Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) is Canada's version of REI. They have a new line of bikes which (on paper) look good. The nearest store is a 1.5 hour drive from where I live. Before I make the trip I wanted to get some opinions from the forum. I am considering purchasing 2 new bikes over the next year; a year-round commuter that can handle all types of weather, and a road bike that I would use for commuting and/or light touring in fairer weather (although it would have to be okay if I got caught in the rain.) So here are the two bikes I'm considering:

For my all-weather commuter the MEC Hold Steady and for comparison to another bike I have been considering for this purpose the Trek Soho.

For the road/light touring bike the MEC Cote and for comparison the Kona Jake.

I posted the Canadian versions of the American-made bikes for comparison in Canadian dollars. I tried to pick bikes that were similarly equipped but what I'm really asking is, do you think I should make the trip to check these bikes out? The Trek and Kona offerings are available here in town, so for future issues concerning the bikes I'd only have to travel as far as the LBS and not have to put the bike on a rack to drive 1.5 hours out of town. Thanks for your input, and ride safe!

Help. Sorry to crash your post but the forum won't let me post a new thread! Boy is this new format GREAT!!!!!!!

Are you using IE8? If so, try using Mozilla Firefox. Switching seemed to solve all my posting problems with the new format. I guess Microsoft resents change, too.

Any idea who actually makes MEC's bikes? I see them mentioned here from the northerners, but don't recall actually seeing a manufacturer.

Not that making a decent bike is really the black art that some manufacturers would have you believe, but it would be nice to know that they're sourced to a decent manufacturer than The Hong Fu Bicycle Company or someplace no ones ever heard of.

Oh, and IE8 works fine for me here

The Trek Soho is a very compelling item. I love the drive train. For all weather, it should be less troublesome than a chain driven bike. My only dislike is the handlebar. I like drop bars but, I would have to consider the Soho for a bad weather bike. All that's missing is a rack. You don't have to take it on a 3 hour tour for warranty service.

Your road/light touring bike: Once again the MEC dealership distance would be a consideration for me. My one bike is a cyclocross with an Avid BB7 on the front. I hate rim brakes. The Kona will be a lot easier to get serviced when needed. If the various bike shops all offer good service, that round trip to MEC would give me pause.

I would need to know the life expectancy and cost of th belt for the Soho. That could be an unwanted surprise.

Decisions decisions!

With Firefox 3.5 or Chrome, I can post new threads. With IE8, I can't. Go figure.

The MEC website states that the bikes are developed in-house, but that they're manufactured in Taiwan. I emailed their PR dept. to ask who manufactures the bikes. I will post that info when I find out.

I also like the belt drive on the Soho. It's manufactured by Gates, who make drive belts for Harleys, so I would hope that they know what they're doing. There is another belt-driven bike by Norco called the Ceres. It's got a cromo frameset, too, which is very attractive. I like to support local, or at least national businesses when possible, so going with MEC or Norco would be great. As far as travelling goes, I just discovered that the bikes are only being sold in select MEC stores, Toronto being one of them. That means an even further trip; two hours - and that's if the traffic is light (we're talking downtown Toronto.) That being said, I've developed a rapport with the owner of my LBS and I'm sure he'd gladly service any bike I own. In any case, I'd like to see these MEC bikes in person.

I was in the MEC store in Vancouver today. I have to tell you, I think the Hold Steady at C$1250is a really nice bike and a good value (for Canada anyways - we seem to get bent over on bikes here). The Alfine hub, carbon fork, nice commuter tires and hydraulic disc brakes make a really nice commuting package ( I have Avid BB7s on my Trek Valencia and Shimano hydraulics on the Hold Steady feel smoother and have a much lighter pull). I think the other nice thing is that it comes with a good seat and pedals (A Fizik and crank bros). Even if you decide that they aren't your preference, you are probably going to get a better buck selling them the the lower end ones on the Soho. About the only thing that may be on the Soho is the belt drive, but I am guessing the jury may still be be out on that. Overall, I think all the flat bar commuter bikes are good options and good value.

I am not as sure on the MEC Cote. It is a still a nice bike but just not as good a value at C$1350. The hubs a brand I didn't recognize and the tire are very knobby and would need to be changed out for commuting (at least here in Vancouver, maybe not so much in Ontario). hubs were something I didn't recognize (Joytech?) and looked a little clunky, where most of the other bikes have entry or mid level Shimano (Hold Steady has a Deore up front). Fork is aluminum and components mostly Tiagra. I don't know, just thought some of the other bike were a better deal. If you like drops, the Col for C$50 more seems a better deal with a much better spec.

THe MEC bikes are great - the Hold Steady is about the best bike in that category that I have seen. The Trek SOHO suffers massively in the brake department. The MEC bike is just about perfect. I own the Giant Seek with similar setup but the carbon fork on the Hold Steady is a winner for sure.

The COL does not have braze-ons for a rack. The Cote i a fantastic bike and I would but one in a second if I did not just buy another road bike.

I have been a MEC member for 30 years and have never regretted a purchase.

According to a PR rep at MEC, their bikes are manufactured by Taiwanese companies Ideal and Fritz Jou. No idea if the Ideal he mentioned is related to the Greek company, Ideal Bicycles. This webpage states that Fritz Jou exports to Haro Bicycle Corporation.

The MEC Cote @1350 is way more than the MSRP of a Kona Jake. And with the 2010 here, you can find 09 Jakes with deep discounts at LBS. While the MEC bikes are quite nice (I tried them in Vancouver), with deep discounts, it is hard to pass up other bikes.
I believe the frames are made by Giant and its subsidiaries... much like your many Treks, Cannondales, etc. They all come from the same place these days - Taiwan.

I was also checking out the bikes at MEC Vancouver recently, and they look good.

MEC doesn't have to blow the competition away; as long as its bikes are comparable, not total crud, then plenty of people (especially new cyclists, who are clearly the target) are going to buy them because they're MEC - perhaps rightly so. I think they'll do extremely well.

OP, I'd go with the Hold Steady over the Soho. The Cote and Jake are a toss-up.

Their bikes didn't really thrill me, but I'd be hard pressed to come up with a legitimate reason why not.

If you don't do your own repairs I'd say its well worth it to purchase a bike from a LBS for fit and bike adjustments that will be included with the purchase in the first year. It should be the right time of year for LBS to have their models on sale, no?

Apparently the head designer for MEC used to be part of the design team for Rocky Mountain bikes. Love the Canadian connection (even if all the frames are asian-made anymore.)

Was looking at a 2009 Jake on Monday. Very nice, and very light compared to the tank I'm currently riding.

it's not like the fact the frame is asian-made = lesser quality than US or Canadian made. Heck, look at the auto industries, Toyota, Honda and even the Korean maker Hyundai makes products that are considered of better quality than GM or Chrysler. So don't let the "Not made in the USA" deter you from buying the bike that you like.

^+1 Oh, I totally agree. I'm sure that if MEC, Rocky Mountain, or any other North American bike company could manufacture their framesets in-house for less than it costs to source them out then they would. It would just be nice to rub shoulders in a group ride with the person who welded my frame together. Oh well, maybe I could ride with the designer at least.

From the specs and the prices, I'd say MEC is probably competitive with the LBSs I frequent but certainly won't put them out of business. Solid lineup but nothing that I would call a screaming deal. I'm about an hour and a half away from the nearest MEC store (Toronto) that stocks the complete lineup, so all else being anywhere close to equal I'd buy a bike from an LBS in town.

The Hold Steady is the closest thing to my ideal if-money-were-no-object winter commuter that I've seen as a stock bike and is the only MEC offering that I would seriously consider buying (it only needs either a full chaincase or belt drive to be as close to freeze-proof and maintenance-free as is practical for any winter bike). But at this point I can't bring myself to pay four figures for a bike that I'm going to continuously destroy with sand and road salt.

Isn't there a MEC store now in Burlington? Does it not carry bicycles too?

MEC only sells bikes out of select stores; Toronto - yes, Burlington - no, but you can get bike accessories and clothing there.