Is the Trek District a good price?
 

All my bikes are really old, so I'm well out of the new bike game. I discovered that Trek actually makes a good commuter bike, the District, but the $1,750 price tag took me by surprise. What do you think? Could a college student afford it? I'm wondering if I should encourage my local Trek dealer to carry some despite the awful color.

The belt drive and dynamo hub with lights are pretty cool, but I wonder if the 8-speed IGH can handle our terrain; Humboldt State University was long known by students as Hills and Stairs University.

​​​​​​For $300 you can find a trek fx model that will do everything the district will do. Buy a rear rack and rechargeable lights and save $1200 bucks. Plus you would have a much better gear range and save your knees on the hills.

I also wonder when it comes time to service that dyno hub light, how easy will it be with that internal routing. An IGH would be great if you truly think you would ride in rain, sleet and snow, but how likely is that really? How bright is that light? Is it just for being seen or is it really bright enough to ride by? Seems like a neat bike but if you are a student on campus, you'd be better served with something a lot cheaper.

[MENTION=545783]RoadWearier[/MENTION], don't forget the rack, fenders, and bell, but you're right about gearing. Dynamo lights are usually see-me rather than seeing. And carbon belt drives sound pretty awesome; quiet, no lube, no rust, and long-lasting.

Thanks for responding. :)

Planet Bike Eco Rack under $30; Planet Bike Fenders under $50; Incredibell (optional) under $30 ...

There was actually one of those for sale near me for around $450, I think. The more I read, the less impressed I was. Plus I think they clock in at around 35-36 pounds. The belt drive is a great idea but again I guess it boils down to how many miles you really commute and if you ride in the rain a lot. I also don't think I'd be doing a lot of long distance rides on a bike like that. But if you can afford it and it gets you excited about riding, then go for it! Definitely leave a review!

I think something like that is a really awesome commuter. I'm riding a Trek Soho Deluxe from 2013 which is fairly similar, with an IGH and a gates drive, less the stock dynamo hub. I have a dynamo hub and it is way better than battery lights if you're an all-weather commuter, since cold weather doesn't effect them. They tend to be much better than battery lights for road illumination, without blinding other cars, although I'm not familiar with that particular model. I would rather have a real rack with attachment points to the seat stays. I think that it's good for the price, when you look at the spec list.

Bike prices went nuts the last three years. Pandemic inventory wipeout from "stay home and exercise," then pando supply chain wipeout and profiteering, then inflation. A bike like this feels like it should be well south of a grand.

All that aside it seems like an ok bike.

I can't see college kids buying this thing when there's Craigslist. It's for Sensible Grownups. As for your local dealer, they want to, and can, sell a bike like this plus a motor for four grand to grownups. My wife just bought a Gazelle. It's sturdy and nearly maintenance free and probably in ten years my now 6yo kids will be riding it to high school.

A few things...
- If my college freshman kid could afford a near-$2k bike, I would tell them they need to start kicking in for more of their tuition - LOL.
- Our campus visit to Humboldt State a bit over a year ago left me with the impression that a campus bike would need a pretty wide gear range, and a heavy bike is going to spend a lot of time parked.
- I don't know how much of a problem bike theft is on campus and the surrounding area, but colleges are fairly well known for being target areas for bike theft.

A story...
This past September, we moved our kid into their freshman dorm at the University of Oregon. During move-in day, we saw quite a lot of new students who had brought their bicycles, including a couple of very decent newer MTBs. That evening, all of the bikes were locked to racks inside the dorm's bike cage, and the cage door was locked. During the early morning hours, the cage door was pulled off the hinges, and the racks were sawed through. Every bike - except one - was gone. The ONL Y remaining bike was locked to a support post, with at least 5 u-locks. This was not random. It was a planned and coordinated effort by multiple people.

I had put together a "townie" bike from a Bianchi frame for my kid to take to school, but at the last minute as we finished packing the car, they decided to leave it home until they had a feel for how/if it would be useful for them. It turned out to be an excellent choice. We both would have been heartbroken if that bike had disappeared.

[MENTION=510948]Eric F[/MENTION], yeah bike theft is a cottage industry here. I believe the students got up in arms and demanded secure bike parking, I believe bike lockers.

Build your kid a beater bike; looks like hell, runs well.

cottage industry, college industry

Is college bike theft worse around big city colleges? I always locked my bike at Purdue and only once got a rear wheel stolen after which I would put the front wheel over the bar and the cable through both. But there was never anyone stealing bikes by the rackful. Where would they go with them? There wasn't anyone outside the college riding around on bikes. Was there some growth in city riding in the 2000's along with single speeds that made a new market for used bikes?

My local shop had one of those a few years back. It's an interesting bike, I took it for a ride and liked it, but likes others said, you can find other bikes cheaper that will do the same. I did 8k miles of commuting on my old 2003 Trek 7300, when new, was about $450 if I recall correctly. Plus if you are in a college town, that would be a theft magnet. I would pass if it were me. My FX5 runs about 20 lbs, the district weighs in over 30 lbs.

Is $1,750 affordable? That depends. Is it a good price? Yes, I think so. I think $1,000 or $1,500 for a new bike is reasonable. (Though I never buy new bikes.)