Rajflyboy

Rajflyboy

veganbikes

Trek back in the day made excellent bikes and they became so big they could buy out local shops and turn them into Trek only stores where you can really dive deep into variety from Trek to Bontrager back to Trek and everything in between (I kid slightly they also own Electra) Basically they bought out Klein, LeMond and Gary Fisher and killed those brands and also bought out Keith Bontrager but he still works for them. Lance Armstrong came along got really big and well known and rode Treks and people bought a lot because of that and spawned new people buying the stuff because they saw so much of it or their local shop had turned into a Treks Only shop. Also they have done a lot of sponsorship with folks like GCN and the various Pro Teams.

Sad they ruined the 520 because up until this year it was really the only bike of theirs I really actually liked for the longest time and then they went and said screw a good solid steel fork lets move to cheaper aluminum and turn it into our normal crap bucket. Pretty soon they will just lump it into the fx line and make it all out of cheap aluminum and call it day.

caloso

The 660 was a heck of a race bike. It would be great to see Trek bring it back the way that Bianchi and Fuji have done with some of their steel classics.

Cyclist0108

Specialized sues everyone, and makes boat anchors.

Gresp15C

I think the entry level Trek bikes are like the old Schwinn before their decline. Those bikes might have been a bit heavy and stodgy, but were of good quality, and supported by a dealer network. There is a "just" in front of "buy a Trek" where people trust that they can go to one store and come out with a decent bike that will receive good service.

Near as I can tell, every Trek steel frame ever made is still in use.

Both Trek and Schwinn seem to command a premium price on CraigsList, compared to bikes of other brands that are objectively similar, suggesting that there's some brand recognition at work.

DrIsotope

Bike shops here in SoCal can only be so close together-- competition is great, but too much competition isn't so good for business. Combine that with very aggressive vendor contracts-- Trek and Spesh will both often refuse to distribute to a vendor selling a competitor brand-- and you have what I see here: ride in one area, and it's Cannondales and Giants everywhere. Ride in an area 20 miles west, and it's messy with Treks. Even with Trek's brutal contract tactics (shops have to pre-purchase a set number of bikes, regardless of what they actually sell,) Specialized seems to be worse-- in recent years, I see Specialized the least of the "Big Three" out on local rides. We have a Cyclery USA in the next town (which is a Trek shop) so we've no shortage of Treks. But my LBS is primarily Cannondale/Giant/Scott, so that's what I see most. Closer to the coast (Newport/Huntington) the Spesh numbers bump up a good bit. I don't think there's a bike shop out there that sells "everything." Shops are very likely contractually prevented from doing so.

Igotdibs

When it's all said and done, if Trek bicycles were crap, they wouldn't sell. You see so many out on the road for a good reason... Good value for the price. How am I wrong?

Rollfast

And I saw Bob Seger last night.

Rajflyboy

AlmostTrick

No Thanks!

greatscott

because Trek is the Toyota or Honda of bikes, and everyone follows the sameness crowd.

Rajflyboy

shrtdstncrdr

Easy to hate the big dogs. Not saying that how they got to be the big dogs is always fair or equitable but this is how things turned out.

And I grew up in Brookfield (would move back there without a second thought) so Trek was a big deal home brewed company to us.

eja_ bottecchia

TiHabanero

Anyone that claims Treks are crap is simply talking trash as they know it is not true. Their bikes are made in the same factories as the other brands out there. So if Trek is crap so are the rest of them.
Disclaimer: I do not own a Trek, but have in the past.

2manybikes

When you see a lot of bikes, all one brand, that usually means there is a shop selling them near by. Probably the closest one to where you are.

eja_ bottecchia

greatscott

I had Italian bikes, never saw anything more magical in them than I saw in a Japanese or an American bike. I think there is a power of perception going on, people think something is magical so they believe it. Years ago I had a Paramount, wish I kept it, but that bike was more than equal to any Italian steel bike I've rode.

eja_ bottecchia

02Giant 

Sheep effect.

indyfabz

With Camp Nuovo record and Modolo brakes with aero levers, I thought I was finally a serious cyclist.

greatscott

You can roll your eyes all you want, but I guarantee you if I were to blind fold you and put on an identically built and equipped columbus steel (or you pick the italian steel) Italian bike and say a Japanese steel bike you won't be able to tell the difference. Just so you know, some years back they actually did this test, they didn't use blindfolds obviously so the bikes were all painted the same color void of decals and only the custom builder knew which was which, 6 or 8 people rode those two bikes for a month and no one knew which was which. I bet you too that if they had told the people which one was Italian and which one was Japanese, they all would have perceived that the Italian was better.

eja_ bottecchia

DomaneS5

I like Trek bikes. I have 3 of them.

There's several Trek dealers within a 100 mile radius of my rural location. I don't live in a hipster paradise like Oregon, California or Colorado where all of the "cool" bikes are plentiful and dealt, so Trek is the best option and a very good option, IMO.