Trek 520 vs. Bianchi Volpe???

dan kehlenbach said:

Greetings all.....

I am looking to purchase a touring bike in the near future with aspirations to ride cross-country. In all likelihood, this will not happen for another several years. I would like to get a bike soon to become comfortable on it.

I have been eyeing both the 520 and the volpe. I really like the classic looks and time-tested design of the 520, but the volpe seems to be set up quite nicely. I have read other discussions about STI levers being not as reliable as bar-end shifters, but has anyone had any experiences of a failed STI lever in the past?

This bike will be multi-purpose as well - commuting, errand-running, joy rides, rides with my wife, etc. Basically anything to keep me on the bike.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Dan Kehlenbach

I think Trek 520 with a couple of changes would be better.
Trek 520 has 25 mm longer (than the Volpe) chain stays for better heel clearance.
That is only an inch, but it can help a lot with other clearances to like for a rear fender with touring size tires and room to spare.
I think the gearing is too high for loaded touring, but OK for any of the other uses you have planned. Loaded touring would be better with a MTB triple crank and Front Derailer (these are the changes I would make for loaded touring... and I would likely keep the bicycle equipped that way unless I needed it to have higher gearing to try to ride in group rides at over 25 MPH)

I ride STI of my regular road bicycle and love it. I have had failures in the past which forced me to ride in 2 gears going home for 29 miles. I personally wouldn't use STI on an unsupported loaded tour. I have ridden over 50,000 miles of loaded, unsupported touring.
I ride bar-ends on our tandems and touring bicycles. I have only once needed to shift with the friction option, and that was because I didn't have the shifter tightened sufficiently.

Thanks David:

All things are certianly pointing to the 520. I am hoping to arrange a test ride with my local dealer this week.

Thanks again!!

Dan

I wouldn't be surprised if you bought the 520 but why not get an older bike?
There are a lot of lovely old steel touring bikes out there with fewer cogs.
I like 6 or 7 speed freewheels and half-step plus granny.

STI or Ergo is nice in heavy traffic though. I commute on a bike with Ergopower if I can put it in a secure place.

STI + handle bar bag = bad.

On my x-country trip I saw first hand and chatted with a few folks who had STI problems. The main culprit, front bag.