Why so many Trek Bikes out there?
02-05-19, 12:48 PM
#76
Banned
Though the big OEM factories , like Giant Merida and Maxway, Make many brands.. & have the resources to make separate molds and tooling
for their various customer importers ..
to make the frames look different,, of course the components are made by another collection of factories and if the job lot is big enough ,
they too can offer different designs, as well as rebadgeing them with customer's logos..
for their various customer importers ..
to make the frames look different,, of course the components are made by another collection of factories and if the job lot is big enough ,
they too can offer different designs, as well as rebadgeing them with customer's logos..
02-05-19, 08:57 PM
#77
Senior Member
Trek always wrapped themselves in the flag and having Lance on board was the icing on the cake. Still they are/were decent bikes, even if made in Asia.
If there is a manufacturing resurgence in America, you will see more of Trek, not just for patriotic reasons. But they should have a cost advantage.
If there is a manufacturing resurgence in America, you will see more of Trek, not just for patriotic reasons. But they should have a cost advantage.
02-05-19, 09:52 PM
#78
Senior Member
I kinda thought more folks would know this, but I’ll have to chime in here. Until you get up to high end handbuilt frames (in my day it was Eisentraut, Hetchins, Strawberry, etc.) they are all the same except for the name. I was in the bike business 50+ years, I was a Fuji rep, a Bianchi rep, a Colnago rep, even a Muddy Fox rep. At any particular price point, all the bikes out there will have minor differences in parts selection and frame geometry, but they will have been built by the same handful of factories in Asia. This cheerleading for any one particular brand is just folks justifying their purchase. No one company has the secret to building a better bike.
All the Colnagos I sold except the steel Master and the lugged and glued carbon bike were made in Taiwan. All the Bianchis I sold except for some steel Reparto Corsa bikes were made in Taiwan. In fact I’ve seen pictures of the Giant assembly line with Pinarellos, Colnagos, Treks, and Giants all hanging there in one place. Most of the big names in bikes are mainly marketing companies, not manufacturers. Specialized is Merida, Fuji is Ideal, Giant is the aforementioned plus a lot more.
It’s just silly to knock one bike over another. It’s best to find a shop that you like dealing with, a geometry that fits you, and a color you like, and buy it, ride it, and don’t concern yourself so much with the name on the frame, or other people’s choices.
All the Colnagos I sold except the steel Master and the lugged and glued carbon bike were made in Taiwan. All the Bianchis I sold except for some steel Reparto Corsa bikes were made in Taiwan. In fact I’ve seen pictures of the Giant assembly line with Pinarellos, Colnagos, Treks, and Giants all hanging there in one place. Most of the big names in bikes are mainly marketing companies, not manufacturers. Specialized is Merida, Fuji is Ideal, Giant is the aforementioned plus a lot more.
It’s just silly to knock one bike over another. It’s best to find a shop that you like dealing with, a geometry that fits you, and a color you like, and buy it, ride it, and don’t concern yourself so much with the name on the frame, or other people’s choices.
02-05-19, 10:00 PM
#79
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02-06-19, 06:40 AM
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02-06-19, 07:41 AM
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I thought they auctioned off everything before 2013. I have one of their tubing benders. But I didn't go to the auction.
02-06-19, 08:05 AM
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Probably did. I'll bet there is no manufacturing going on there.
02-06-19, 08:19 AM
#83
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I kinda thought more folks would know this, but I’ll have to chime in here. Until you get up to high end handbuilt frames (in my day it was Eisentraut, Hetchins, Strawberry, etc.) they are all the same except for the name. I was in the bike business 50+ years, I was a Fuji rep, a Bianchi rep, a Colnago rep, even a Muddy Fox rep. At any particular price point, all the bikes out there will have minor differences in parts selection and frame geometry, but they will have been built by the same handful of factories in Asia. This cheerleading for any one particular brand is just folks justifying their purchase. No one company has the secret to building a better bike.
All the Colnagos I sold except the steel Master and the lugged and glued carbon bike were made in Taiwan. All the Bianchis I sold except for some steel Reparto Corsa bikes were made in Taiwan. In fact I’ve seen pictures of the Giant assembly line with Pinarellos, Colnagos, Treks, and Giants all hanging there in one place. Most of the big names in bikes are mainly marketing companies, not manufacturers. Specialized is Merida, Fuji is Ideal, Giant is the aforementioned plus a lot more.
It’s just silly to knock one bike over another. It’s best to find a shop that you like dealing with, a geometry that fits you, and a color you like, and buy it, ride it, and don’t concern yourself so much with the name on the frame, or other people’s choices.
All the Colnagos I sold except the steel Master and the lugged and glued carbon bike were made in Taiwan. All the Bianchis I sold except for some steel Reparto Corsa bikes were made in Taiwan. In fact I’ve seen pictures of the Giant assembly line with Pinarellos, Colnagos, Treks, and Giants all hanging there in one place. Most of the big names in bikes are mainly marketing companies, not manufacturers. Specialized is Merida, Fuji is Ideal, Giant is the aforementioned plus a lot more.
It’s just silly to knock one bike over another. It’s best to find a shop that you like dealing with, a geometry that fits you, and a color you like, and buy it, ride it, and don’t concern yourself so much with the name on the frame, or other people’s choices.
The bikes that are developed through innovation may be made in foreign factories but that doesn't mean that they are all made using the same cookie cutter.
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02-06-19, 08:21 AM
#84
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2 years earlier there was. I'm not exactly sure when Cannondale stopped manufacturing frames in the US but my 2011 T1 frame was the last model year for the Cannondale touring frame to be made in the US.
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Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
02-06-19, 09:48 AM
#85
Senior Member
No surprise the Trek factory has the cheat Contador and funny yet, Cordosa his climbing domestique.
I guess no one gives a ratzazz about pro cycling today. Trek is a sellout these days. Mostly Taiwan made bikes.
Same old marketing. Just like they turned a blind eye when Armstrong cheated for years, and when LeMond called them out, they threw him under the bus. Does whatever it can to look like 'real' winners to sell more bikes.
I have a few early steel Treks, a full US made (1984) 760 and a partial US made (1987) 520. Greatly enjoy. A vintage Y foil is on my radar.
Today there's piles of other Asian made, near identical to Treks model lineup and I have zero interest in supporting their business model, regardless of price.
I guess no one gives a ratzazz about pro cycling today. Trek is a sellout these days. Mostly Taiwan made bikes.
Same old marketing. Just like they turned a blind eye when Armstrong cheated for years, and when LeMond called them out, they threw him under the bus. Does whatever it can to look like 'real' winners to sell more bikes.
I have a few early steel Treks, a full US made (1984) 760 and a partial US made (1987) 520. Greatly enjoy. A vintage Y foil is on my radar.
Today there's piles of other Asian made, near identical to Treks model lineup and I have zero interest in supporting their business model, regardless of price.
02-06-19, 09:53 AM
#86
Senior Member
You statement is too simplistic. There are secrets to building better bikes and some companies are better at innovation than others. A bike isn't "just a bike". Tre and Specialized have very robust research and development wings that come up with "better" bikes all the time. Trek is kind of a leader in carbon fiber and Specialized has been a leader in mountain bikes for a long time. Fuji used to be an innovator but they haven't for a very long time and have fallen into the follower category. Same with Giant.
The bikes that are developed through innovation may be made in foreign factories but that doesn't mean that they are all made using the same cookie cutter.
The bikes that are developed through innovation may be made in foreign factories but that doesn't mean that they are all made using the same cookie cutter.
02-06-19, 12:35 PM
#87
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Ah yes, the Trek and Specialized Kool Aid
You statement is too simplistic. There are secrets to building better bikes and some companies are better at innovation than others. A bike isn't "just a bike". Tre and Specialized have very robust research and development wings that come up with "better" bikes all the time. Trek is kind of a leader in carbon fiber and Specialized has been a leader in mountain bikes for a long time. Fuji used to be an innovator but they haven't for a very long time and have fallen into the follower category. Same with Giant.
The bikes that are developed through innovation may be made in foreign factories but that doesn't mean that they are all made using the same cookie cutter.
The bikes that are developed through innovation may be made in foreign factories but that doesn't mean that they are all made using the same cookie cutter.
02-06-19, 12:44 PM
#88
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What you refer to as research and development I would call marketing and hype. Most of the actual advancements in tech comes from independent engineers and the Taiwanese factories themselves. The reason all the good carbon bikes are made there is the Taiwanese investment in technology and fabrication.
If I'm wrong, it should be fairly easy for someone to show me a Trek and a C'dale/Specialized/Scott/Jamis/etc side by side with the exact same geometry.
02-06-19, 01:01 PM
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While there may be some cookie cutter "brands" using generic independent frames, the big boys are still doing their own engineering.
If I'm wrong, it should be fairly easy for someone to show me a Trek and a C'dale/Specialized/Scott/Jamis/etc side by side with the exact same geometry.
If I'm wrong, it should be fairly easy for someone to show me a Trek and a C'dale/Specialized/Scott/Jamis/etc side by side with the exact same geometry.
And yes, a lot of bikes are very similar, before I became a rep and worked in a shop we used to try and guess which factory manufactured a certain bike by how it was made. Some were almost identical, others have cosmetic changes to brand them.
02-06-19, 01:05 PM
#90
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I think what this thread needs is a photo of my anti-Trek. Thoughts?
02-06-19, 01:17 PM
#92
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I rarely see Trek at all, which is weird, because they have a store in Redmond, two towns over. I see a crapload of Specialized here on the East side of Puget sound. Mix of super-high-end carbon and a lot of really practical-for-the-area AWOL-style stuff. In Seattle proper, I see a lot of Surly/Soma/Salsa steel and a lot of vintage.
02-06-19, 01:31 PM
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02-06-19, 01:33 PM
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Even if all the bike store brands were the same and built in the same factories I still wouldn't want a Trek! 
02-06-19, 01:37 PM
#96
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02-06-19, 01:59 PM
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My favored lbs was a trek dealer. They were one of the bigger dealers. Then Trek started telling them that they were going to pull the dealership if they didn't convert to being a Trek concept store. When the owner found out Trek was down the street considering buying another shop, he dropped them. Sold off all his Trek inventory through another Trek dealer in another town halfway across the state. So there hasn't been a Trek sold in town for a couple of years. The closest Trek dealership also sells lawnmowers. Don't guess they sell too many Madones.
02-06-19, 03:25 PM
#99
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Is Specialized American? I always thought they were Japanese/Taiwanese.
02-06-19, 03:40 PM
#100
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What you refer to as research and development I would call marketing and hype. Most of the actual advancements in tech comes from independent engineers and the Taiwanese factories themselves. The reason all the good carbon bikes are made there is the Taiwanese investment in technology and fabrication.
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!