Of course I also got a trek due to the lack of selection in my area... Cannondale's cyclocross bike didn't do it for me, neither did the Lemond. I'm not knowledgeable enough to build a bike up (although now I probably could). It's all fit, comfort, price, the great deal I got at the LBS, etc... I've been trying to find a way to completely black out all the frame labeling anyway so it's just a bike when other's look at it too... but I don't want to screw it up so it looks terrible.

I like your attitude! You're right, you know. I have a son that's a Cat 2 in CA and he races a Trek and LOVES it (and wins too!) even though he was able to get an equivalent Specialized at cost, which he did for a 2nd bike in case he crashes, but his faith is in his Trek. Bottom line? To each his own!!
P.S. I ride a Specialized and I love my bike!!

Have never owned a Trek. But what other American company is putting millions into bicycle racing? Good for them. When the technology filters down it will be good for all.

Trek uses stock frames on thier race bikes. The filtering is less than one season. No other company does that. Thier quality speaks for itself. If not why would all us devoted Trek owners go back again and again to spend our hard earned cash????

trek product
 

The reason hincapies steer tube snapped is because he was involved in a crash earlier in the race and to save time he did not change bikes. The crash earlier on fractured the steertube and caused it to snap.

or so they say.... no way to really know for sure

I just watched the vidoe of that crash on OLNTV, man oh man how scary must that have been. Having your bar, stem and take a dirty dart at 45km/h over the pave!
I torn an aluminum handlebar off my bike during a standing start sprint. It broke at a drilled hole for the brake cable routing, talking a few years back here. Anyway scary stuff....

I ride with a couple of clubs in my area, including one with over 100 years of history and a strong racing tradition. (OK, admittedly I only do that one club's slower rides) I see quite a few Treks on those rides being ridden by serious, experienced riders. So the Trek bashing phenomenon must be a minority sport primarily indulged on bike forums because in my admittedly limited experience I don't see it in the real world.

I love my Trek "Project One" Pilot 5.2

How many other companies let you fully customize your ride from the factory (you can upgrade almost every single component) and then *YOU* get to pick the paint job AND colors?

I rode the equivalent Specialized, Cannondale, Giant and several others and liked the ride, fit and feel of the Trek best...

But what do I know? I only ride 200 miles a week year round...

To paraphrase Yogi Berra, "Treks are so popular nobody buys them anymore."

Treks are good bikes. Trek makes the widest selection of bikes I've ever seen. And since they are sold all over the place they must be treating their dealers alright. My LBS sure sells a lot of them. They stopped selling Kleins and the Lemonds and Orbeas are a hard sell for them. My other LBS carries Giant, Bianchi, and Cannondale. Sells a lot of Giants. Used to sell Specialized but couldn't move all the bikes Specialized wanted them to so they dropped them. Different markets, different needs.

Orbea, for one. But then in Europe, they are the Trek of the cycling world. ;)

I didn't realize you could special order an Orbea with just about every component upgrade AND pick the paint job and colors. I got mine in 11 days from start to finish.... I wonder if you can get a fully customized Orbea here in the states that quickly?

I haven't read the whole thread but I thought the answer is obvious...cause Trek's are spec'ed with ShimanNO.
:-)
George
Trek's are good bikes...wouldn't mind a Madone in my stable

I bought a Trek 5000 last year and have no complaints so far. One of the main reasons i bought the trek was how i was treated at the bike shop. The owner of the shop spent a couple hrs with me letting me try out a large selection of bikes both high end and less exspensive, and he would put each bike on a trainer and have me get on the bike and make any adjustments that were needed. He gave me a great deal on a brand new 2005 Trek 5000 which he took out of the box and built it up right in front of me just so i could try it out. It road nice and fit me perfect so i took it home with me. I am very pleased with my choice, and the service i received at the bike shop.

Chris

The main difference between different high end bike brands is the way they look. The differences in performance are so subtle as to be meaningless. In fact the way they look is mostly a matter of paint. Bikes are so similar, I'm amazed anybody cares what brand is on the downtube.

Wife has trek 1000 I have Trek 1400.
Close to 2000 Klms on each over the past 6 months.
Competitively priced against other quality brands.
Enjoyable to ride.
Quality frame with Shimano gear.
No warranty isues whatsoever with either bike.
Generally competitive on local club rides.
Service at local bike shop is excellent.
They provide a quality ownership experience.
Tell me why I wouldn't buy another trek???

Agree that good bikes are very similar. But we all develop particular tastes over time...frame material, compo groupset we prefer, handle bar shape...mostly what kind of geometry works the best. The poster just above summed up the average Trek buyer...because of how he was treated in the bike shop...lol.
For many buying a bike is like buying a car. Not for guys like us Fred...we build our bikes piece by piece and hence we have much more particular taste.
Cheers,
George

Or better yet - quality frame with Shimano gear. That would leave me out of the potential customer pool. I choose a frame more for price than anything else. I have spent as much as $900 for a frameset but don't think I would spend that much again. I don't have that bike any longer anyway. It isn't necessary. For me a frame is mostly just something to hold bicycle parts. The odd thing is that I can afford any bike I want and I love bikes. I just don't see the charm in having a Colnago or whatever decal on my downtube for $3000 or $4000 just for a frame. I already know I can make a superb bike that performs exactly the same with a $300 - $600 frame.

Perhaps it's too bad. I miss out on all the brand loyalty thing.

I think that actually may save you alot of aggravation, as well as money. I am not "expert" enough to build my own bike yet. I hope to be someday. I currently own a LeMond and when I go out to shop for a new bike I will check out the new LeMonds first, but not limit myself to them. As with my first purchase, I will take a wide look at what is out there (including Trek) before I make my choice.

Cheers,

Brian

I ride a 2003 5200. When I decided to upgrade from a Bianchi Campione, I test rode a lot of bikes but was determined to NOT like the Trek. It's the same reason I never played with a Prince tennis racket or rode a Burton snowboard. I just didn't want the same brand as the masses. But after testing a number of bikes, the 5200 was clearly the best bike for me. It felt as good as bikes priced $1,000 more. So I bought it, and hope people aren't judging me by my bike but how I ride. I've since bought a Burton snowboard too. :)

Oh oh! Now you're in serious trouble.

hah! I think you're right - I'm finally grown up enough to make decisions based on what I actually like and not how others will perceive me.

Boring styling, but the TTT bike is pretty cool looking. I'd take one of those.