Why do some dislike Trek bicycles / corporation?
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#130
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...short sleeves and bib shorts on the bike ride today, here in Sacramento.
I would have ridden this Trek, (one of the last built in America,) but there's still some puddles, so I went with fenders.
Trek has gone through a lot of iterations over the years. Started out as a source for American built quality frames, at affordable prices. Was finally forced to offshore more and more production, to remain competitive in sales. Of all the Trek bashing I hear lately, it has to do with their current expansion into local markets by buying local bike shops and converting them to less well stocked, and less generally helpful, Trek stores.
That's what happened here in Sacramento. But I didn't work there when it was City Bicycle, and I don't work there now that it's Trek. It's not all that useful to me, personally.
I have one of their old hand brazed Columbus frames that I repainted/restored, and am looking forward to putting it back together. Trek was once a shining example of what American bike manufacturing could do.
I would have ridden this Trek, (one of the last built in America,) but there's still some puddles, so I went with fenders.
Trek has gone through a lot of iterations over the years. Started out as a source for American built quality frames, at affordable prices. Was finally forced to offshore more and more production, to remain competitive in sales. Of all the Trek bashing I hear lately, it has to do with their current expansion into local markets by buying local bike shops and converting them to less well stocked, and less generally helpful, Trek stores.
That's what happened here in Sacramento. But I didn't work there when it was City Bicycle, and I don't work there now that it's Trek. It's not all that useful to me, personally.
I have one of their old hand brazed Columbus frames that I repainted/restored, and am looking forward to putting it back together. Trek was once a shining example of what American bike manufacturing could do.
#131
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...I think maybe it depends on how old you are, and how you've experienced the two different companies from their early origins.
As I said earlier, Trek started out as an American manufacturing concern, in Wisconsin, marketing hand built American frames of pretty high quality, for what seemed at the time to be pretty good prices. So a lot of us still remember Trek like that. The, gradually, they became larger and more corporate in their marketing, and eventually offshored part, then all of their production to Asia. So if your first exposure was in the 70's/80's, you remember what the company once was, and how good the best Trek frames were to ride.
AFAIK, Specialized and the guy who started it, Mike Sinyard, has always made it a point to source from Asia, even to the point of sending the original Stump Jumper frame prototypes, (American designs,) over there to be copied. Again, this is something that has been argued about over the years, along with Specialized's extreme litigiousness. But again, they made and sold some very fine bicycles under the Specialized brand.
But if you're coming at it from a viewpoint of what's current, probably not that much is different. Other than the company histories.
As I said earlier, Trek started out as an American manufacturing concern, in Wisconsin, marketing hand built American frames of pretty high quality, for what seemed at the time to be pretty good prices. So a lot of us still remember Trek like that. The, gradually, they became larger and more corporate in their marketing, and eventually offshored part, then all of their production to Asia. So if your first exposure was in the 70's/80's, you remember what the company once was, and how good the best Trek frames were to ride.
AFAIK, Specialized and the guy who started it, Mike Sinyard, has always made it a point to source from Asia, even to the point of sending the original Stump Jumper frame prototypes, (American designs,) over there to be copied. Again, this is something that has been argued about over the years, along with Specialized's extreme litigiousness. But again, they made and sold some very fine bicycles under the Specialized brand.
But if you're coming at it from a viewpoint of what's current, probably not that much is different. Other than the company histories.
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I don't really harbor any hate in my heart towards Trek, it's just that I don't really like the look of their bikes. While appearance isn't everything, it is an important factor to me. The only Trek I've owned was a 2002ish 5200...eventually it succumbed to worn-out drop outs and the frame is now hanging on my shop wall. I don't necessarily fault Trek on that one. Nothing lasts forever, and for all I know, it could've been user error.
The other big reason is just the cost of them. I partake in a several different cycling disciplines and I can't afford Trek-level prices and be able to own several modern bikes. Most of my bikes are more value-conscious choices(Canyon.) I do have one fairly expensive non-Canyon (my Santa Cruz XC mtb.) It was definitely a Trek-level price and I don't really have a logical reason for choosing it over an online bike, other than it's just what I wanted.
The other big reason is just the cost of them. I partake in a several different cycling disciplines and I can't afford Trek-level prices and be able to own several modern bikes. Most of my bikes are more value-conscious choices(Canyon.) I do have one fairly expensive non-Canyon (my Santa Cruz XC mtb.) It was definitely a Trek-level price and I don't really have a logical reason for choosing it over an online bike, other than it's just what I wanted.
#133
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#134
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I think most people knew cycling was dirty, knew that Lance was dirty, Jan was dirty, Pantani was dirty - all of them were dirty. And ALL entities did what every they could to keep things covered up. And all the teams did whatever they could to keep things covered up***...
Lance was the top dog, so he was the target for the journalists and such - as he should have been.
Lance's world came crumbling down by his own doing - he came out of retirement. If he would have stayed on the sidelines, he still would be the 7x champ.
***Just like they do now.
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I don't really harbor any hate in my heart towards Trek, it's just that I don't really like the look of their bikes. While appearance isn't everything, it is an important factor to me. The only Trek I've owned was a 2002ish 5200...eventually it succumbed to worn-out drop outs and the frame is now hanging on my shop wall. I don't necessarily fault Trek on that one. Nothing lasts forever, and for all I know, it could've been user error.
The other big reason is just the cost of them. I partake in a several different cycling disciplines and I can't afford Trek-level prices and be able to own several modern bikes. Most of my bikes are more value-conscious choices(Canyon.) I do have one fairly expensive non-Canyon (my Santa Cruz XC mtb.) It was definitely a Trek-level price and I don't really have a logical reason for choosing it over an online bike, other than it's just what I wanted.
The other big reason is just the cost of them. I partake in a several different cycling disciplines and I can't afford Trek-level prices and be able to own several modern bikes. Most of my bikes are more value-conscious choices(Canyon.) I do have one fairly expensive non-Canyon (my Santa Cruz XC mtb.) It was definitely a Trek-level price and I don't really have a logical reason for choosing it over an online bike, other than it's just what I wanted.
Specialized prices are just as high, in some cases higher.
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I don’t harbor hate towards any brand. I don’t think my treks are better than specialized, or any other brand out there. I buy trek because the shop has always treated me well. What I have noticed in the riders around me, the ones that are pro specialized, have such an arrogance view of the specialized brans That is what I don’t understand. Talking to them, you would think the tarmac was the greatest piece of cycling art ever made, and that every other bike out there is not even on the same level, especially trek.
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I don’t harbor hate towards any brand. I don’t think my treks are better than specialized, or any other brand out there. I buy trek because the shop has always treated me well. What I have noticed in the riders around me, the ones that are pro specialized, have such an arrogance view of the specialized brans That is what I don’t understand. Talking to them, you would think the tarmac was the greatest piece of cycling art ever made, and that every other bike out there is not even on the same level, especially trek.
I ride a Trek now because the LBS had a bike in stock that fit during Rona times - I didn't have to wait a year+... was it the bike I absolutely wanted, not really. Has it been a great bike, a bike that rides right next to all of the other bikes - week after week - yep.
In the end, between all of the major brands - there is very little real difference between the bikes.
Trek, Giant, Cannondale, Specialized... (insert brand name here)... you start the group ride, fondo, century and finish in just about the exact time/place regardless of brand - and dare I say it, regardless of how much $$$$ you spent (to a point).
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A properly designed and installed fastener will not come loose under intended use.
I used to design space equipment that was subjected to a shake test. A loose fastener was a failure.
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Weird, Mine came loose on my last ride, they were torqued to spec. I think my bottle becoming a brick of ice had something to do with it. Happened to look down and see it bouncing back and forth and quickly swapped it to the other cage.
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Utter nonsense. Lance was intentional in his decisions, ruthless in his determination to win, and a @$$hole to people who got in his way or were no longer useful. At this point, it's no longer a question. The facts are known.
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Last edited by Eric F; 01-22-24 at 12:29 PM.
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Not to mention, Landis was not winning and they came down hard on him first.
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So the keyboard guy sat around reading porn magazines for two more weeks and then told the NASA guy to come back for the "new" ring. He gave the same ring to the guy, who mic'ed it again and said it was perfect.
Reporting the story as told to me. Veracity not guaranteed.
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I'm not arguing against that, Specialized isn't the best value proposition IMO. Unlike Trek, I do have a dislike for Specialized...my previous XC bike was a Specialized Epic(that I did not pay full retail on.) I learned my lesson on that bike, as the bike was addled with expensive and poorly designed proprietary componentry. I know my issues were specific to that model, and wouldn't cross over to a road bike, but I'm just unwilling to give further money to a company that locks owners into expensive maintenance on poorly designed components.
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I'm one of those who did not like what Trek did to Greg LeMond over the Lance Armstrong scandal. They put corporate profits over the sport and did it by throwing LeMond under the bus. So, screw 'em.
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Morals, ethics, business - billions in sales (Trek driven sales from Lance) vs 10's of millions (sales of Lemond bikes)... Lemond said what he believed, unsubstantiated, unproven at the time. His words could cause potential huge losses to his parent company - way more than he ever made for them, way more than he probably would ever make for them. That was a flat business decision - and probably an easy one for any business manager to make.
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And let's not forget Landis did the most to take down Lance, with his whistle blower lawsuit, after Lance denied him a spot on the team.
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I'm not arguing against that, Specialized isn't the best value proposition IMO. Unlike Trek, I do have a dislike for Specialized...my previous XC bike was a Specialized Epic(that I did not pay full retail on.) I learned my lesson on that bike, as the bike was addled with expensive and poorly designed proprietary componentry. I know my issues were specific to that model, and wouldn't cross over to a road bike, but I'm just unwilling to give further money to a company that locks owners into expensive maintenance on poorly designed components.
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...I think maybe it depends on how old you are, and how you've experienced the two different companies from their early origins.
As I said earlier, Trek started out as an American manufacturing concern, in Wisconsin, marketing hand built American frames of pretty high quality, for what seemed at the time to be pretty good prices. So a lot of us still remember Trek like that. The, gradually, they became larger and more corporate in their marketing, and eventually offshored part, then all of their production to Asia. So if your first exposure was in the 70's/80's, you remember what the company once was, and how good the best Trek frames were to ride.
AFAIK, Specialized and the guy who started it, Mike Sinyard, has always made it a point to source from Asia, even to the point of sending the original Stump Jumper frame prototypes, (American designs,) over there to be copied. Again, this is something that has been argued about over the years, along with Specialized's extreme litigiousness. But again, they made and sold some very fine bicycles under the Specialized brand.
But if you're coming at it from a viewpoint of what's current, probably not that much is different. Other than the company histories.
As I said earlier, Trek started out as an American manufacturing concern, in Wisconsin, marketing hand built American frames of pretty high quality, for what seemed at the time to be pretty good prices. So a lot of us still remember Trek like that. The, gradually, they became larger and more corporate in their marketing, and eventually offshored part, then all of their production to Asia. So if your first exposure was in the 70's/80's, you remember what the company once was, and how good the best Trek frames were to ride.
AFAIK, Specialized and the guy who started it, Mike Sinyard, has always made it a point to source from Asia, even to the point of sending the original Stump Jumper frame prototypes, (American designs,) over there to be copied. Again, this is something that has been argued about over the years, along with Specialized's extreme litigiousness. But again, they made and sold some very fine bicycles under the Specialized brand.
But if you're coming at it from a viewpoint of what's current, probably not that much is different. Other than the company histories.
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Best to put some blue Loctite on the threads.
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#150
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It is not true that all Trek stores are corporately owned. There are still plenty of independent Trek dealers that carry Trek along with other brands......
As for your water bottle cage "incident" in which you place 100% of the blame on the shop that built the bike, I'm calling major BS on that claim. Are you kidding me??? Bolts come loose all the time from normal, regular use. Road vibration is the common culprit. There is a certain amount of maintenance responsibility that falls on the owner of just about any product. Bicycles are no different. Do you expect your tires to never lose pressure after the bike shop inflates them? When they lose pressure is that the fault of the bike shop? If the bike shop lubricates your chain and it goes dry several weeks later because you failed to clean and relube the chain, is that the fault of the bike shop? No, it is not!!! As the owner, you (and your friend) can choose to not maintain your bicycles. Nothing wrong with that. However, you own the consequences of that lack of maintenance, not the bike shop.
As for your water bottle cage "incident" in which you place 100% of the blame on the shop that built the bike, I'm calling major BS on that claim. Are you kidding me??? Bolts come loose all the time from normal, regular use. Road vibration is the common culprit. There is a certain amount of maintenance responsibility that falls on the owner of just about any product. Bicycles are no different. Do you expect your tires to never lose pressure after the bike shop inflates them? When they lose pressure is that the fault of the bike shop? If the bike shop lubricates your chain and it goes dry several weeks later because you failed to clean and relube the chain, is that the fault of the bike shop? No, it is not!!! As the owner, you (and your friend) can choose to not maintain your bicycles. Nothing wrong with that. However, you own the consequences of that lack of maintenance, not the bike shop.
But your comment about chain and tires is not comparable. Those are consumable items. A properly torqued bolt will not vibrate loose. It just won't. If my car wheel was not torqued sufficiently and fell off, then it is 100% the shops fault. You don't check that on a regular basis.
Anyway, not my bike, not my problem. I just didn't like the way they handled a good customer. Done.