The Oracle of Apollo Snippets from the life of Apollo Lee

Trek 520 (Day One)

After taking delivery on my new love yesterday, I got her all ready for this morning’s commute. I headed out of the house at 6 am, rode for about 40 minutes through the dark. I averaged just about as fast as my fastest 5 am commute on the hybrid, but I was just trying to concentrate on getting down the road and getting used to stopping with the shifters, brakes, and cyclometer so far apart.

This afternoon, I glugged down a Clif Shot (carb gel) and headed downstairs with the Trek, got into my cycling clothes, and headed out. Before I even blinked twice, I was already passing Outfitter. I had a little headwind, but I also had six more gears and a bigger spread than I had last time I came down this road. Foothill Expressway burned under my 700×32c tires.

As I pumped toward home, I came up on a kid from Montana, riding his Gary Fisher mountain bike down the road. I talked to him for a little bit, draining away the astonishing number on the average speed mode of my cyclometer. I reached him as it read 19.4 mph. I’ve never seen 19 on the average speed mode.

When I crested the Page Mill / Foothill hump, I still had an 18.7 mph average speed, despite having farted along with homeboy at low speed for a while. Road construction and heavy traffic at Alpine Road bled my average down to 18.5, but I made it up with a 25 mph kick down Atherton Avenue. Despite not really giving it my all and still being shaky on the road bike configuration of the 520, I shattered my single-ride average speed record.

Evening commute: 20.38 miles in 1:04:02 (19.1 mph avg / 28.0 mph max)
Records broken:
  fastest 10 miles (by 52 seconds)
  fastest hour (by 0.62 miles)
  fastest 20 miles (by 91 seconds)
  highest average speed (by 0.5 miles an hour)

Wow. Not bad for the first time out of the gate. You have no idea how excited I am right now. Damn.

sweet deal, im thinking about getting a 520 and using it for school and work.

Get it I like it , comfortable for long distances , best bike I ever had . May you find gearing 52 – 11 little to high so ask bike shop what crank will be best for you , may you go for 48 or 44 ……. My modification : I did change cheap saddle for Brooks so my bum have more comfort , ad old man rack for low riders , I run Shwalbe Marathon Plus tires 700 × 35 , you will need lights front and back , my is from Planet bike , Cateye wireless cyclocomputer , I have good use for airobars and GPS and there is not much space on Trek 520 handlebar . My solution was that I did take couple spacers out and get another stem which I install upside down , I did cut handlebar from old bike , install on second stem to make space for handlebars bag brackets , it work more then well for me when in tour or commuting and I have spase for all the gadgets on Trek drop handlebars . Another option is to use Minoura product to install all this gadgets on Trek handlebars because othervice there is not much room for all the gadgets like bell , computer , lights , airobars , handlebar bag and GPS and you have to give up airobars . Solution was nonexpensive , good looking and simple . I am avid cyclist and I own 5 bikes , racing Bianchi and MTB Koga Miata Worltraveller , Trek is much better bike then my old trusted touring Cannondale 1000 X

I got my Trek 520 in 2003. I currently have over 16,000 miles on it. Before taking delivery; I had the LBS make a number of changes to the bike: the tires had to be replaced; I now have Specialized Armadillos. The clip-less peddles had to go; I now have toe clips. The shifters had to go, I now have friction shifters on the down tube. The rack had to go; I now have a Blackburn Mountaineer. The saddle also had to go; I pulled the saddle off my previous bike (Trek 613). I use the bike in place of my truck. I use it for about the same reasons. It doesn’t matter if I am going to the Home Improvement store, grocery store, doctor, or school; I am on the bike. Sometime the trip is as little as 5 MILES and sometimes as much as 90. I have added to the bike a set of panners and a trailer. So when I can not carry what I need to carry on the rack; I stick it in one of the bags or in the trailer. The documentation for the rack says it can handle as much as 45 lbs; I know I have had much more. The documentation for the trailer says no more than 75 lbs; I know I have carried more. The bike has no problem with such loads. The bike has no problems with the weather; it doesn’t matter if I ride in the rain or the sunshine. However; if a day should ever come which would cause me to replace the 520; I WOULD NOT buy another 520. Trek has stop making them in the united States. They lost a customer when they did that.

Definitely sucks that Trek no longer makes these bikes here. They should.