Ya I don't really buy anything from them but for service they have been good they are working on our e tandem. I could not even get my e bike store to look at it as they are only working on bikes they have sold right now.river city is 3 bocks from my shop so I use them often.

The local bike stores in my area will work on any brands bike brought through their doors.

And if he “owned” the store for that many years, one has to wonder how old he was when he bought/opened it. That math probably equals a rather late retirement.

John

It's really not about Trek, it's more about the single-brand store. A bunch of NYC stores sold out to Trek. Previously selling a number of brands of bikes (including Trek), now it's just the one brand. IOW, choices and easier comparison shopping IMO would be preferable.

RA Cycles -- never been there, but would like to visit. It appears that their biggest bike brand that they sell is Cannondale, but that doesn't prevent them from selling lots of other brands, though I'd wager neither Trek nor Specialized would allow it and that's why they don't sell those brands? https://www.racycles.com/bikes/road/

Trek is buying up a lot of locally owned independent bicycle shops. This is moving the mix toward corporate owned stores and away from locally owned stores. It is increasingly difficult for small locally owned stores (and chains) to compete with corporate owned stores and brands that are internet-only bicycle brands, and internet-only parts and accessories. While customers who strive for the lowest prices go to the internet and others go to big box stores or corporate owned stores the small locally owned independent bicycle shop is slowly disappearing. This is also happening in other industries and is causing a shift from small business to corporate owned and big Wall Street backed businesses.

The important thing is the people. How have they changed since the change in ownership?

After reading through these posts I started looking at the LBS in my area of the world, Victoria BC on Vancouver Island. Interesting to see that each store in this area is locally owned and operated and each one has a brand that they are THE dealer for. We have three stores that could be considered corporately sponsored as they only carry Specialized, Giant and Trek. The others all carry several brands including two stores that also carry Treks but concentrate on one other specific brand. If you count E-bikes as well we have over thirty bike brands represented in Victoria so for this city a cyclist has a great choice to choose from.

Trek and Spesh have pushed shops to carry their bikes exclusively for some time. That's why my LBS dropped them. Reports are that the current situation has given those brands more leverage and the pressure has gotten worse.

It's been heading in that direction for many types of businesses. My thinking reasons that the available credit is easier to obtains to the big named brands likely because the creditor doesn't look closely at how leveraged the existing assets actually are. example: 2 B&M stores initially established using easily traced income & assets. Trying to obtain more footprint, so those established 2 B&M stores are used as a means for additional credit in order to obtain store #3. Shortly after having #3 established, more credit is applied for to obtain 2 additional stores using all 3 existing stores as collateral. Having a total of 5 stores operating, the need for additional buildings are on the horizon. To build more stores, the company uses all existing 5 stores for the new line of credit to build 4 more stores. With each established store, drives for more supply, larger workforce, etc etc.
The faster the underwriters can produce the documentation, the quicker the general contractor can break ground.

Being a Trek dealer would only limit their ability to work on other brands as far as some parts availability - and that's a stretch.
Let's face it - the vast majority of bikes (other than big box store brands, perhaps) use either Shimano or SRAM components for drivelines / cockpits. It makes no difference if it's a Trek with Shimano Ultegra, or a Cannondale with Shimano Ultegra. A different name on the frameset won't prevent them from knowing how to make adjustments. Same thing goes for wheelsets. Just because it doesn't say Bontrager on the rim doesn't mean they can't true the wheel.
With new bikes and components to sell being in limited supply now, many shops are surviving solely on service, so turning down a 'tune up' on a bike brand other than what you normally sell wouldn't make much sense, at least not to me.
Be happy that the shop is still open. There have been too many that haven't been able to survive the chaos caused by the pandemic.

We're losing one of our area's big shops to Trek, as well. Kind of sucks, but if that's what it takes to have brick-and-mortar shops, so be it.

In the summer of 2018, they closed the Restaurant Eve in old town Alexandria, VA. That was a tragedy from which we have not yet fully recovered. Bike shops I can live without pretty readily. Truly fine dining experiences, on the other hand...

The pandemic is being used by the largest corporations to consolidate their market powers and to flatten and then eliminate smaller scaled competition in the marketplace. Trek already has the largest share of the USA market with 22.5% (Giant is a distanced 2nd @ 10.5%) and they are moving aggressively to gain even more.

The best economic conditions for consumers are akin to the best ecologic conditions for life forms and in that regard greater diversity is to be strongly preferred and maintained.

Once the pandemic dust settles we will almost certainly be living in a world with far less choices and far greater prices to be paid by those fortunate enough to afford new products. We can expect more LBS to be given a 'corporate makeover,' if they are even able to survive.

Not like the old pre-boom days when your choices were the department store or the Schwinn dealership or a tiny shop in the city that sold racing bikes... oh wait yes it is just like that

I am not a corporate/chain store fan. I worked in small bike independent shops as a younger man and prefer the ambiance and interesting characters that frequent independent shops.

There are two Trek stores in my area but I generally don't buy from them. I agree with a previous post, keep going to that shop and see if the vibe carries over. If it doesn't go shopping.

For a little context....
I've been a patron of my local Independent shop (still are) since the mid 1980's. They sold Trek's back then too - well at least since 1993 - but before "Trek Stores" were a thing. The owner changed 10 or more years ago but they kept the name, the same basic location and the vibe of the place. And, yes, they still sell Trek, but also Colnago, Moots, Cannondale, Parlee and more.

Great, great shop and very knowledgeable. You can even go in there and sit on their sofa, read the latest cycling mags, drink coffee and watch the mechanics fix bikes. They always greet me by name when I go inside. That's huge for me too.\

These guys:
https://bicyclesport.com/


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The schwinn dealer usually had a life sized cutout of Mr. Greenjeans and also sold lawnmowers. Weirdly enough, after the LBS dropped Trek, the closest Trek store sells lawnmowers.

That's what's great about this forum. I'm the exact opposite but I can totally relate to the fine dining. Given the choice between my favorite local shop (Which I posted earlier in this thread), I'll take them over my favorite restaurant.

Then again, we have a LOT of great restaurants in my town but only one great bike shop, so I guess, in a way they, have a lot of competition! ROFL....

About 10 years ago, I'd agree. In current times with chain stores, skillset that might take more than one visit to address bicycle work, costs, & the ability to buy the tools needed for doing it at home has changed it. Could I do without both, restaurants & bicycle shops? Likely so, but I would rather not go to the grocery store, prepare the meal, cook, & clean up sometimes. Being American is great like that at times.

I had my favorite bicycle shop become a Performance store. The last time I went there, I just needed a spare tube or patch kit. The item was about $5. The clerk tried to get me to buy a discount card for $20 so I could save 50 cents. This was about a year or two before Performance closed their physical locations. Now it is an empty store front.

well we had our e tandem repaired at the newly changed over trek store. they were changing over when we crashed so had to wait a week to bring it in. all the same great guys were still there. too ka couple of months to get al the parts and I had to find some but my wife was not able to ride anyway so it was ok. but they replaced her helmet with a new one even though we did not by a Bontrager helmet. gave her one of the Bontrager Starvos WaveCel Cycling Helmet

There are so many Trek corporate stores I'm surprised my local Trek store is still independent, especially considering how hard it is for them to get stock.