DVC45

Maybe their racing bikes lacks some appeal, but I really like my 520's.

unixd0od

I bought a Trek years ago that's still my primary road bike, but all that's left of it that's "Trek" is the frame. All the Bontrager parts that came on it I've replaced because they either wore out quickly, or sucked.

The bars it came with were quite flexy, and I'm not a very strong guy, so I upgraded those. The wheels lasted a year before the rims were severely concave due to brake wear; when a pot hole flat-spotted one of the rims I replaced them with a set of Shimano's - which now have more km's and have hit more pot holes than the Bontrager's ever did, and are still running fine. The Bontrager saddle sucked on rides more than a couple hours, so I upgraded it too.

I wouldn't say I hate Trek, but I'm certainly unimpressed with Bontrager, as there is much better equipment for the same money available.

Maybe Bontrager's high-end expensive stuff is fine, but I'll never know.

caloso

I have two, an '89 660 and a '00 5200. Both were very fine race bikes in their days. Still nice bikes, but I'm not likely to buy another Trek any time soon. I guess I'm funny that way.

WHOOOSSHHH...

Good question!

calamarichris

That reminds me; another reason some of us dislike Trek is because Lance has the same PR problem Jesus does, (which is that some of his fans are evangelical bigots.)

531phile 

I think people don't like Wreck because they were considered top dog for a few years when Lance was winning the Tour dee France. Everyone had to get Wrecks and this turned some folks off.

twobadfish

Let's face it. Love or hate Trek, we all love this culture.

Deebee8

Never anything useful to add to the thread

Ever

cmburch

I have a Madone 5.2SL. The Bontrager parts are nice and work well. It is mainly Shimano. I cracked the carbon handlebars in a crash and replaced with aluminum. I replaced the light tires with heavier Conti tires. It is a very comfortable bike and climbs well.

AllezDada

I have a 2004 Trek 5200, and have had absolutely no problems; just got a 2011 Madone 5.2 to try out a compact double (and to indulge myself).

uhclem

Bumping thread since moderator closed later one. (In my opinion, closing the new thread was arbitrary and short sighted. But, if closing it was the choice, a link to this one should have been provided.) I'll provide my insights on the subject in the next couple of days, unless he locks this one, too.

dahut

Because this is the internet. Welcome.

MikeyBoyAz

careful, pcad gets snarky

as for treks, I used to hate them because the only bikes I saw locally were the 6 speed pos cruisers that weighed 40+ lbs and didn't drive straight even after their 90 day tuneup...
As for now... close friend of mine rides a project 1 and that bike is hawt.

PeddlingPilgrim

+1... i've had 3 carbon road bikes (4 & 5 series), & 1 aluminum from trek and my experience has been great. one of those was a non-warranty demo model.

i'm sure my experience has been positive because of an exceptional LBS that deals in trek. they've done warranty replacements a few bontrager wheels, a bontrager crankset, an ultegra shifter, and a crashed carbon frame. the replacement frame was the ONLY thing that cost me any more money.

i'm thinking of getting the new 2012 3 series madone and putting the sram rival WIFLi on it.

agreed, waterrockets was acting fruity. anyone w/ a brain would just ignore that.

Commodus

I don't like companies that have really good bikes, and really bad bikes. Just bugs me.

I don't like the way they treated Lemond.

It seems like they continued to support Lance after it was pretty obvious he was actually a giant d-bag.

My buddy's wife bought one and it was a total pos. It was the only bike I could actually not get to shift properly, ever. It was a $300 cruiser/comfort bike, but still. If you're going to put your name on it...

It's about the only company I would never ever buy from.

That said, I'm quite certain that their Madones are excellent, I believe they do significant research and really seem to listen to their sponsored riders' feedback.

mtalinm

I hate trek b/c of the lousy experience I've had with a 2009 Soho.

FIRST of all it has been back to the shop several times for an IGH "oil bath" - the so-called maintenance-free drivetrain has been a total nightmare.

WORSE, the front brake had a known-to-BF problem with rattling. I took it in and the place I bougtht it said "it's to spec." I protested, so they ordered a warranty wheel. guess what? it was screwed up too! Finally I threatened to unload the bike so they hacked/fixed it.

WORST, the drum brakes on the Soho absoloutely suck rocks. they just don't work. I can't go >20mph downhill b/c I can't stop in a hurry. mentioned this to the store and they pretended not to know.

no more trek. ick.

eja_ bottecchia

And they all stink...you forgot that part.

catmandew52

Was looking for an early 600 or 700 531 frame, but that is all I wanted, just the frame. No alloy frame bikes, just from listening to people I talked to that will also no longer buy any Trek products.

igknighted

Just about everybody is doing this now. I live just a few minutes from a Giant corporate store, and I don't doubt that every brand does some. They all saw Apple do it so successfully that they want a piece of the action as well. Frankly I don't think it works unless the brand name has real cache in the local market. The Giant store, for example, is just a small shop with flashy graphics and limited selection. Giant as a brand just doesn't have the pull to make it a destination. I could see Trek having the marketing to do it, and I could see a "kinda big, but high-end and exclusive" brand like Cervelo being able to make it work, but the Giants, Specializeds and Cannondales of the world just don't draw the average consumer enough.

I think it comes down to perceived craftsmanship. I can easily see why people see Treks as cookie cutter bikes. There isn't much apparent innovation, and there's nothing that really jumps out at you. That said, I've met some of the engineers from Trek, and I have no doubt that the people behind the bikes care just as much as the people building bikes at many of the small custom shops. You don't get a job designing bikes for Trek (or Spesh, C'dale, Giant, etc.) if it isn't your passion. In the end, it's all marketing. If you get a bike that you like and ride all the time, for whatever reason, then that's what counts.

PS - I've always ragged on Bontrager stuff pretty hard, but the new road tires do kick ass, and I just got an Evoke RXL saddle on my cross bike that is 50g lighter than the Toupe on my road bike, and so far just as comfortable (if not a little more so), so they seem to be doing something right.

caloso

Trek is missing a trick by not reissuing the classic 660. They could sell it as a complete bike or just the frameset. I'm sure a few discriminating buyers would pick one up.

sleepy

Trek sucks.

They're the McDonald's of bicycles. Some folks may harp about Huffy's being the McDonald's of bikes, but Huffy's are the supermarket frozen package of White Castle's of Bikes.

Pedaleur

I've found Trek customer service to be pretty good. Lord knows I've needed it with all the Bontrager issues (weak rims that spokes pulled out of, the joke of the single bolt seat post/mast). they also gave me a 2010 series 5 to replace a cracked 2004 Lemond Zurich. Can't complain about that.

Personally, I find a lot of "gimmicks" in Trek/Bontrager equipment, and not enough focus on function.

The biggest reason for the "hate" is all the 99-ers who ride them, I suppose.

Munk69

My 11 6 series is the best bike I have ever owned. In the past I have owned Motobecane, Cannondale & Cervelo. It beats them all hands down. I know there were a lot of issues with the Bontrager wheels when they ran paired spokes (I had a pair of 09 xlites and I never had a problem). However, the re-desgined wheel is one of the best alloy wheels I have ever owned. All of my dealings with Trek have been top notch and they make a great bike.

Most of the haters are BF zombies and just repeat what other BF members say.

AdelaaR

I don't like Trek as much as I don't like any other bicycle brands that sell their mountainbikes & hybrids with a fancy rear derailleur to fool people and then use lower quality components for the rest of the bike.
Professional bike makers use complete groups or at least similar lightweight or equally or higher priced components.

dahut

Gotta love this, eh? Pointless bias and hatred rules again.