777funk

I recently acquired and tuned up an old USA 520. I have no idea when it was made, but I'm guessing late 90s or early 2000s by the hardware and color.

It seems like a very nice bike to me. But I've never ridden a Madone or anything else considered high end.

I'm curious when these were shipped overseas? It's nice owning a USA product as a person from the US.

EDIT: It looks like 2008 is the transition for much of Trek to Asian production. I believe that is also when the founder passed away.

Tourist in MSN

I can't answer your questions, but if you wanted to research your particular one, more info here:
Vintage Trek Bikes- Information on Steel Road Bicycles made by the Trek Bicycle Corporation, bike

If I recall correctly, some of the early 520s had a rear Helicomatic hub made by Atom that could be a problem. That might be something to check or research before you do a long tour.

I think that there is a small cult following for the really early 520 frames, but that might be limited to my local, Madison WI is close to Trek location.

777funk

Thanks! I grew up in SE WI. So Trek is a good brand of bike to be riding I suppose. Esp a WI made Trek. This one has Bontrager wheels, tires, and much of the other hardware. I will see when it was made. Seems to ride pretty nice and is a good fit. So I guess that answers the quality question for me. I don't know any better if it's not top quality. I prefer it to my 70s and 80s European road bikes.

Tourist in MSN

I just googled when did trek buy bontrager and got 1995 as an answer, so looks like you have a newer one. Which probably is good, so it would have 135mm rear dropout spacing, indexed shifting, etc.

I am not sure when they stopped using road triples and switched to mountain bike triple cranks, yours might be geared a bit high for touring if it has the older road triple. If so, it is easy to swap out the granny gear for a smaller one.

I have never owned a Trek bike, but most of my bikes were built up from parts, thus most of mine were bought as a frame and fork.

fishboat

Whether it's "top quality" is rather nebulous as top quality for one person isn't top quality for another. A 520 is a decent bike, depending on your needs.

As for the year..check

https://www.vintage-trek.com/model_numbers1.htm

777funk

I was able to look up the serial and it has year code A (last letter of the serial) which is 2006.

And to my quality meter, it's a very nice bike. The shifting is a little dated for 2023 (levers at the bottom caps of the drop bars). But that works for me. It may not have disc brakes. It is Chrome Moly (a plus in my opinion).

All that said, everything works flawlessly, it's stable and comfortable (including the Bontrager seat). It's 25 lbs, lightest steel road bike I own. And it's smooth riding with little resistance. So for me, it is a nice bike. And I now know the year. The color (Rainforest Green with Gold lettering) is pretty cool too in my opinion.

Thanks for the help with tracking down the date!

Tourist in MSN

Bar end shifters have been a standard for bike touring for many decades. Back in the 70s and 80s when most quality bikes had shifters on the downtube, that meant you had to take one hand off the handlebars to shift. But a loaded touring bike, especially if it is going up steep hills are best ridden with both hands on the handlebars so you have a firm grip on your steering while shifting. I think I got my first set of bar end shifters in the 1980s.

Some people prefer to tour with brifters (brake and shifter combined) instead, but a lot of us use bar end shifters to this day. I built up my derailleur touring bikes with bar end shifters, that is my preference.

That said, it is personal preference, you can change them later if you wish to.

A friend of mine that has done triathalons saw one of my touring bikes, he said he had never seen tri shifters mounted the way I had them. I asked what he was talking about, he said that you are supposd to put triathalon shifters on the aero bars on your race bike. He had no idea that bar end shifters had been around for over a half century before people started using them for time trial and triathalon bikes. He thought they were a fairly recent invention.

777funk

I am so used to the 70s downtube shifters that I prefer them to what the Trek has. But I think I like the brifters better still. I don't usually ride with my hands down in the drop bars, so the bar end shifters at the end of the drop bars are pretty far away from my access. I guess the down tube is even further... but I'm so used to that, that it works. As you mentioned, pretty easy to change to go to brifters. Not much cost either. I am a keep it stock person though on anything I consider collectable. Maybe a 520 is not too collectable, but for me it is. They won't be made in the USA again most likely.

Jeff Neese

fishboat posted a link to the website you need, in post #5. You can identify your Trek by the color scheme. The catalog is also available online, once you determine the year.

If it's a 2006 as you suspect, it will be "Willow Green".

Tourist in MSN

They are a somewhat sought after model, but I think the most collectable ones will be the older lugged frame ones.

777funk

I would guess you are correct. The craftsmanship of the lugged bikes is nicer. I wonder if the later components would be considered improved. This is one of the last two years of the 520 with USA production.

Tourist in MSN

That would be important to most riders, but I think collectors are more interested in pristine looking examples that are closer to stock.

That said, collectable touring bikes is not really a thing. As far as finances go, I think if you factor in inflation you would have been better off selling early and buying something else.

rustystrings61 

This may be a personal impression, but it seems to me that touring bikes tend to reflect an individual cyclist's preference, and the bikes don't stay stock long.

PedalingWalrus

I don't really get the made in USA thing when it comes to a bicycle. I mean, we're talking about a bicycle frame first so ok one can argue that maybe, perhaps maybe a US welder will do a better job at fusing the frame together... (dubious endeavor)

Then the rest is a bunch of parts that get screwed onto the frame :-) and the components come from standard manufacturers like Shimano, SRAM etc and those components are manufactured all over the place.

If You ever travel with a bike you almost completely disassemble it save removing the bottom bracket so every time you travel, if You come home and reassemble the bike you are making the bike in the USA again ;-)

abdon 

Vintage touring bikes are a solid platform for building modern touring rigs. To modernize at a minimum you want 135mm rear hubs (trivial to do on old 126mm 6 speed setups), and trouble free sealed bearing bottom brackets and headsets. With that alone you pretty much cut down your maintenance to a fraction while gaining a ton of reliability. Most vintage rear derailleurs don't like 11 teeth small cogs, large granny cogs, or a lot of chain capacity, I would put a more modern rear derailleur as well.

Bar end shifters are just awesome. I limit my hubs to 8 speed, the same chain works fine with older wheelsets in case you want a trip down memory lane and want to mount a period correct set of tires.

abdon 

520 is a great bike. The 620 had lighter front tubing and on certain years a more touring geometry. The 720 has the better touring geometry and lighter tubing all around.

This is a fantastic time to work on vintage touring rigs, it is a buyer's market for certain. They can be found stupidly cheap.

Trakhak

I was told by our Trek sales rep in the mid-'80s that Tim Issac originally used the same geometry for the 520, 620, and 720, with the exception of the length of the chainstays: longer for the 620, longest for the 720.

777funk

I believe you are correct. And it is a 2006 based on the serial number. Here is the color for those who wonder what Willow Green looks like.

Tourist in MSN

Not sure what you define as vintage or modern. The OP said his bike is 2006. I am partial to the Shimano M737 or M739 rear derailleurs made in the 1990s, they work fine with 11T cogs. I have those older XT derailleurs on my two derailleur touring bikes and on my rando bike. Plus have a few spares on the shelf. I got tired of re-greasing the jockey wheels every few years, so am now running those rear derailleurs with ball bearing jockey wheels instead of the original jockey wheels.

Jeff Neese

That bike is a keeper and I predict you will have it for the rest of your life.

There's a reason the 520 is an iconic model. Sure the earlier lugged ones are more "desirable" because we all know lugs are cool, but the fact is that the later welded frames like yours are every bit as good and in some ways better. Full DB chromoly frame with nice geometry - you'll love riding it. Quality of construction is usually very high.

It's a very flexible bike and you can do a lot with it. Fatter tires and it's a gravel bike, skinnier tires and it's a road bike, medium tires and flat handlebars and it's a hybrid. Plus you can carry stuff and go on adventures, if you want to.

abdon 

You are right. I'm into the earlier lugged bikes and forget how long they were in production. My 720 came with a huret duopar eco. For what is worth my favorite rear derailleur is the Shimano XT772

777funk

To date, it's the nicest riding bike I've owned. Really zero complaints. I also have a Raleigh 10 speed that rides almost as nice but I don't ride in drop position and the bars make my palms sore after a while. I don't get that with the wider and more modern bars on the Trek. Super nice bike! Rides smooth as silk.

Tourist in MSN

A friend of mine bought a 520 at about the same time as your bike was built, plus or minus a couple years. He lived in a small town, the only local bike shop was a Trek dealer, so he of course bought a Trek. He had ridden an aluminum frame bike before the 520, did not like it and bought the 520 because it was the only steel frame bike that Trek still made. And he said that he really liked the feel of the steel frame and how it could absorb road bumps better than aluminum. He did not tour, but rode a lot of distance.

Jeff Neese

It's worth noting that the Trek 750 Multitrack, which was sold as a hybrid, with flat bars, used the same frame as the 520. They only made the 750 through 1997 but the 520 lived on. My 750 is a 1991 and even has front fork rack mounts, which some people might think is odd for a hybrid. Now you know why - it's just a 520 in disguise. My 750 now has drop bars so it's exactly the same as a 520. I'd still buy a 520 if one showed up near me in my size though.