captronk

about the last bike I will ever buy. I currently have a Fuji Traverse with a shock, 700c x 38 wheels, real comfy upright ride. But I want to get my last bike. I test rode two- Trek 520, Surly Cross Trek, I have yet try the Disc Trucker. The 520 was perfect right from the start but I'm afraid the fork won't dampen the the bumps in the road, I think that bigger cushier tires can help with that? I do think the 520 could handle the rail trails I like to ride. Plus I can go to California if I wanted to, I like to have the option. The Cross Check is more of a road sport bike to me, I felt as though I was being pushed into the handle bars though, which I experienced before on a road bike and is why I got rid of the thing. I guess that some adjustments will help with raising the handlebars. But it doesn't have the carrying capacity that the 520 has. And my Fuji Taverse can do everything the Cross Check can. I'm so used to having heavy bikes with a low center of gravity under me, I think that is why I'm so slow compared to my friends. The Cross Check was dam light compared to my Fuji, I didn't feel it under me. Is that a good thing? Is that normal? I surprisingly didn't feel top heavy on the thing either as opposed to a Salsa Vaya I tried.

Should I trust my instincts and go with the tried and true 520 or should I go with the sexy, cool light Cross Check?

DropBarFan

IMHO now is a good time to buy a good used touring bike (esp Long Haul Trucker/Disc Trucker) & wait a couple of years for the market to include internal-gear hubs/belt-drive etc. I note that Co-Motion now offers a Pinion P.18/Gates bike for $4,200. Not cheap but this tech will filter down & become standard as disc brakes did. In re current bikes I'd go with Disc Trucker vs Trek 520. DT allows 559 mm/26" wheels & has a comfy ride.

treebound 

Sounds like you already talked yourself out of the CrossCheck, but you are the one who will be riding it so ultimately it is up to you.

Now if I get to have it if it doesn't work out then get the CrossCheck in a 55-56cm frame size since I already have an older 520.

As to being slower than friends, if it isn't a race then it doesn't matter. Just my opinion.

10 Wheels

Get the bike YOU WANT..your the one that has to pedal it.

saddlesores

why are you confused?



......bumps? sure, bigger tires. or get a suspension fork.

or after you've ridden a bit, switch the forks with your traverse....

SalsaShark

I've got 700x35 tires on my 520, and regularly ride it on some terrible paved roads, crushed gravel trails, farm gravel roads, and it rides smooth as silk.....unloaded, it is quite a nimble bike, also!

AusTexMurf

Try riding a Novara Safari at an REI store ?
$825 on sale and lots of incentives.
Cushy, smooth, stable, trail ready…
https://www.rei.com/product/874998/n...fari-bike-2016

captronk

[QUOTE=saddlesores;18871892]why are you confused?



......bumps? sure, bigger tires. or get a suspension fork.

or after you've ridden a bit, switch the forks

I got it now thanks

The 520 it is.

treebound 

Post a ride report for us once you have a few miles on the 520 to let us know how it is working out for you.

meyers66

Hi,
I use the Brooks 67 saddle and like that. You could try one of these: BodyFloat? by Cirrus Cycles It interests me but I don’t have one. Perhaps the forum has comments on it.

Squeezebox

anything to say about what gearing you want?

fietsbob

the parts you contact, seat, pedals H-Bars are all changeable

stem length alters reach .. etc,etc ... no reason to stay with the parts that came in the Box/

GeorgeBaby

Actually, the $4200 is the cost of the kit to be added to the frame price. Cost of the built-up bike is $6395. Could still be worth it, if a pinion is what you want.

fietsbob

Surly's LHT/cross check is anti Kickstand, by design, 520 Disc has a left dropout that takes a kickstand.

Kickstands are good things on loaded touring Bikes , rather than laying them Down
for tree less stops with nothing to lean the bike against..

GerryinHouston

Larger tires help quite a bit. My Randonee with 32 mm tires and a steel fork is almost comparable to my Trek Verve 2 with front shocks and 28 mm. Also, it's a bit faster on pavement...

DropBarFan

One has to read the fine print, heh. Makes Rohloff look like a positive bargain!

roaming_art

"the last bike I will ever buy" I like the way you think. I settled on a 520 disc after a lot of research for a do everything utilitarian commuter/fitness/touring/light gravel, all rounder. It's been an absolute pleasure to ride, and the geometry fits me like a glove.

captronk

My 520 is on it's way and I'll be riding it by Sunday. I test rode the Cross Check, Salsa Vaya and the Trek DS 8.6. Like my Fuji Traverse 1.1d the 520 is perfect right from the box. This thread actually helped my make the final decision!

So thank you all....

wschruba

I've had the opportunity to play with one on a few bikes. The spring governs the sag of the system, and is not preload adjustable--what you can do, though, is turn in the tension, which effectively limits how much the seatpost can travel. Like the Thudbuster, it's on a linkage, so your effective distance to the pedals doesn't change much at all.

It definitely works. I'd even go as far as to say it works well, but the only bike that I would absolutely love having it on would be motorized. I just feel like it is more natural on a manual (ped-ual?) bike to just post over bumps...that same motion is a bit more awkward on an e-bike, as the motor cuts out when you stop pedaling.

The nature of a suspension seatpost (properly setup, of course) is going to be far more active than a sprung saddle, since that is not adjustable, and must account for a wider variety of weights. They still work just fine, though.