In the 70s, Trek came in and offered what we thought wasn't possible: a well made, American made bike, made the way we liked them (European style), at the proper weight, and less expensive than everything else. It was a breakthrough. They've continued to do everything right from a business perspective and become the largest bike company in the world. The companies that were formerly the biggest are all gone. Now that they are as large as they are, they have a hugely wide range of products. How can they have cachet when they're so big? They can't, but who cares? They're not trying to be the company they were in the 70s, and why should they? If you broke into a market doing something unusual and had a chance to be the biggest player in the world, you might not turn that down, either.

Their products are good. I'm not tempted because they're a commodity, and I tend to like things that are at least a little unusual. But my wife needed a lighter bike for the country, and she bought a used FX 7.3. It's a road-oriented hybrid. Many might call it boring, but it's extremely competent and comfortable, and it weighs only 25 lbs. She loves it, and rightly so. I have respect for the company and its products, but I can't see the company the way I did in the late 70s and early 80s. And that's not important, anyway.