BillyBob

Hi all,

I live near Harrisburg, and would like to track down a small Trek Belleville WSD for a friend. I am afraid that I will have to randomly call Trek dealers until I find one.

My local dealers really don't carry much in the way of commuter bikes, and I don't like to buy bikes sight unseen.

Anyone know of a big city dealer that carries this model?

Thanks!

JPprivate

Do you mean Belleville?

BillyBob

Yes, I can't spell.

reptilezs

all i can say is those bikes are heavy. we dont stock it but special order it for customers. only see about a handful during the season

NormanF

Old Raleighs weighed 38-40 lbs. Roadsters weighed around 50 lbs! And yet they are pleasant to ride despite their weight. They'll never be fast but no one would mistake them for a gaspipe bicycle!

ilynne

I have one. It fell apart literally 15 minutes after I got it home. After three weeks (it's a long, crappy story) Trek decided to send me a new one and I'm picking it up tomorrow. I want my money back, but the fscking dealer who sold it to me closed the NEXT DAY.

If this one actually does not fall apart, I will like the bike, but still want my money back. Be prepared to replace the grips, saddle, pedals, fenders and brakes. The fenders are truly a shame -- only one stay in the rear, so the rear fender rattles like hell if you ride over a pebble. Pretty fenders, but I don't know how anyone could stand them for more than a day.

NormanF

Sorry to hear it.... usually this sort of thing doesn't happen to an alloy frame.

I've never seen a bike literally fall apart after bringing it home!

My guess is you got a defective frame that somehow slipped past quality control and these things haven't happened on Trek bikes I own and I have three of them!

BillyBob

Ouch, maybe there is a reason that I haven't seen them at a dealer.

ROJA

Has your friend checked out the Linus Mixte? https://www.linusbike.com/models/mixte/ It is pretty sweet and there are two Linus dealers in Philly.

screech

I saw One last week in Georgetown DC. Revolution Bikes maybe. Looks cool was thinking of it for the wife, but it does seem a little cheap. 3 speed bike for Pennsylvania? Don't you guys have a lot of hills?

ilynne

The frame is fine. When I say that it literally fell apart 15 minutes after I got it home, I am referring to lousy assembly and defective parts.

The rear light didn't work. Then it did. Then it didn't. Then the front started flickering. Then the soldered-on connector on the light fell out. The rear fender was warped & dented. The front rack was bent. The brake cable was loose. The front brake actually fell off -- while I was riding. The rear fender rattles so badly on a road with any texture at all that I cannot stand it. The plug for the rear light fell off -- which was moot since a factory wiring fault rendered it useless anyway.

The pedals are $.49 garbage. The grips are pretty bad. The saddle is ok, but I replaced it. It needs better brakes, considering the loads it is rated to handle. I understand that many of these are cost-cutting measures to keep the price low. But what is the point of planning for everything to be recyclable when you are going to do that fairly immediately?

I like the frame; I love the frame; the frame kept me reasonably sane through all of it. "The frame is what you care about." I kept telling myself. The entire bike worked and was a dream for literally 5 minutes.

And the actual bike shop experience was and still is an absolute nightmare. I still want my money back, but they are likely to file bankruptcy.

I am pretty confident that the new one will be better assembled and the wiring fault has been addressed by Trek. I already have fenders, a saddle and pedals to put on it. It will be nice to have dynamo-powered lights, but I wouldn't ride without my Magicshine & PB Superflash Blinkies anyway.

I still want my money back.

JPprivate

Sounds like you want your money back!

mikeybikes

Those cost like, what, $550? I'm kind of surprised for that much the frame is only made of high-ten steel. What, only a chromoly downtube?

NormanF

The Public Bike made of cro-moly steel for another $350 is the better deal IMO.

ilynne

So the new Belleville is here. It is sent to the dealer with a bag of bolts and no instructions at all. I was at the bike shop for over three hours while they figured it out.

The front fender was dented. THE FRONT RACK WAS BENT. Trek sent me a new bike because the parts I requested, which included a front rack to replace my bent front rack, are backordered. We took the front fender off the old bike since it wasn't dented. I'm selling the fenders anyway. I put SKS fenders on it for a rattle-free ride. My husband managed to bend the front rack into shape.

This really is not a buy it and leave it stock bike. Too many cheap components.

It's a beautiful bike and very nice to ride. My other bike is a Trek 4300 that, according to dh, I have turned into a Ford F150 with fenders and racks and baskets. I love them both, but after the way Trek customer service and the original dealer treated me, I'll never buy another Trek.

NormanF

Good bike, crappy service.

You deserved better from your dealer AND Trek.

reptilezs

this is somewhat typical of how bikes come. if the bike is shipped UPS it will arrive in worse shape than if the bike was on a pallet and shipped via freight. yes the bikes come with a bag of hardware and no instructions. it is the job of the dealer to assemble the bike correctly and assess any issues BEFORE it goes on the floor. any competent mechanic should be able to assemble the bike in 1 hour(box to complete and ready to ride) 3 hours is ridiculous. the bike itself has many cheap components which doesnt help. look at all the features and then look at the price. they have to cheapen it out some how. i would find another dealer

ilynne

I live in a VERY dealer scarce area. This one was a 100 mile round trip. The one I bought the bike from, as I said, closed the day after I bought the bike. Next closest one is probably at least 200 miles, one way more likely 350. Trek finally caved and sent a new bike to this dealer. They are not going to send one to another dealer of my choice.

Yeah, the Trek shops around here are severely lacking mechanical talent. It SHOULD have been a one hour job. I, the NON mechanic customer, should not have been the one finding wiring diagrams online and generally pointing out what goes where. But what was I going to do? I paid for the bike already. Any chance of a refund is going to take a small claims suit, and then the joy of collecting from someone is obviously about to file bankruptcy. Was I going to reject the new bike with fewer dented and bent parts, and with functioning lights, and spend three more weeks (or months or years) trying to get Trek to give a damn? They already said that I was not out any money since I had a bicycle.

At this point, I can write it all up and send it to Trek. They've lost me as a customer forever.

CCrew

Spokes in Vienna had a few, as to whether they have a WSD in the size you need you'll have to call. When you get them on the phone get them to check stock in all their stores.

https://spokesetc.com/

BillyBob

Thanks for the help!

sarahgringa

I agree! I own a Belleville WSD and have had the same problems: crooked front rack, very rattly rear fender, faulty wiring on the dynamos, bad assembly (the rear wheel became dislodged and started rubbing against the fender, which is when I think my dynamo stopped working), complaints about the seat and grips. The pedals have held up fine so far, but I do keep reminding myself that it's the frame I care about. She is beautiful, and the lines are neat. Too bad they didn't have the time (or for cost-cutting reasons chose not to) outline the lugs... then it would be even more pleasant to look at. However, I have had a very good experience with my Trek dealer (Madison East), and so far have gotten everything faulty replaced for no charge.