Fifty Plus (50+) - WI Trip: Visit to Trek Assembly Plant

The Whitewater assembly plant was a most excellent tour. Below is our guide, Brian (rides for Van Dessel), showing the kids the '08 Madone about to be released the next day at a dealer show. He said they'd sell 20,000 of these. We watched the line assemble bikes and wheels (Bontrager is a Trek name now, as is Lemond, Klein, Gary Fisher and some others). Very cool.

And kids must touch things, so Brian just stepped back.

Ultimately Mitch decided he had to have it.

I've thought about doing that. Didn't even stop by during the 3 years that my daughter attended UW-Whitewater and I there once or twice every month.

I forget to mention... We talked to Brian about having a bike worth more than your car. He described his racing buddies as normally showing up at races with $50K worth of racing gear on top of a $2K car.

(I'm posting to my own thread. Is that like talking to myself?)

(I'm posting to my own thread. Is that like talking to myself?)

Only if you hear voices in your head saying "Buy me, buy me..."! :D

He described his racing buddies as normally showing up at races with $50K worth of racing gear on top of a $2K car.


Priorities are priorities, after all.

(I'm posting to my own thread. Is that like talking to myself?)

When someone accuses me of talking to myself I often tell them I'm the only one who gives me the correct answers:D

I've always wanted to do this tour. Do they offer a discount on a new Madone:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Everybody gets a free Madone ;-)

The Whitewater assembly plant was a most excellent tour. Below is our guide, Brian (rides for Van Dessel), showing the kids the '08 Madone about to be released the next day at a dealer show. He said they'd sell 20,000 of these. We watched the line assemble bikes and wheels (Bontrager is a Trek name now, as is Lemond, Klein, Gary Fisher and some others). Very cool.

Thanks for the report and photos. Did you have to arrange this tour? If so how did you go about it? I think that such a tour would be really a kick and would like to do it. Maybe we could do a 50+ group tour. Dothey build most of their bikes there or just frames? Any idea how much is done off shore?

Trek offers tours of their facilities in Waterloo and Whitewater, Wisconsin

http://www.trekbikes.com/faq/questions.php?questionid=2

Thanks for the report and photos. Did you have to arrange this tour? If so how did you go about it? I think that such a tour would be really a kick and would like to do it. Maybe we could do a 50+ group tour. Dothey build most of their bikes there or just frames? Any idea how much is done off shore?

You have to call 3 to 5 days in advance (same for Waterloo I presume) so they can arrange for a tour guide. We just happened to call on a morning when a small group had already arranged in advance. Our 20 people kinda swamped the original 4 (They like to keep them less than 15 people). Whitewater is assembly only for their high end stuff. Waterloo is where they make the CF frames. Most of Trek's line is made in China for cost competitive reasons.

Everybody gets a free Madone ;-)

LOL... Last year I toured the Toyota assembly plant in Toyota City (Aichi Prefecture near Nagoya, Japan). I was hoping for one of the 'rejects' as my take home prize, but every car they produced that day was damn near perfect, so no freebees.