Trek shows off three killer gravel/touring bikes, giving away dream tours on them

Awesome lineup. They look like fun!

I don’t understand why touring bikes still come with bar end shifters. “Easier to service” is the answer that I’m always told. What are the odds that a bike shop these days will carry the parts to service a bar end shifter? I think if you have shifter problems, you’re going to be buying a new shifter anyway.

With that said, who has issues with their shifters anyway? I’ve got 30k miles on mine and no issues. That seems good enough for me. I’m sure others have way more.

Derek–There’s more to bar end shifters then just that. 1) They cost a crap ton less so if one does break you’re out $100 to replace the set and not $350 or more for one. 2) You can easily sweep through all of the gears without having to *click* *click* *click* until you get to the gear you need. 3) All you have to do to figure out what gear you’re in is to look down at the bar ends. 4) If you actually use the drops it’s much easier (for me at least) to slide your hand back to the end of the bar to change gears then to reach your brifter. 5) If something does happen or your bike is out of tune friction shifting will still work. 6) They don’t make many 7, 8, or 9 speed brifters anymore.

Nice to see that Trek still remembers their roots. All three bikes look great!

Derek: It’s remarkably difficult to find brifters that will work with a mountain triple. They have the wrong pull ratio, wrong index spacing, won’t work with your chosen chain ring steps, etc. If you do find a combo that works, it could turn out that your handlebar bag or bar roll interferes with shifting. Meanwhile, bar end shifters will handle any drivetrain imaginable, allow over-shifting to handle big non-ramped steps on the front, and let you trim crazy chain lines or adapt to cable stretch.

Anybody know where I can get a dry bag setup like that for my gravel bike?

The 920 does not have a triple on it. It has a 42/28 double. No reason why this shouldn’t have road shifters on it. Also, the nice thing about SRAM is that if you’re on a long trip and you get in a bind, you can replace your shifter with any 10 speed road shifter from SRAM. If you brake the bar end shifter…if they have any bar end shifters in stock, they’ll probably be Shimano anyway so its not much use.

***I wish it came in more than one build. Apex, Rival, Force…anything will do as an another option. I’d like to have a mechanical brake too. Chances are, I’m going to buy this bike and sell all the parts other than the wheels. It has over an 8cm BB drop which is essential in my opinion. Most of the Gravel Tourers I’ve ridden feel great with 35-40mm tires(better with 32s) but sit way too high with a 2″ 29er tire but this bike is just about perfect in that department

Another thing…SRAM rear bar ends DO NOT have a friction shift mode. The front shifter is friction shift but not the rear so you must use SRAM derailleurs with these shifters(at least for the rear)

Re: being easier to service in the field:

Bar-end shifters are so small and light that it isn’t unreasonable to carry a spare rear shifter on a long tour. And the most common problem with them is the pivot bolt loosens and falls out, which can then be replaced with a standard bolt from your bottle cage.

LateSleeper: You may be able to order some of those fork-mounted bags through your local Trek dealer if/when they become available (which they don’t seem to be at present, alas…), or depending on your frame & mounting options, perhaps something like the Salsa “Anything Cage” could work for you.

@Carl Spackler: you just reach the bar-end, it is not that hard. It is a touring bike, not a racing bike where you are constantly shifting to keep up with a peloton or follow the attacks.

A TRP Hylex hydro brakes setup + 2 bar ends cost only a fraction of the price of SRAM/Shimano integrated hydro brakes/shifters. Plus they can be replaced easily without removing the bar tape, won’t interfere with a handlebar bag like some brifters do, etc. It is a sensible choice for this type of bicycle.

I’ve used brifters (sorry, there is no better word) and bartend shifters extensively and barends do suffer in hilly areas where you may have to shift in a hurry and taking your hands off the hoods is difficult.

The best compromise I’ve found are Retroshifts (aka Gevenalle). These use downtube or barend levers mounted on modified brake levers putting the shifters in easy reach from the hoods but offering the low cost, durability and friction front shifting that works with nearly any crank and front derailleur. A hydraulic disc brake version is available as well as levers for road and V-brake/MTB mechanical disc brakes.

Best new Trek lineup in years, along with the new Lync model commuter bikes and Electra Moto series. 920 is on my short list of bikes upon which to squander my annual EP allotment, and first mod would be to go with hydro brake/shifters.

Use of word “brifter” ===> disregard entire content of post.

Just saying.

CK…it sounds like you’re looking for a touring bike that’s unique, not aluminum(has to be steel) and not a Trek but you think this bike is cool. Hmmm…steel touring bikes that aren’t made by Trek? Never heard of one…so unique that nobody has ever done it.

***Don’t know about you guys but home many of you have had an integrated road shifter(brifter) fail on you during a ride??? In over 100,000miles of riding, I’ve had two shifter problems. One was a cable breaking in the shifter(fixable but a pain….seen it happen to others on bar ends) and the other was a return spring failure on my 1st Gen SRAM RIVAL shifters with over 60,000 MILES ON THEM!!! And hell, it still worked. All I had to do was push the shifter back in place with my thumb. I ordered a replacement but got so used to it that I didn’t replace it for almost a year even though I had the replacement on me.

Only cheapo shifters(maybe old Shimano 7spd, Sora…the ones with the thumb tab) really fail on people without insane mileage. Of course there’s the odd shifter failure on a RED or even a Dura-Ace shifter but frames also randomly crack for seemingly no reason. Tire failures happen way more often than shifter failures and are far more dangerous. I say stop riding with tires…go to something else.

Anyone have headtube specs on the 920? Looks like a straight 1 1/8″ steerer. Wondering if I can upgrade to a tapered fork in the future. If it has a 44mm headtube this should be no problem.

Phella, you can easily find older 7spd bar ends for her bike. If you can swing it though, I’d look for new shifter/brake levers that are more ergonomic and have adjustable reach. The thumb shifters are a pain for me(guy with medium sized hands) and hate that so many women’s bikes used to come with them. Of course, this means you’ll likely need a new rear derailleur, cassette, shifters and chain but you can always go used. There’s plenty of great used, cheap, 10spd gear now that everything is bumping up to 11spd.

Isn’t the reason for having barend shifters (other than low maintenance) is because a STI shifter does not work well if you have a large handlebar bag? Sweet bikes and the 520 has had bar end shifters forever.

> my wife can’t operate her Sora brakes from on top of the hoods

Has she tried a SRAM groupset?

Nice evolution. I like what I see in the 920.

That said, Gevenalle (Retroshift) would be perfect for all of these builds.

And, of course, they’re ALL missing a dynohub as far as I can tell. I’m not sure when US manufacturers will ever offer one as an option, but I certainly wouldn’t spec a touring bike without one.

Either the guys at Trek have never actually ridden a fully-loaded touring bike up a hill, or they have monster beast quads. Year after year they build bikes with no-where near the low gearing you would need for their intended use.

I wouldn’t run 28/36 as the low gear on my racy hardtail, let-alone on a long-distance trekker.

I don’t want to be totally negative, I like the concept, bike looks sweet. 520 has been a great value for years, but they just keep blowing it with ridiculous gearing.