Let's not get confused here.. we're not talking about shops that sell Trek bikes. We're talking about shops bought out by Trek and are owned/operated by Trek. I know plenty of shops that sell Trek bikes that are awesome shops.

Exactly... the last few comments seemed to be defending Trek bikes (which I believe are at least good) and certain LBSes that sell them. The issue (or at least topic) is Trek-only stores, with a big Trek logo outside and no other bikes in the shop, and no accessories other than Bontrager. Not Joe's Bikes, a Trek Dealer.

Yes, I believe the OP is referring to Trek stores, like this one (there are a few in Madison, as we're only 30 minutes from Trek headquarters in Waterloo):

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/retail/madison_west/

Absolutely! My wife has a Trek that she bought years ago at a local bike shop and it's been a great bike and they are a very good bike store.

My issues have been with the Trek owned and operated store in town. And of course, the bikes they sell aren't a problem, Trek makes some awesome bikes.

Actually the LBS I buy from is not a Trek Store, but Trek did come in and give them a lot of support in setting up the new location and display stuff.

And when the local Cannondale company store closed, my LBS bought the contents and started to carry Cannondale. Trek did not force them to decline the opportunity.

Also i was in last week and told Trek was offering 0% for 12 months... even on non Trek/Bontrager products.

Sounds pretty fiar to me.

You bought a new bike with expensive components mailorder but it has crappy bar tape and a flat tire and then you took it to a bike shop across town to for a tune up while you waited?

Seems to me every bike shop is different and unless its small, probably different each time you go in. And, they change over time, especially over a period of years, just as the industry is constantly changing. Some of the most expensive bikes you find these days are off-road and now, road bikes seem to be morphing into varieties of 'gravel-bikes' with the latest marketing angle being, why not fatter tires-- more comfort with no sacrifice in performance. Trek is certainly all over that trend.

We have a local "chain" that consists of three shops and is pretty much the only game in town for getting a Trek: Cyclery USA. They tout themselves as "The largest Trek and Specialized dealer in the Inland Empire." With the almost-famous behavior of Trek and Spesh when it comes to dealer agreements, the attitudes of the employees and the overall vibe of the closest Cyclery USA (the only one I've been to) is unsurprising. I don't like 'em. They act like salesmen. Got a flat tire or a wheel out of true? Maybe you need a new bike.

I can't speak for other Trek stores, but the ones around me don't fit my vibe. I can feel the attitude walking in the door. They also pay their mechanics by the piece-- so when you drop a bike off for service, the work will be done with the greatest emphasis on speed, and nothing else.

It all boils down to people, management and a good product. Here's a "tale of two" trek stores and Trek itself. Last year, about this time,I decided I wanted a Domane. I saw store "A" had one on sale, a left over, went in, hung around the bike for awhile, checkbook in hand, lots of sales people doing nothing except ignoring me. So I picked up a few things went to the counter, the owner starting ringing me up and I said, "I see you have a Domane for sale." He said "If you say so..." and that was that. Yes I, at the time, was a little overweight and yes I was 65 years old (a prime canidate for an easy high end sale!). Took my Fuji for a fitting at store "A" which is a very large and awarded store. Great fitter, mentioned I now wanted to build a Domane, both him, and he got the owner, jumped all over me. "I will never work right". "you'll spend way more money" "we will order you one "etc. SALES RULE # 1 Don't assume you are smarter than your client in anything. You probably are in things but that shot their credability with me big time as, in my younger day I built wheels, bikes and already had priced out a build on a Domane and I KNEW (which I since) PROVED that was BS as I could save thousands. An email asking for frame and component pricing was ignored by Store A.
Contrast that with Store "B". Wanted to get two bikes for my grandkids, walk in. Mom and Pop shop, greeted immediately and found very friendly helpful people. Bought two kids bikes. Checking out they gave me a discount that I didn't ask for and said, now that I bought a bike from them I'll get 10% off of anything (the sales was about $300.00). I mentioned I was in the process of building a Domane and still needed to purchase the frame and a few other things. Said they would price things out and email me, which they did. Ordered the frame an ENV wheels at a very nice discount I might add. Frame came in wrong color as Trek did not change their webpage and could no longer offer the stock frameset in that color. Store "B" had Trek contact me directly to discuss. Enter "corporate" Trek.
John Cannon of Trek called me and immediately acknowledge it was their mistake and offer a nice deep discount on the frame. We'll being the old fart I am I wanted it the way I wanted it. John completely understood and stepped up and threw me into "project one". He worked with me, exchanging emails with color mock-ups, custom sayings etc. When we had a custom design just the way I wanted, he put a rush on it and I got it in less than half the normal time. All at no charge. Now John, of course , also could have said, it's out of stock and here's your refund, which was, of course, was an option and would have been far less trouble for Trek. So by being one of the most professional peoiple I've delth with (and I have 37 year of business experience) John went the extra mile as did store "B" and got a lifetime fully satisfied customer. I've taken my Domane build to store "B" for tire sealant, tune ups eliminating brake squeal etc. and although a lot of this bike they did not sell me I get excellent service at virtually no charge. They only thing they have charged me for was tire sealant. Fortunately I'm a big tipper.(grin). TIPS (To Insure Proper Service)
So I guess the lesson in this rant is it always boils down to people to people interaction and their ability and expertise to get the job done. You can be the greatest mechanic in the world but you won't stay in business long if you are a d***. You can be the greatest salesman in the world but you won't last long if you sell junk. You can sell a great product, but if the manufacturer does not support you, your toast. If you manufacture a great product and have Store "A"s selling them, ..........well reread this thread.
Imagine some guy decades ago wasting payroll on folks simply greeting you as you enter the big retail store. What a crazy concept huh??

In a Small Town, there is an independent Bike shop Which carries Multiple brands .

One of the brands , is Trek, They offer the shop bikes on credit, so the bike is paid for after the sale..

Others , like QBP, the business has to pay for it with its credit card. Up Front..



...

Terrible experience at the Trek Store in Toronto. They closed down this spring.

Same in Atlanta.

Only one chain carries Trek. They are the only game in town if you want Trek.

Everything you describe sounds familiar.

I tend to agree with this. Everyone (including myself at times) wants to save $5.00, so they go online and buy whatever that is, essentially causing small local stores to close down or at least suffer. In the case of bikes, we buy them online, then carry them to local bike shops for assembly and or maintenance. The typical bike purchasing community are not the typical rider that frequents these threads. Many riders are going to buy the cheapest thing out there and I at least give those people credit for buying from a bike shop instead of garbage from WM. I'm not positive about the decision by Trek, Specialized, etc. for starting these mega stores, but I have a feeling the things we're discussing are major contributors. This is what the environment insists. These companies probably decided it was time to combat the mega internet stores.

I've bought all my new bikes upon reaching adulthood from the only bike shop in town (small city of around 40,000). There have been a couple more shops during that 35 year period that couldn't sustain their business. The only brands he now carries are Trek and Giant. There are other brands I'm very interested in, hence my forum name. I've searched online and even talked to other shops within 100 miles about other brands. I thought very seriously about using either avenue to purchase a bike. When it cam down to it, I've decided that when I soon buy my next bike, I'll patronize the same local shop. They're great for the community. They even service WM bikes lol. I just feel better about carrying my bike for service into the shop where I purchased it and the workers are always very knowledgeable and helpful and I can ride anything they have in the store before making a decision. Something you can't do with online retailers.

The mega stores will find it difficult to show this attention to detail imo. My small LBS doesn't have salespeople. It has one owner who can and will do everything needed, although he tends to more of the business end and the other workers are both mechanics, salespeople, tellers, etc. The mega stores with dedicated sales people is a bad idea imo. How much can they be making? Not much I assume. So, there will tend to be high turnover, lesser motivated employees and if they make a commission on sales, I feel they will be more motivated to sell high end bikes. I'll bet the % of high end bike sales in most shops is very low.

At the end of the day, we all have choices. Hopefully the brands being discussed here will actually get feedback about these stores and take measures to make them better. But, as downhillmaster states, consumers aren't loyal whatsoever and we bring much of this on ourselves.

Though of course the the company-owned Apple stores do just fine and offer pretty darn good customer service (vs. the BestBuys or the local wireless stores); not sure why this model works for Apple but apparently not so well for the bike company stores -- well actually I guess we do; Apple maintains strict control on its supply chain and has effective MAP practices.

Heh. I had no idea they sold out. Bike Line started from the relatively high end store called Bike Tech that was last located on the 1200 block of Locust Street in Philly. (Original location as around the corner on 13th.)

There is a guy who works at the Bike Line on Delaware Ave. He's been a mechanic in the city since I was in my 20s. He's also the guy who did some seriously bad work on my IF back in the mid-2000s when he was a Breakaway on Chestnut St. I wouldn't let him look at a bile of mine.

They cashed in their chips, I don't blame the owner(s) for selling out. I am told they may have kept a couple stores as "Bike Line" but all the ones around me (West Chester, Exton, Devon, Wayne) are now Trek company stores.

I have literally not had a good experience at an Apple store. I have hardly ever managed to get in and out without wanting to kick a wall in frustration, and often much worse than that.

Let's not forget their healthy margins.

Are there any good bike shops in Atlanta? I noticed that the Craigslist in Atlanta is heavy with road bikes, here in Birmingham it is more mtn bikes. I actually my got my 1200 in Atlanta, drove over and got it from a kid at GA Tech this past March. I just assumed with all the road bikes on Craiglist that Atlanta had a good road bike scene. I figured when I buy my dream new bike it would mean a trip to ole Hotlanta!

Remember Apple stores were created when Apple had a small market share and needed to show people why they should buy a Mac vs. a PC. Not sure Trek has some great advantage over other bikes, but is confronting anti-Trek bias/lack of knowledge. Plus, Bikes have long operated on a model of LBSes that need their own income - may be hard to corporatize that.


Seems like the bad experiences may be more the store than the brand. Trek may figure out their stores aren't helping their brand . . .