I haven't been around long at all, but I own 2 1/2 bikes and one of them is a trek and it is a great little bike. I have a crappy shimano folder I turned into an electric bike... which actually wouldn't be so bad if I didn't end up buying too large of a battery which makes it ungodly heavy. Then I have a bike I am building which will be my daily commuter from now on.
And then I have 2011 model Trek Earl single speed in baby blue... fantastic bike. I got it as new old stock at a bike shop about two years ago for $400 and I have yet to have to replace a part other than the terrible bontrager tires that came with it. It rides smooth, its built like an abrams tank and it actually looks pretty darn good.
Funny story, so last year a couple friends and I went out on some trails in Tallahassee... now they werent crazy trails by any means but they were definitely more offroad than this thing was ever designed for. One of the guys brought an older mountain bike with suspension forks and the other brought a full on downhill machine, I don't remember the brand but I remember that it had front and rear suspension, disc brakes, and many gears. All I did was throw on a pair of cyclocross tires and I was set.
I was at least 100 yards ahead of the other riders almost the entire time, I stopped to let them catch up a few times, I never fell or hurt myself or my bike. I killed that trail on my trek *road bike. At the end the guy on the downhill machine was covered in mud from the many falls he took and his bike was damaged (his handlebars were way loose as in about to fall off, his derailleur was bent in and not shifting properly, and he was missing some spokes). My bike was pristine...
Moral of the story is brand doesn't matter... however design, build quality, and the skill of the rider do. At least that's my opinion.
Last edited by joweaver88; 09-09-13 at 08:28 PM.