| Re: Windsor Tourist Bike, is it any good?
araby wrote:
> Before buying a Trek 520, there are two things that you should check out.
> If you look at the specs you will see that they have fitted a 52/42/30 crank
> set. Who needs a top ratio of 128 gear inches? This is higher than the
> Lance Armstrong Livestrong 6 Madone!!! A touring bike should have an MTB
> type crank set e.g. 46/36/24. A top ratio of 100" is quite enough for
> touring or general riding
> Also you should swap out the stem for one with more rise. You can see how
> low the bars are from the picture.
> These point have been brought to Trek's notice on numerous occasions by
> the touring ng, but they prefer to use "off the shelf" road components
> rather than tailoring the bike for its specific function.
This is true. Trek really wrecked the 520 with their component changes.
You can work around them by making changes, but you shouldn't have to.
The Windsor Tour seems to have all the right features for a touring
bike, though it shares the gearing that may be a little high, as does
the Fuji Tour. I'd definitely opt for the Fuji Tour, at $800.
Fuji hasn't wrecked their touring bike like Trek did, and the
Koga-Miyata is awesome, but beyond the reach of many tourers.
I don't think Trek is really interested in the tiny market for touring
bicycles, with the expense of a chromolloy frame, stronger wheels, etc.
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