Thoughts on the new Trek 520
#76
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I did that as well with my dad. It was a lot of fun. I didn't keep up with it either, and of course I truly didn't learn to weld. Dad kept up with it though, and added an arc welder to his collection as well.
#77
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I call its crap value to just ok
Maybe this is a secret trek experiment to test how loyal there customers are ....
But $1500 for a 9 speed bike with lots of compromises*?
I could build up a better speced bike for. Well under $1200.
Tiagra groupsets cost $300
Vuelta Heavy Duty wheelsets $150
Pick the frameset.you want for $500 ...
An Alu fork is just weird on a touring bike
But $1500 for a 9 speed bike with lots of compromises*?
I could build up a better speced bike for. Well under $1200.
Tiagra groupsets cost $300
Vuelta Heavy Duty wheelsets $150
Pick the frameset.you want for $500 ...
An Alu fork is just weird on a touring bike
#78
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I can't believe this ugly compromise bike resulted in 4 pages.
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#80
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I am just guessing that it appeals primarily to the young of course. It is also intended to be a better fit to the gravel/adventure/one bike to rule them all trend that has been all the rage lately (but perhaps peaked already?). It could end up being a mistake for them, it could be the right bike at the right time. We will see and since I am not a stockholder I am not worried! If they made a mistake here I would imagine that the steel framed 520 will reappear shortly. If not then yeah, it could be gone forever. But there are so many bikes like that you don't really have to fret, do you?
#83
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Sorry, but i think you misunderstood.
its still a steel frame, just an Alu fork.
Feim their website "520 has a road-smoothing steel frame and alloy fork "
its still a steel frame, just an Alu fork.
Feim their website "520 has a road-smoothing steel frame and alloy fork "
I doubt that. It is probably a move driven by marketing based on where they see the market heading or perhaps just which part of the touring market they feel Trek is most capable of doing well in going forward. There are a ton of steel framed touring bike builders these days. Based on many of the comments above it is unclear why any of you would buy the steel framed 520! If they feel that buyers like you are more attracted to other brands anyway and if they feel that the younger buyers are more attracted to bikes like their current range then it makes sense for them to make this move. If this does allow them to capture younger buyers, those buyers are going to be around for a while and it makes sense to make what they want to get them in the door at Trek. As I think I said above I think that at that price point other bikes, including some steel framed bikes, would have gotten my dollars. However when I realized I had a bit more to spend it was the 920 that won in the end. I looked at so many bikes it was making my head spin but I kept looking and eventually realized that the 920 was the best fit for my goals. And I am not a young buyer so the new 520 is not going to appeal to only young buyers.
I am just guessing that it appeals primarily to the young of course. It is also intended to be a better fit to the gravel/adventure/one bike to rule them all trend that has been all the rage lately (but perhaps peaked already?). It could end up being a mistake for them, it could be the right bike at the right time. We will see and since I am not a stockholdestockholderr I am not worried! If they made a mistake here I would imagine that the steel framed 520 will reappear shortly. If not then yeah, it could be gone forever. But there are so many bikes like that you don't really have to fret, do you?
I am just guessing that it appeals primarily to the young of course. It is also intended to be a better fit to the gravel/adventure/one bike to rule them all trend that has been all the rage lately (but perhaps peaked already?). It could end up being a mistake for them, it could be the right bike at the right time. We will see and since I am not a stockholdestockholderr I am not worried! If they made a mistake here I would imagine that the steel framed 520 will reappear shortly. If not then yeah, it could be gone forever. But there are so many bikes like that you don't really have to fret, do you?
#84
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for me, its a bike that will still work for lots of people and work perfectly fine.
Its just the cost, especially when one knows about components and what price range of bikes these components are usually on.
Its just the cost, especially when one knows about components and what price range of bikes these components are usually on.
#85
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Also, it would not surprise me to find out that these new 520's are built in China. Can anyone here verify this?
#86
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If by China you mean mainland china I highly doubt the trek is made there
#87
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any corporation with bean-counters worth beans would set up their own factories in shenzhen, then ship the nearly completed frames back to taiwan for final assembly (insert seatpost bolt, apply made in taiwan label). regardless, the taiwan folks would be running the factory using their equipment, so frame quality should be identical.
according to wiki "99% of Trek bicycles are manufactured outside the United States, in countries including the Netherlands, Germany, and China." no mention of taiwan.
hard to pin down where treks are made, which leads me to think they don't want you to know. which leads me to think....mainland china.
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Not to derail this thread, but...what year models of the 520 are most desirable for loaded touring ?
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before that they were more like sport touring models and flip flopped between caliper and cantis, 27" and 700c. I have a 86 model, Reynolds 531 mainframe with 700c and caliper brakes.
Last edited by zze86; 09-02-18 at 10:33 AM.
#90
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i would highly doubt your doubt. taiwan is expensive. cheap compared to the usa, not to mainland china.
any corporation with bean-counters worth beans would set up their own factories in shenzhen, then ship the nearly completed frames back to taiwan for final assembly (insert seatpost bolt, apply made in taiwan label). regardless, the taiwan folks would be running the factory using their equipment, so frame quality should be identical.
according to wiki "99% of Trek bicycles are manufactured outside the United States, in countries including the Netherlands, Germany, and China." no mention of taiwan.
hard to pin down where treks are made, which leads me to think they don't want you to know. which leads me to think....mainland china.
any corporation with bean-counters worth beans would set up their own factories in shenzhen, then ship the nearly completed frames back to taiwan for final assembly (insert seatpost bolt, apply made in taiwan label). regardless, the taiwan folks would be running the factory using their equipment, so frame quality should be identical.
according to wiki "99% of Trek bicycles are manufactured outside the United States, in countries including the Netherlands, Germany, and China." no mention of taiwan.
hard to pin down where treks are made, which leads me to think they don't want you to know. which leads me to think....mainland china.
#92
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#94
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According to Trek customer service :
Key Factors behind the change to an alloy fork:
Strength/Stiffness – disc braking on a loaded touring bike is a tough job for a fork. We felt we could improve this by going with a strong alloy fork
Weight – With the shape a volume we were trying to achieve on the fork, having this in steel would have been very heavy. The new fork is 318g lighter than the previous bikes’s steel fork
Looks – with the integrated headset we wanted a larger diameter crown, that’s where we move in to the weight mentioned above.
Key Factors behind the change to an alloy fork:
Strength/Stiffness – disc braking on a loaded touring bike is a tough job for a fork. We felt we could improve this by going with a strong alloy fork
Weight – With the shape a volume we were trying to achieve on the fork, having this in steel would have been very heavy. The new fork is 318g lighter than the previous bikes’s steel fork
Looks – with the integrated headset we wanted a larger diameter crown, that’s where we move in to the weight mentioned above.
#95
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Maybe thats what we are getting wrong ...
I think of the 520 as a touring bike.
So an alu fork will kill my tour if damaged.
But maybe its not used for touring by most buyers?
So an alu fork will kill my tour if damaged.
But maybe its not used for touring by most buyers?
#96
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To me that fork looks like something straight out of a big box store bike. Also I haven't felt like my DT steel fork has been struggling with touring braking even with discs. The 520 disc model steel fork is ilso plenty beefy.
Sounds to me like a cost cutting procedure
Sounds to me like a cost cutting procedure
#99
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Now all the miles I have on the Trek have been on its stock 50mm offroad knobby tires and those rides have convinced me that I DO NOT want to run those tires for my planned century ride next weekend (anyone else doing the Harmon Hundred?). I'll be running the 38mm Vittorias have used on the Fuji for the last several years. Perhaps the narrower tires at higher pressure will produce some discomfort with the aluminum fork. I'll see next Sunday....
There is no mention of mainland China in the snippet that you quote either. It is ambiguous. A whole lot of people use "China" to refer to both countries so if neither mainland nor Taiwan is specified the text is ambiguous and potentially both were meant. Taiwan is officially the Republic of China, ROC, while mainland China is officially the People's Republic of China, PRC. Anytime neither of those abbreviations are used we cannot be certain of the author's intent unless the broader context makes that clear.
#100
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I'm running 38mm Schwalbe MARATHON ALMOTION HS 453 with tubes on my Trek Hybrid .
I think it would work great on your 920 .
It's been tested as having very low rolling resistance , even with tubes .
I think it would work great on your 920 .
It's been tested as having very low rolling resistance , even with tubes .