Off topic rant on Trek store
I believe Trek is what’s wrong with biking today.
I like Trek and have owned some of their stuff in the past. About four years ago, I bought my wife one of their bikes and she really likes it... it’s been a good bike. We got it new, at a Trek store when those were just opening in our area. It’s nothing fancy, just an FX-3, a mid-grade hybrid/fitness bike spec’ed with fairly nice components.
The bike has been ridden maybe 500 miles and had mostly gentle treatment. It gets cleaned and lubed regularly. It’s gone a year or two since getting professionally tuned up, so I decided to take it in.
If I had a $200,000 Porsche car, full of high tech computers and made from lots of exotic materials, I bet I could take it to the Porsche dealer, ask for a 10k mile service and hear them say, “Okay, we’ll get it in for all the 10k stuff and call you if we find anything of concern.” They’d charge me umpteen thousand dollars, but I bet I’d only be at the service drive for 5 or 10 minutes to drop it off.
... Trek does not make it this simple. They’re pretty full of themselves. I think they’re caught up in some stupid, elitist corporate snobbery. Knowing their service schedule is probably busy, I called in advance to get an appointment. I was asked to bring the bike in for inspection before they can even schedule me. I said I just need a Level 1 tune up, but I’ll stop by and let them have a look at it. (Their website describes everything included in Level 1, 2, and 3 service).
When I stopped in it was near closing time, so they said I’d have to leave the bike to allow the service manager to check it the next morning. Apparently he has to do a 78 point inspection or some such nonsense. I said, “Look at it. It’s in very good shape. I’m not trying to drop off a pile of rusty junk.” So the mechanic on duty agreed to assess it and then said he could fit it in two weeks later for Level 1. I brought it home and waited my turn.
Today I took it back as scheduled and once again the store manager started talking about the requisite pre-service inspection. I said that had already been done, sort of. She still insisted, so I said that’s fine, but I already know I just want a tune up, and they can call me if they find anything lurking under the surface. She said that’s not how they operate, and they have to identify everything that might be required before they can even get started on the service. In other words, she wants to take this opportunity to up-sell me.
The chain is a bit worn/stretched, so I agreed to let them replace it at 3x the cost it should be, in my opinion. I’ll pick the bike up tomorrow and pay them about $135 total. And then I’m never going back there... unless it’s to give them another crack at anything that’s not smooth, crisp, and quiet—I’ll expect it to ride like a new bike. But my future spending will be at local mom and pop bike shops.
Trek has this ad tag line that goes “Ride bikes. Have fun.” or something like that. They should add “Just make sure your bike stays in perfect shape always. We’ll help. Brace yourself for the cost.” Plus some lawyer mandated fine print: “If Happy Fun Bike begins to smoke, seek shelter and cover head. Happy Fun Bike is still legal in 16 states. Do not taunt Happy Fun Bike.”