you guys speaking of him... and don't call me shirley.

saddlesores

J.Higgins 

khutch

My late mother once told me that had the x-y thing gone the other way I'd have been named Shirley after my paternal grandmother. So I guess you can call me Shirley if you must....

I read all the 920 reviews I could find before pulling the trigger and all the links to spoke breakage. As far as I can tell it was the 720 that had a spoke problem that led to a recall and a wheel rebuild -- with 24 spokes just like before! I'm not overly worried about my spokes. Yes some folks have broken spokes on the 920. Some folks break spokes on every bike I have owned. Worst case I have to buy new wheels (most likely just the rear though) and even then I'll have spent no more money on it than I would have spent on two or three of the other models I was considering and liked less. Yeah, but what if the spokes break in the middle of Kazakhstan? That would be someone else's problem, any touring I do will be in North America!

TiHabanero

I'd get the Trek as it seems it is more in line with what you want, namely wider tires and no carbon fork. I do have a question about the top tube. Why did they add the bump to it up near the head tube? Looks bad from where I sit, so there must be a reason for it.

samkl 

It allows room for a second bottle cage on the downtube inside the main triangle, at least in larger sizes.

DropBarFan

Trek 920 steering tube allows ~7 cm stem adjustment while the Sequoia Elite looks to have about zero adjustment.

elcruxio

Honestly they're both pretty subpar. The Sequoia is very long and low geometry which is not really that sought after in touring frames. The 920 has its own issues, like the ridiculous 28 spoke wheels. Now note that they could work IF they were built by a good wheelbuilder. However we're talking about bontrager wheels here, which cannot be trusted even with 36 spokes...
Both have unnecessary gimmicks like internal cable routing (what fun that must be when you snap a cable on tour)
The 920 has hydraulic brakes, which supposedly are starting to reach the level of reliability that you can actually tour with them. But it also has thru axles which are a complete hassle to find even at home base.
Aaaand the sequoia apparently also has thru axles... And while it does have mechanical disc brakes they are spyres, which I have deemed to be pretty bad brakes all in all after extensive testing and taking apart. The two sided engagement seems nice until you realize you don't have a floating pistons and the limit screws are not pivoted so changing pad clearance changes pad angle....... At the moment the Avid BB7 gives me around the same power with a 160mm rotor the spyres could give me with a 203mm rotor.

Personally I'd go with something a bit less fashionable and gimmicky, like a fuji touring etc